This is a fragment of Siḥr-i ḥalāl (Licit Magic), a Persian Sufi allegory in the masnavī style (composed in rhyming couplets), by Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf Ahlī Shīrāzī (858-942 A.H./ 1454-1535 or 1536 C.E.). The volume is written in fine nasta‘līq and on hand-coloured (orange, pink) or marbled paper with a polychrome frontispiece and headings and frames in gold throughout. It is in a later binding that appears to date the 20th century C.E. with a cut-out panel in which a piece from an earlier binding, featuring a gilded floral motif, is mounted. The outer edges of the binding and central panel are decorated with double frames of gilt lines, which have largely deteriorated and turned green.

It is an intricate and curious object, its contents raising questions for further research. It features sections of chapters 9-23 of Siḥr-e ḥalāl (the full work consisting of 26 short chapters). The chapter sections have been erroneously reordered upon rebinding. The final page features a simple colophon, the text of which translates as, "Ornamentation [calligraphy] of the servant [of God] Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Tabrīzī, may God forgive him for his sins."

Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Tabrīzī (d. 985 A.H. /1577-1578 C.E.) was a much-famed master of calligraphy, his family being in the service of the Safavid shahs. If indeed the scribe of this volume is the same al-Tabrīzī, it would indicate that this is an early example of paper marbling in the Iranian context. However, given the changes that this item has undergone, any firm assertion would require further research. The ordering of the chapters, in particular the location of the colophon in the work’s chronology, raises a number of questions.

The contents (a new bullet point per heading in the volume or beginning of a fragment of the work) are as follows:

- folios 1-5: fragment of section 9 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, the last 20 couplets.
- folios 5-9 (page 8 is marbled paper): section 10 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 16 couplets.
- folios 9-12: section 11 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 11 couplets.
- folios 12-15: section 12 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 15 couplets.
- folios 15-24: section 13 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 38 couplets.
- folios 24-29: section 14 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 23 couplets.
- folio 29: fragment of section 15 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, the first hemistich only.
- folios 30-32: fragment of section 17 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, beginning from the second half of the fourth couplet, then the further 11 couplets to complete the chapter.
- folios 32-37: fragment of section 18 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, the first 23 and a half couplets.
- folios 38-39: fragment of section 19 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, beginning from the second half of sixth last couplet.
- folios 39-42: section 20 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 16 couplets.
- folio 43: fragment of section 21 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, first 3 and a half couplets.
- folios 44-46: fragment of section 22 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, from second half of tenth last couplet.
- folios 46-47: fragment of section 23 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, first 6 and a half couplets.
- folio 48: fragment of section 15, from second half of fourth last couplet.
- folios 48-56: section 16 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, all 36 couplets.
- folio 57 (marbled paper): fragment of section 17 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, first 3 and a half couplets.
- folio 58 (marbled paper): fragment of section 15 of Siḥr-i ḥalāl, from second half of first couplet of the section, then further 4 couplets and the colophon.