According to his account, the book was discovered in the attic of a house during renovations. Eventually, it was entrusted to Sutiyono, a respected figure in the local community, for safekeeping. The address where the manuscript was found is Rt. 01 Rw. 02, Kelurahan Mlatinorowito, Kecamatan Kudus, Kudus, Central Java.
What distinguishes this manuscript is the type of script used for writing it, namely the Persian calligraphy, or “khat farisi,” a script rarely employed for entire manuscripts, except for titles or additional annotations on the book covers.
The Persian script, also known as Fāris, is characterized by its resemblance to the Arabic script, with some distinct features, such as پ (pa) representing the sound “p,” چ (ca) representing the sound “c,” ژ (jha) representing the sound “jh” or “ja” akin to a fusion of “j,” “z,” and “h,” and گ (gaf) representing the sound “g,” distinct from the pronunciation of the letter غ.
The front cover of the book is adorned with illuminations featuring a floral pattern encircling the outer edges of the text. Additionally, a weaving motif is present on the back cover beneath the title, resembling the interwoven design of a traditional ketupat. Two different styles of calligraphy are employed on the cover: “tsulust” for the phrase ‘māshāallāhu lā quwwata illā billāhi’ and ‘maṭba’ fakhr al-maṭābi’ wāqi’ likahinū maṭbū’ kardī,’ while the Persian script is used for the title “Anāṣir al-Shahādatayn” and accompanying annotations, as found in the colophon.
The dimensions of this manuscript are approximately 24.7 cm in length, 15 cm in width, and 2 cm in thickness, comprising 328 pages. The margins on the cover and inner pages slightly differ. The top, bottom, left, and right margins of the cover measure 2.1 cm, 2.3 cm, 0.4 cm, and 1.7 cm, respectively. The top, bottom, left, and right margins of the inner pages measure 2 cm, 2.5 cm, 2 cm, and 1 cm, respectively. The font size is approximately 0.7 cm.
The manuscript contains a total of 173 chapters, excluding the table of contents, acknowledgments, background information, and closing remarks. Transitions between chapters or the start of a new chapter can be identified by information located at the top of the content division lines, either on the left or right side adjacent to the book’s title.