Khatm al-Qarayeb (Tohfat al-Eraqain) and Khaqani’s Hajj Trips

Khatm al-Qarayeb, or Tohfat al-Eraqain, is a renowned masnavi by Khaqani. It has long been attracting the attention of scholars. For years, the question among researches has been whether this work is a travelogue or not. These researchers, however, are of different opinions and so far, in the numerous corrections of this text and other research, no fixed answer has been given to this question. This article tries to give an accurate and clear answer to this ambiguity through a library method based on Khaqani’s works. In this regard, an attempt is made to examine and critique the major and diverse views of researchers on this subject, and then to present a new perspective, that is some parts of this work is definitely a travelogue, and other parts of it are not. To do so an accurate knowledge of the number and time of Khaqani’s travels is needed; thus, this topic is also addressed. In this regard, first, common views are studied and criticized, and then it is argued that, contrary to popular belief, Khaqani has performed at least three Hajj during his lifetime.