Dala'il al-Khayrat

delicately illuminated prayerbook

This is a popular collection of Sunni muslim devotional prayers for the Prophet Muhammad, compiled by Sufi leader and Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Suleyman al-Jazuli (d. 1465). The prayers are usually divided into seven sections to facilitate the reading of one section a day over the course of a week, and often include the one hundred names of Allah as well as illustrations of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina (both present in this copy).

Al-Jazuli was born in the Sous area of Morocco and compiled this Dala'il al-Khayrat, his best known work, in Fez after spending almost forty years travelling to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. He is one of the Seven Muslim Saints of Marrakech, and is buried in a mausoleum in the city.

This copy of the Dala'il al-Khayrat includes an introduction to the text in Ottoman Turkish and then opens with the names of Allah before the main body of text commences, followed by the names of The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which are very delicately displayed within geometric cartouches featuring the blessing "Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam" in miniature around the names, reinforcing the sacred nature of the text.

The colophon of this manuscript is penned in tawqi' script and reads: "Kataba-hu al-Haqīr al-faqīr al-mutaraf... bi-Kātib-zād al-Kashani" indicating that the manuscript was copied by the son of the famous scribe al-Kashani. Unfortunately no date is ascribed, however the style of decoration and manuscript production are in keeping with manuscripts from the Ottoman Levant in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries.

Single volume, illuminated manuscript on fibrous polished laid paper, in Arabic, complete, 137 by 110 mm; single column, 11 lines black naskh, two full-page illustrations of Mecca and Medina, 4 illuminated polychrome headings and many decorated banners in the text, some sections of gilt illumination with intricate pointillé details, catch-words throughout, internally very clean and crisp condition; contemporary Ottoman gilt and tooled morocco with flap, covers ruled and hand-painted in gold with lattice pattern, edges lightly rubbed, overall a very handsome volume.