Devotional Book

Origin: North African, Algiers (Ottoman Empire), late 18th Century
Date: 1769
Medium: Paper, gold leaf, ink, water color; leather binding
Ackland Fund, selected by The Ackland Associates
96.4.2

The Guide to Blessings (Dala'il al-khayrat) is a collection of prayers for the prophet Mohammad, a description of his tomb in Medina, and a list of his names. The work is attributed to the sixteenth-century Moroccan sufi, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Sulayman Al-Djazuli. It is composed of invocations, litanies in devotion to Mohammad which were sometimes recited by visitors of the Prophet's tomb in Medina. The book has maintained a worldwide popularity among Muslims, particularly some members of the sufi orders who recite it as part of their daily rituals.

This manuscript was copied in naskh script by the calligrapher Ibrahim Jakeri Al-Masri and contains two illuminated pages of drawings. The page on the right depicts the mosque surrounding the Kaaba in Mecca, which plays a central role in the ritual life of Muslims. Built by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) as the first shrine for the worship of God, the Kaaba orients Muslims in their daily prayers and is the focus of their pilgrimage. The page on the left depicts Mohammad's tomb and mosque in Medina. In both drawings the artist used gold to mark the sacred grounds.