Eighteenth-Century Illuminated Muslim Prayer Book

Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 1465).
Dala’il al-Khayrat wa Shawariq al-Anwar fi Dhikr al-Salat ‘ala al-Nabi al-Mukhtar.
Ottoman Empire, dated 1134 AH [1722].
Illuminated manuscript in Arabic on paper. (BRMS 61)

Later manuscripts of the Dala’il al-Khayrat traditionally included illustrations of Mecca and Medina. The image on the right shows Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthplace and longtime home. At the center of the immense mosque is the sacred Kaba (also known as the Bayt Allah, or “House of God”). This large, black, cubic structure is the goal for millions of pilgrims each year and the shrine toward which Muslims throughout the world face during prayer five times each day. The image on the left depicts the mosque of the Prophet at Medina, with its seven minarets. Muhammad resided in a house on this site during the decade prior to his death in 632. The mosque’s largest dome, now known as the Green Dome, marks the location beneath which Muhammad was entombed.

The Ruth and Lyle Sellers Medical Collection

BRMS61_C_main_1000.jpg
Devotional Books
Eighteenth-Century Illuminated Muslim Prayer Book