The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Arabic Manuscripts

Dala'il al-khayrat

Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli, who died in 869/1465, was a member of the Berber tribe of Jazula in southern Morocco. He wrote the Dala’il al-khayrat with the help of books from the library of al-Qarawiyyin, the celebrated mosque and university at Fas (modern day Fez) in Morocco; the library was created in 750/1349 by the Marinid sultan Abu ‘Inan Faris.

The Dala’il al-khayrat is a collection of prayers for the Prophet, including a description of his tomb, his names and honorary epithets, and a host of other devotional material. The Dala’il became the centre of a popular religious brotherhood, the Ashab al-Dalil, whose essential function revolved around the recitation of this book of religious piety.

There are two manuscripts of this text in the Library’s collection.

The first, copied in the 13th/19th century, comprises ninety folios written in a bold, vocalised African naskhi hand; the opening page of the manuscript is shown here.

The second manuscript, which is also a 13th/19th century copy, is written in fine, maghribi script and includes two illustrations, one representing the great mosque of Mecca, the other representing the mosque at Medina and the tomb of the Prophet; the opening page with an illuminated headpiece, and the illustration of Medina are shown here.

The Institute of Ismaili Studies - Dala'il al-khayrat

Last updated: 12/15/2005 16:39