Dala'il al-Khayrat

Dalāʼil al-khayrāt wa-shawāriq al-anwār fī dhikr al-ṣalāt ʻalá al-Nabī al-mukhtār (Arabic: دلائل الخيرات وشوارق الأنوار في ذكر الصلاة على النبي المختار, lit. 'Waymarks of Benefits and the Brilliant Burst of Lights in the Remembrance of Blessings on the Chosen Prophet'), usually shortened to Dala'il al-Khayrat, is a famous collection of prayers for the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which was written by the Moroccan Shadhili scholar Muhammad al-Jazuli (died 1465 AD). It is popular in parts of the Islamic world amongst traditional Muslims—specifically North Africa, the Levant, Turkey, the Caucasus and South Asia—and is divided into sections for daily recitation.

A 15th-century copy of Dala'il al-Khayrat from the Chester Beatty Library.
The opening page from a 17th-century copy of Dala'il al-Khayrat from the Walters Art Museum.

Background

Moroccan hadith scholar Abdullah al-Talidi wrote of the Dala'il al-Khayrat: "Millions of Muslims from East to West tried it and found its good, its blessing, and its benefit for centuries and over generations, and witnessed its unbelievable spiritual blessings and light. Muslims avidly recited it, alone and in groups, in homes and mosques, utterly spending themselves in the Blessings on the Most Beloved and praising him".[1]

The Dala'il al-Khayrat is the first major book in Islamic history which compiled litanies of peace and blessings upon Muhammad. It is also the most popular and most universally acclaimed collection of litanies asking God to bless him. Among some Sunni religious orders, most notably the Shadhili order, its recitation is a daily practice. In others however, its recitation is a purely voluntary daily practice. The work begins with the ninety nine names of God, and then a collection of 201 names of Muhammad.[2]

The legend behind the origin of the Dala'il al-Khayrat claims that al-Jazuli once awoke late for his morning prayers and began to look in vain for pure water to perform ritual ablutions. In the midst of his search al-Jazuli encountered a young girl who was aware of al-Jazuli's famed religiosity and was bewildered on why al-Jazuli could not find pure water. The girl then spat into a well which miraculously overflowed with pure sweet water for al-Jazuli to perform ablutions. Consequent to performing prayer, al-Jazuli inquired to the means by which the girl achieved such a high spiritual station. The girl replied it was simply by "Making constant prayer for God to bless the best of creation by the number of breaths and heartbeats." Al-Jazuli then resolved to write a work collecting litanies of prayers asking God to bless and show mercy and kindness to Muhammad.

Al-Jazuli then moved east to Medina where he would recite the whole of the Dala'il al-Khayrat twice daily at Muhammad's grave in al-Masjid an-Nabawi. The Dala'il Khayrat has since been seen as a testament of love and passionate longing for Muhammad.

Many of exegesis were written on the Dala'il Khayrat - most notably by the scholar Yusuf an-Nabhani in his work Afdal al-Salawat, Mohammed al-Mahdi al-Fasi's Matali‘ Al Masarrat Bi Jalaa’ Dala’il Al Khayrat (مطالع المسرات بجلاء دلائل الخيرات) and Abd al-Majid al-Sharnubi al-Azhari's Sharh Dala'il Khayrat. A classic Ottoman era work by Kara Davud is popular in Turkish, titled Tevfîk-i Muvaffık il-Hayrât li-Neyl'il-berekât fî Hidmet-i Menbâ'üs-sa'adât (Ottoman Turkish: توفیق موفق الحیرات لنیل البركات فی خدمة منباع السعادات),[3] in short known as "Kara Davud".

Manuscripts
Institution Inventory number Origin Date Size Notes
Walters Art Museum W.583 Ottoman Empire 17th century [4]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.862 North Africa 17th century [5]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 97 Turkey late 17th or 18th century 52 folios [6]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.864 Ottoman Empire 1734 [5]
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin CBL Ar 5459 Probably Morocco 18th century [7]
Los Angeles County Museum of Art M.85.237.51 Turkey 1751-1752 [8]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.863 India Late 18th century [5]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.47 Ottoman Empire 1795 [5]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 1278 India late 18th – early 19th century 2 detached pages [9]
Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar MS.427.2007 Istanbul 19th century [10]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 1283 India, or possibly Mecca by Indian artists 1801-2 101 folios [11]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.852 Kashmir Early 19th century [5]
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich BSB Cod.arab. 2646 1830 99 folios [12]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 1138 Morocco 1838 223 folios [13]
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich BSB Cod.turc. 553 Istanbul 1845 221 folios [14]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 276 Turkey, probably Istanbul 1848-9 84 folios [15]
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich BSB Cod.arab. 2673 Istanbul? 1857 90 folios [16]
National Library of Israel Yahuda Ms.Ar.38 Ottoman Empire 1862 [5]
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 1245 North Africa or Mecca 1873 89 folios [17]
Allama Iqbal Library, University of Kashmir Saudi Arabia 1885 187 folios [18]
Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna Austria 140430 Afghanistan 18th century,

acquired Ludwig Gustav Alois Zöhrer before 1960
  • Khalili Collections MSS 0276
    Khalili Collections MSS 0276
  • Khalili Collections MSS 1138 showing the names "Allah" and "Mohammed"
    Khalili Collections MSS 1138 showing the names "Allah" and "Mohammed"
  • The National Library of Israel Jerusalem Israel Ms. Yah. Ar. 47 showing illustrations of the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque.
    The National Library of Israel Jerusalem Israel Ms. Yah. Ar. 47 showing illustrations of the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque.
  • The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar, MS.427.2007 showing illustrations of the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque.
    The Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar, MS.427.2007 showing illustrations of the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art M.85.237.51
    Los Angeles County Museum of Art M.85.237.51

References
  1. "The Story of Dala'il al-Khayrat". Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
  2. "Dala'il Khayrat: An Appreciation by Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad (IQRA.net)".
  3. "Şerh-i Delâilü'l-hayrât".
  4. "Collection of Prayers for the Prophet Muhammad". The Walters Art Museum. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  5. "Eid al-Adha". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  6. "Dala'il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  7. "Dala'il al-Khayrat ('The Guide to Happiness') - Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum". Explore Islamic Art Collections. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  8. "Manuscript of the Dala'il al-khayrat of al-Jazuli (Devotional Manual) | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  9. "The Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque at Medina". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  10. "Ottoman copy of the Dalâ'il Al-Khayrât, MS.427.2007". www.mia.org.qa. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  11. "The Dala'il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli and Other Prayers". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  12. Dalāʾil al-ḫairāt. August 1830. Retrieved 2022-09-29. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  13. "An Exceptional Copy of al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  14. "Prayer Book of Düzdidil Kadın". Digital Collections of the Bavarian State Library. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  15. "A Lavishly Illuminated Copy of al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  16. "Dalāʾil al-Ḫairāt". Digital Collections of the Bavarian State Library. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  17. Nassar, Nahla (2020). "The Dala'il al-khayrat of al-Jazuli". Explore Islamic Art Collections. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  18. "Manifestations of Goodness". World Digital Library. US Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
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