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Dala'il al-Khayrat

Collection of Islamic prayers

Dala'il al-Khayrat
Summary

Collection of Islamic prayers

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]].

Dalāil al-khayrāt wa-shawāriq al-anwār fī dhikr al-ṣalāt alá al-Nabī al-mukhtār (), 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.

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".

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.

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 (), in short known as "Kara Davud". In 2023, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi undertook the task of publishing the most authentic edition and English translation of the Dala'il al-Khayrat, following extensive research into its chains of transmission and the consultation of numerous manuscripts, through his London-based publishing house, Signatora.

Manuscripts

InstitutionInventory numberOriginDateSizeNotes
Walters Art MuseumW.583Ottoman Empire17th century
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.862North Africa17th centurytitle=Eid al-Adhaurl=https://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/english/digitallibrary/gallery/islam-collection/pages/id-al-adha--2012.aspxaccess-date=2020-11-28website=web.nli.org.il}}
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 97Turkeylate 17th or 18th century52 folios
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.864Ottoman Empire1734
Chester Beatty Library, DublinCBL Ar 5459Probably Morocco18th century
Los Angeles County Museum of ArtM.85.237.51Turkey1751-1752
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.863IndiaLate 18th century
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.47Ottoman Empire1795
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 1278Indialate 18th – early 19th century2 detached pages
Museum of Islamic Art, QatarMS.427.2007Istanbul19th century
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 1283India, or possibly Mecca by Indian artists1801-2101 folios
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.852KashmirEarly 19th century
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MunichBSB Cod.arab. 2646183099 folios
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 1138Morocco1838223 folios
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MunichBSB Cod.turc. 553Istanbul1845221 folios
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 276Turkey, probably Istanbul1848-984 folios
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MunichBSB Cod.arab. 2673Istanbul?185790 folios
National Library of IsraelYahuda Ms.Ar.38Ottoman Empire1862
Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of PilgrimageMSS 1245North Africa or Mecca187389 folios
Allama Iqbal Library, University of KashmirSaudi Arabia1885187 folios
Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna Austria140430Afghanistan18th century,

References

References

  1. "The Story of Dala'il al-Khayrat".
  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".
  5. "Eid al-Adha".
  6. "Dala'il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli".
  7. (2021). "Dala'il al-Khayrat ('The Guide to Happiness') - Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum".
  8. "Manuscript of the Dala'il al-khayrat of al-Jazuli (Devotional Manual) {{!}} LACMA Collections".
  9. "The Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque at Medina".
  10. "Ottoman copy of the Dalâ'il Al-Khayrât, MS.427.2007".
  11. "The Dala'il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli and Other Prayers".
  12. (August 1830). "Dalāʾil al-ḫairāt".
  13. "An Exceptional Copy of al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat".
  14. "Prayer Book of Düzdidil Kadın".
  15. "A Lavishly Illuminated Copy of al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat".
  16. "Dalāʾil al-Ḫairāt".
  17. Nassar, Nahla. (2020). "The ''Dala'il al-khayrat'' of al-Jazuli".
  18. "Manifestations of Goodness". US Library of Congress.
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