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Manuscript/Mixed Material Munajat" of 'Abdallah Ansari

About this Item

Title

  • Munajat" of 'Abdallah Ansari

Names

  • Malik (Daylami)

Created / Published

  • ca. 1550

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Calligraphy, Persian
  • -  Manuscripts, Persian--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iran
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Nasta'liq

Notes

  • -  A maxim from the "Munajat" (Supplications) by the Persian scholar Khwajah 'Abdallah Ansari (d. 481/1088), written in black nasta'liq script, Safavid era Iran.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 14.8 (w) x 8.5 (h) cm
  • -  Immediately after the praise of God appears the calligrapher's signature: "mashq-i Malik" (composition of Malik). Malik may be identified as the calligrapher Malik Daylami, who was in the service of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp, who reigned from 1524 to 1576 (Huart 1972: 237-8; and Qadi Ahmad 1959: 141-5). He was responsible for creating inscriptions for the ruler's royal buildings and collaborated with his contemporary Shah Mahmud al-Nishapuri (see 1-87-154.155) in the composing of the famous "Haft Awrang" (Seven Pavilions) of Jami commissioned by the king's nephew, Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (Simpson 1993). If this fragment indeed was composed by Malik Daylami, then it represents the output of the Persian nasta'liq school of calligraphy around the middle of the 16th century.
  • -  Sari ka daru sujud nist safcha bah az u / Va kafi ka daru jud nist kafcha bah az u
  • -  The two lines of text are executed in black nasta'liq script on beige paper and framed by delicate cloud bands on a gold illuminated background. The text panel is framed by a variety of borders and pasted to a sheet of purple paper decorated with gold interlacing flower motifs. Between and below the two main lines of text appear a minute inscription reading: "God, everyone fears You, but 'Abdallah fears himself, because everything that is good comes from You, and everything that is evil comes from 'Abdallah (i.e., the servant of God)." This diminutive sentence serves as the author's praise of God's munificence and kindness.
  • -  The unripe melon is better than the head that does not prostrate / And the soup ladle is better than the palm that does not give
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes a maxim drawn from the "Munajat" (Supplications) of the great Persian mystic and scholar Khwajah 'Abdallah Ansari (d. 481/1088). The two lines describe the benefits of prayer and generosity:
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-87-154.91

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 26.6 (w) x 16.7 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714642

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Malik. Munajat" of 'Abdallah Ansari. 1550. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714642/.

APA citation style:

Malik. (1550) Munajat" of 'Abdallah Ansari. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714642/.

MLA citation style:

Malik. Munajat" of 'Abdallah Ansari. 1550. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714642/>.