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Manuscript/Mixed Material Shi'i invocation to a ruler

About this Item

Title

  • Shi'i invocation to a ruler

Names

  • Hafiz Nur Allah

Created / Published

  • 18th century

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Shi'i invocation to a ruler written in black Nasta'liq script by calligrapher Hafiz Nur Allah in India during the 18th century.
  • -  Ay shan-i Haydari za chabin-i tu ashkar / Nam-i tu dar nabard kunad kar-i dhu al-fiqar.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.6 (w) x 18.5 (h) cm
  • -  Oh Dignity of Haydar, it shows on your foreheard, / Your name is like Dhu al-Fiqar in battle.
  • -  The text is written in black nasta'liq on a beige paper framed by light brown border cut out and pasted to a larger sheet of paper backed by cardboard. In the outside margin, the calligrapher's name, Hafiz Nur Allah, seems to have been added subsequently. Nothing is known about this calligrapher, although the style and content of the calligraphic fragment suggests that it was executed in a Shi'i milieu in India during the 18th century.
  • -  The two verses compare a ruler to 'Ali, the "Lion of God" (Haydar Allah), and his triumphs similar to the imam's sword's ability to secure success in combat.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment provides a Shi'i praise to a ruler by comparing him to the heroic figure of 'Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, and his famous double-edged sword Dhu al-Fiqar ("Cleaver of the Spine"):
  • -  Script: nasta'liq
  • -  1-85-154.96

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 15.2 (w) x 25.5 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714628

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:

Hafiz Nur Allah. Shi'i Invocation to a Ruler. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714628/.

APA citation style:

Hafiz Nur Allah. Shi'i Invocation to a Ruler. 18th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714628/.

MLA citation style:

Hafiz Nur Allah. Shi'i Invocation to a Ruler. 18th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714628/>.