مفتاح النجاح

Walters Ms. W.579, Prayer

Walters Ms. W.579, Prayer

Miftāḥ al-najāḥ al-mukanná bi-al-wasīlah ilá kull ḥizb wa-falāḥ

مفتاح النجاح المكنى بالوسيلة الى كل حزب وفلاح

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Caliph, ca. 600-661 (author)

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (author)

علي بن ابي طالب (author)

Kamāl ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Sabzawārī (scribe)

This illuminated manuscript is of a prayer (wird) called Miftāḥ al-najāḥ, attributed to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the fourth caliph of Islam. According to the colophon, it was completed by Shaykh Kamāl ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Sabzawārī, the calligrapher and illuminator, in Astarabad (present-day Gorgan, Iran) in 941 AH / 1534 CE. The text, divided into five compartments, is in calligraphic vocalized naskh in black ink and vocalized thuluth in gold ink outlined in black. Illuminated rosettes with colored dots serve as verse markers. The decorated colophon (fol. 8b) is written in tawqīʿ/riqāʿ script in gold ink. Later bequest (waqf) seal impressions of the Vizier al-Shahīd ʿAlī Pāshā, dated 1130 AH / 1717 CE, appear on fols. 2a, 2b, and 3a. The brown leather binding with interconnected gold-tooled lobed medallions and discs and doublures with filigree decoration is original to the manuscript. For full description, see http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W579/description.html

The primary language in this manuscript is Arabic.

Illuminated headpiece with the basmalah in tawqīʿ script (fol. 2b); illuminated colophon (fol. 8b); text in black and gold with blue decoration, divided into compartments; polychrome text frame; contours of the thuluth-script lines decorated with blue tendrils over a ground of red hatched lines; naskh-script panels flanked by polychrome medallions with gold-tooled outlines; illuminated rosette verse markers with colored dots

fol. 2b Incipit with illuminated headpiece Incipit; headpiece This manuscript opens with an illuminated headpiece containing a cartouche with the doxological formula (basmalah) in tawqīʿ script. Fluid and curvilinear, tawqīʿ script is used for headings and rarely used for the main text. As seen here, while having inscribed the headpiece in tawqīʿ script, the scribe wrote the main text in alternating black naskh and gold thuluth script. The naskh-script panels are framed by medallions with a gold outline. The contours of the thuluth-script lines are decorated with blue tendrils over a ground of red hatched lines. Gold rosettes mark the verse endings. The stamp in the right margin is the personal seal of the Vizier ʿAlī Pāshā, who gave the manuscript to an educational charity in 1130 AH / 1717 CE.

fol. 3a Illuminated text page with seal Text page; seal This text page is defined by the use of alternating black naskh and gold thuluth scripts. The naskh-script panels are flanked by illuminated medallions with a gold outline. The gold thuluth-script lines are set apart by outlines resembling clouds. Illuminated rosettes serve as verse markers. The stamp in the left margin is the personal seal of the Vizier ʿAlī Pāshā, who gave the manuscript to an educational charity in 1130 AH / 1717 CE.

fol. 8b Illuminated colophon signed by Shaykh Kamāl ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq al-Sabzawārī Colophon In this illuminated colophon, written in tawqīʿ/riqāʿ script in gold ink, it is stated that Shaykh Kamāl ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq al-Sabzawārī completed the manuscript at Astarābād in 941 AH / 1534 CE.

941 AH / 1534 CE

Waqf seal impression of the Vizier al-Shahīd ʿAlī Pāshā, dated 1130 AH / 1717 CE, with the original shelf mark 1414 (fols. 2a, 2b, and 3a)

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters bequest

Arabic

paper

image/jpeg

1534

All Walters manuscript images and descriptions provided here are copyrighted © The Walters Art Museum.