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Lot Essay
This manuscript includes the Munajat-i Khams ‘Ashar (Fifteen Supplications) of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin. In addition to the hadith of Imam ‘Ali, these munajat provide another form of doctrinal guidance for Shi’a Muslims. Included in this manuscript are other prayers including the Du‘a-i Mujir, the Du‘a-i Mashlul, the Du’a-i I‘tiqad, the Du‘a-i Ihtijab. These prayers range from warding off enemies to escaping from difficulties.
The colophon is signed at the end by Ahmad al-Nayrizi. Nayrizi undertook his calligraphic and religious training in Nayriz, from where he took his nisba, and went on to become a hugely successful calligrapher in the 18th century. He regularly undertook commissions for the royal family and has been credited with significantly developing the naskh script. This work is copied in AH 1141 / 1728-29 AD in the Dar al-Saltana, Isfahan. Further dating this is the seal impression with the date AH 1173 / 1759-60 AD. A prayer book which shares similar gold and red illumination and red interlinear translations was sold in these Rooms, 16 Oct 2001, lot 44.
The final folio of our manuscript contains a dedication to Mustafa Quli-Khan Qurchi-Bashi (Chief Guard). This would appear to be Mustafa Quli Khan Sa‘adlu, who was from the Qizilbash Sa‘dlu clan that played a prominent role throughout the Safavid period and seem to have had a particular association with the position of the Qurchi-Bashi, the head of the sultan’s personal guard. Mustafa Quli Khan was the Qurchi-Bashi under the last Safavid sultan, Shah Sultan Husayn (Ali Abolghasemi, ‘The Role and Status of the Sarukhan Sa’dloo Qurchi-Bashi Family in the Military and Administrative Structure of the Safavid State’, Journal of Historical Researches, 2025).
The colophon is signed at the end by Ahmad al-Nayrizi. Nayrizi undertook his calligraphic and religious training in Nayriz, from where he took his nisba, and went on to become a hugely successful calligrapher in the 18th century. He regularly undertook commissions for the royal family and has been credited with significantly developing the naskh script. This work is copied in AH 1141 / 1728-29 AD in the Dar al-Saltana, Isfahan. Further dating this is the seal impression with the date AH 1173 / 1759-60 AD. A prayer book which shares similar gold and red illumination and red interlinear translations was sold in these Rooms, 16 Oct 2001, lot 44.
The final folio of our manuscript contains a dedication to Mustafa Quli-Khan Qurchi-Bashi (Chief Guard). This would appear to be Mustafa Quli Khan Sa‘adlu, who was from the Qizilbash Sa‘dlu clan that played a prominent role throughout the Safavid period and seem to have had a particular association with the position of the Qurchi-Bashi, the head of the sultan’s personal guard. Mustafa Quli Khan was the Qurchi-Bashi under the last Safavid sultan, Shah Sultan Husayn (Ali Abolghasemi, ‘The Role and Status of the Sarukhan Sa’dloo Qurchi-Bashi Family in the Military and Administrative Structure of the Safavid State’, Journal of Historical Researches, 2025).