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Lot Essay
Fursat al-Dawla Shirazi in athar-i 'ajam, describing Arsanjan and its notables includes 'Ali 'Askar among the mystics as: The deceased Mulla 'Ali 'Askar is one of the celebrated mystics, and great warriors (of faith), .... his naskh was better than that of his predecessors. He died in AH 1302/AD 1884-5, and was buried in Arsanjan. He had three sons; two of them are recorded as calligraphers. He wrote naskh following 'Ala al-Din Tabrizi. His signed pieces also show that he wrote riqa' and shikasteh.
His recorded works, dated between AH 1248/1832-3 AD and AH 1292/1875-6 AD, show he had a long working life. They include copies of the Qur'an, prayer books and calligraphic pieces many commissioned by Qajar princes and high officials (Fursat al-Dawla Shirazi,Athar-e 'Ajam, Bombay, 1314, reprint (Tehran?) AH 1362, pp.248-9 and 601; Mehdi Bayani,ahval va athar-e khosh-nevisan, vol.IV, Tehran, 1358, p.103).
The inscriptions in the borders of the covers include: Qur'an II (sura al-baqara):255-256; Qur'an XXIV (sura al-nur):35; Qur'an III (sura al-'umran):18 & 19. On the central panel of the front doublure are Magic squares including one made up with Qur'an CXII (sura al-Ikhlas), one with names of God and the abbreviated letters found at the beginning of certain chapters of the Qur'an and a few names of the Prophet, and one with letters; the names of angels and the Twelve Imams. The inscriptions on the borders are traditions reported on the virtues of reciting names of God in Arabic. On the central panel of the back doublure is the shamayil (physical characters) of the Prophet and Imam 'Ali with interlinear Persian translations in nasta'liq. The borders of the back doublure has the tradition from Imam 'Ali reporting the Prophet telling him of the virtues of looking at his shamayil in Persian.
His recorded works, dated between AH 1248/1832-3 AD and AH 1292/1875-6 AD, show he had a long working life. They include copies of the Qur'an, prayer books and calligraphic pieces many commissioned by Qajar princes and high officials (Fursat al-Dawla Shirazi,Athar-e 'Ajam, Bombay, 1314, reprint (Tehran?) AH 1362, pp.248-9 and 601; Mehdi Bayani,ahval va athar-e khosh-nevisan, vol.IV, Tehran, 1358, p.103).
The inscriptions in the borders of the covers include: Qur'an II (sura al-baqara):255-256; Qur'an XXIV (sura al-nur):35; Qur'an III (sura al-'umran):18 & 19. On the central panel of the front doublure are Magic squares including one made up with Qur'an CXII (sura al-Ikhlas), one with names of God and the abbreviated letters found at the beginning of certain chapters of the Qur'an and a few names of the Prophet, and one with letters; the names of angels and the Twelve Imams. The inscriptions on the borders are traditions reported on the virtues of reciting names of God in Arabic. On the central panel of the back doublure is the shamayil (physical characters) of the Prophet and Imam 'Ali with interlinear Persian translations in nasta'liq. The borders of the back doublure has the tradition from Imam 'Ali reporting the Prophet telling him of the virtues of looking at his shamayil in Persian.