Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage mss 1038 fol 19b-20a

''Futuh al-Haramayn'' (''a Handbook for Pilgrims to Mecca and Medina'') is considered the first Islamic guidebook for

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. It was written by Muhi al-Din Lari and completed in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1505–6. The book was dedicated to Muzaffar ibn Mahmudshah, the ruler of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. No early illustrated Indian copies are known, but later in the 16th century it was widely copied in

Ottoman Turkey The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. The book describes the full rituals of the Hajj in order, and describes the religious sites one can visit.

Manuscripts

More than twenty manuscripts of the ''Futuh'' are known to exist. File:Futuh al-Haramayn.jpg, Page from one of the earliest known manuscripts of ''Futuh al-Haramayn'', dated 1548 and probably made in

National Museum, New Delhi The National Museum in New Delhi, also known as the National Museum of India, is one of the largest museums in India. Established in 1949, it holds a variety of articles ranging from the pre-historic era to modern works of art. It functions un ...

File:View of the Mescid-i Haram in Mecca, from the Futuh el-Harameyn.jpg, Miniature with view of the

Masjid al-Haram Masjid al-Haram (), also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the ...

from the manuscript of ''Futuh al-Haramayn'' made for sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

, c. 1550. Topkapı Saray Museum File:Arafat. From the Futuh al-haramayn by Abd al-Rahman al-Lari al-Ansari (CBL Per 245, f.36b).jpg,

Mount Arafat Mount Arafat (, or ) is a granodiorite hill about southeast of Mecca, in the Makkah Province, province of the same name in Saudi Arabia. It is approximately in height, with its highest point sitting at an elevation of . The Prophet Muhammad, ...

. From the manuscript of ''Futuh al-Haramayn'' made in Mecca in 1595.

Chester Beatty Library The Chester Beatty Library, now known as the Chester Beatty, is a museum and library in Dublin. It was established in Ireland in 1953, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum, on the grounds of ...

File:Futuh al-Haramayn (Description of the Holy Cities) MET DP238316.jpg, Illuminated frontispiece from the manuscript of ''Futuh al-Haramayn'' made in

Bijapur sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...

in 1678. Metropolitan Museum of Art

References

{{Islam-book-stub Islamic studies books Hajj accounts Islamic literature Persian-language literature