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Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy

Shi'i invocation to a ruler

AUTHOR/CREATOR
Calligrapher: Hafiz Nur Allah

CREATED/PUBLISHED
18th century

NOTES
Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.6 (w) x 18.5 (h) cm

Script: nasta'liq

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"):

Ay shan-i Haydari za chabin-i tu ashkar / Nam-i tu dar nabard kunad kar-i dhu al-fiqar.

Oh Dignity of Haydar, it shows on your foreheard, / Your name is like Dhu al-Fiqar in battle.

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.

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.

SUBJECT
Arabic script calligraphy
Nasta'liq
Arabic calligraphy
Islamic manuscripts
Islamic calligraphy
Illuminated Islamic manuscripts

MEDIUM
15.2 (w) x 25.5 (h) cm

CALL NUMBER
1-85-154.96

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

DIGITAL ID
ascs 139
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.139

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