This is a richly illuminated manuscript entitled 'Dala'il al-Khayrat' or Guide to Goodness. It is written in Arabic in 'naskh' script and contains ten illumintaed headpieces, six illuminted end pages and a double page illustration of holy sites. The binding is contemporary leather with gold stamped tool central medallion and corner pieces.It was written by ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sulaiman al-Jazuli, a philosopher from North Africa. It contains a collection of 'salawat' (prayers of blessings) in honour of the Prophet Muhammad, his sayings and other information about his life, for which it came to be used as a prayer book and a popular guide for Muslims, encouraging a life that follows in the Prophet’s footsteps and emulates his attributes and behaviour. It also contains descriptions of sites in Mecca and Medina and thus became a hajj (pilgrimage) guide or as a souvenir for pilgrims from all over the Islamic world. This manuscript is one of the most popular prayer books written in dedication to the Prophet Muhammad.
