Illustrated Manuscript of Prayers

The small manuscript opens with an illuminated sarlawh and decorated margins. The text is copied in naskh, 11 lines to a page. It was penned by Sayyid Mustafa al-Raf'ati in H. 1268 (1851) according to its colophon, which also mentions that the scribe was a pupil of “Hafiz al-Qur'an” Ahmed al-Nazifi. The text is ruled with a thick single line in well-bunished gold. Folia 18v-19r display two illustrations of the Ka`ba in Mecca and the Prophet's mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Medina. The dark brown leather binding is decorated with a shamsa in the centre, surrounded by leaves and flowers in gold and silver, all enclosed by tooled borders. The binding is contemporary Ottoman style. The inside cover is dark green paper with embossed floral patterns.