Home

WORLD ISLAMIC MISSION (WIM)

Dala'il Al-Khayrat: The Story of a Text

 The eminent scholar and mystic of fifteenth century Egypt, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, tells the story of an early mystic:

One night I fulfilled a number of blessings on the Prophet and I fell asleep. I was dwelling in a room, and lo, the Prophet came to me through the door, and the whole room was lit up. Then he moved towards me and said: “Give me the mouth that has blessed me so often that I may kiss it.” And my modesty would not let him kiss my mouth; so I turned away my face, and he kissed my cheek. Then I woke trembling from sleep and my wife who was by my side awoke, and lo, the house was fragrant with his scent, and the scent of musk from his kiss remained on my cheek about eight days. My wife noticed the scent every day. 

This story beautifully illustrates the centrality of the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) to Islamic piety. For hundreds of years Muslims have meditated on and lucidly expressed their deep love for the Chosen Prophet (God bless him and give him peace); they have collected and compiled every available account concerning him, produced immense commentaries detailing his every feature, from the length of his hair and the color of his complexion, to the way he walked, slept, and laughed, and have composed lyrical poetry giving voice to their immense longing for him. 

The Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) said, “The person nearest to me is the one who asks for blessings upon me the most.” Throughout history Muslims have sought continual presence with the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), manifesting their love for him by adhering to God’s command: “bless him and pray for peace upon him” (The Qur’an, Sura al-Ahzab :). In the spirit of this command, Muslim scholars have produced prayer manuals of the utmost beauty and eloquence. These manuals most frequently consist of collections of prayers, supplications, and praise from the Qur’an and hadith, as well as original compositions. Of these prayer manuals, perhaps none have been more successful and widespread than Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli’s masterwork Dala’il al- Khayrat wa Shawariq al-Anwar fi Dhikr al-Salat ‘ala al- Nabi al-Mukhtar (The Guide to Blessings and the Advent of Light in Blessing the Chosen Prophet). Composed in Morocco in the fifteenth century, Dala’il al-Khayrat quickly spread throughout the Muslim world, from Turkey, to East Africa, to Sumatra. 

Who was al-Jazuli? Why was Dala’il al-Khayrat so popular? How have Muslims interacted with and experienced the text, both as a performative act and as a physical object? By exploring these questions, it is hoped that the reader may gain a fuller understanding and greater appreciation of this extraordinary text, its author, and its inspiration.

The Context and Formation of Dala’il al-Khayrat: The Life of Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli

At the dawn of the fifteenth century, the Marinid dynasty had ruled Morocco for over one hundred and fifty years. The early Marinid period was marked by military campaigns and vigorous architectural activity. They built a variety of structures: new urban centers, zawiyas, fortresses, and mosques. However, their most marvelous architectural contributions were madrasas: four at Fez and one at Salé. In the oldest of these madrasas, Madrasat al-Saffarin in Fez, young Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Jazuli received instruction in the religious sciences.

By the mid-fifteenth century, Moroccan society was in chaos. Corruption and immorality were rampant in both the cities and the countryside. Port cities along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts fell to the crusading Portuguese. Due to internal strife and foreign military pressure, the Marinid state began to fragment. Morocco was in need of religious reform and reorientation. It was precisely at this trying time that al-Jazuli introduced his remarkable work Dala’il al- Khayrat.

Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakr b. Sulayman al-Jazuli al-Samlali was born to a sharif [a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad] family in the southern Moroccan village of Tankarat in the early fifteenth century. He belonged to the Simlala, an important subtribe of the Sanhaja Berbers that lived on the Sus River plain between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains. Little detail is known about his life. However, his biographer, Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Fasi (d.), mentions in his work Mumti’ al-Asma’ a number of anecdotes and pithy expressions, giving a glimpse into the religious world of early modern Morocco. 

As a young scholar al-Jazuli left his homeland of Jazula because inter-tribal conflicts made serious study impossible. He traveled to Fez and enrolled at Madrasat al-Saffarin, where his room is still shown to visitors. In Fez he memorized works of usul al-fiqh and Maliki law, such as Ibn al-Hajib’s Mukhtasr al-Far’i and Sahnun’s Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra. He also met the famous jurist and mystic Sheikh Ahmad Zarruq. As a youth he became known for his piety. Al-Fasi relates a stunning example of al-Jazuli’s detachment from worldly concerns:

While he was attending the madrasa, he secluded himself in a house and no one else would enter. This news reached his father who thought the youth’s persistence in barring others from entering was because he was hiding wealth, so he set out to visit his son. He requested permission to enter his son’s house and was given leave. When he entered he saw written all over the walls: “Death, Death, Death ...” He understood what his son was up to. He reproached himself, saying, “Look where he is and look where we are!” Then he left his son and returned home.

 Several accounts detail al-Jazuli’s inspiration in writing Dala’il al-Khayrat. According to al-Fasi, he collected Dala’il al-Khayrat from books in the Qarwiyyin library in Fez after witnessing a woman perform miracles (kharq al-’ada). When he inquired as to how she had attained this ability, she replied, “By sending blessings on the Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace.” Thenceforth al- Jazuli devoted himself to sending blessings on the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace).Al-Manfaluti, Maliki mufti of nineteenth-century Medina, provides a different account in his work Manaqib Sidi al-Shaykh al-Jazuli:

The reason for al-Jazuli’s writing Dala’il al-Khayrat … was that one day he was late for his prayers, even though it was his custom to seek the approval of God the Exalted by not delaying a prayer beyond the earliest possible time for its performance. When he arose to make his ablutions, however, he was unable to find anything with which to take water out of the well. This preoccupied him greatly and he was very annoyed. While he was in this state a young girl caught sight of him from a high place and said, “Who are you, uncle?” The sheikh then told her about himself, hoping that she would give him a bucket and thus ease his cares and worries. Instead the girl exclaimed, “You are the one whom people praise greatly, yet you are unable to take water from a well in order to purify yourself !” Then she came down from that high place and spat into the well while reciting the Name of the Lord of Creation. No sooner had she done so than water tasting as sweet as the sweetest sugar poured forth from the well until it spilled over the face of the earth as a miracle from the One who rolls up the scroll of time. The sheikh made his ablution and marveled at this splendid miracle. When he finished, he swore by God Almighty that the girl should reveal to him how she had acquired this great rank. “By making constant prayers on the Best of Creation (may God bless and preserve him) to the number of breaths and heartbeats (bi-’adad al-anfas wa al-daqa’iq),” she replied. So al-Jazuli resolved at that moment to write a book about the excellence of prayers on behalf of the Chosen Prophet and to include in it many transmitted texts from the mine of prophecy and from those who have drowned in the sea of the effusion of God’s abundant generosity. All of this (which was due to what he perceived in this great miracle) would not have been possible had it not been for this girl, who was devoted to reciting prayers on the Adornment of the Last Day (zayn al-qiyama).

Al-Jazuli took the Shadhili tariqa from Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad Amghar al-Saghir (d.) of Ribat Tit-n- Fitr. After taking part in the resistance to the Portuguese at Tangier in , he went into seclusion (khalwa). Some historians claim that he worshiped in isolation for fourteen years; while others maintain that he traveled east for sometime, reciting Dala’il al-Khayrat twice each morning to the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in Medina.Upon his reemergence in , al-Jazuli established a zawiya at the Atlantic port city of Asafi. Al-Jazuli was “frequent in reciting litanies (awrad), observant of God most High in all his states, not exceeding the boundaries God established, and exerting himself in following the Book of God and the example of his Messenger (God bless him and give him peace).” He founded the Shadhiliyya Jazuliyya order, with Dala’il al-Khayrat at its core, and over ,disciples received spiritual training (tarbiya) at his hands.

Jazuli's Connection with The Beloved Prophet

Later writers describe the nature of al-Jazuli’s relationship with the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace): there mixed, in his person, “the two loves”—the love one feels for the Prophet due to religion, and the love one feels for one’s kinsfolk (mahabba al-diniyya wa al-tiniyya).Al-Jazuli died in while prostrating during the morning prayer, the victim of poisoning. He was later buried at Riyadh al-’Arus in Marrakesh. Known in the local dialect as “Sidi Ben Sliman,” he is one of the seven patron saints of Marrakesh. He left Dala’il al-Khayrat as a testament to his immense love and longing for the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace):

O God, I believed in Muhammad but did not see him; do not deprive me in the Gardens of his vision. Bestow his company upon me and cause me to die in his religion. Let me drink from his pool a quenching, pleasant, delightful drink after which we shall never thirst again. You are powerful over everything. O God, convey to the soul of Muhammad my greetings and peace. O God, as I believed in Muhammad but did not see him, do not deprive me in the Gardens of his vision.

Few books have experienced the widespread fame and eminence of Dala’il al-Khayrat. It was the pivotal text of the Shadhiliyya Jazuliyya; the daily litany of his disciples which included two complete readings of Dala’il al-Khayrat.Al-Jazuli divided Dala’il al-Khayrat into sections corresponding to the days of the week. Each section contains diverse praises, invocations, and poetic references seamlessly bound into a flowing unity. Its melodic, rhythmic language aids the devotee in memorization and attaining presence of heart. Its phrases of exquisite beauty express love and devotion to the Chosen One (God bless him and give him peace).

Dala’il al-Khayrat soon became famous for its tremendous baraka, spreading well beyond the boundaries of Morocco and the Jazuliyya. The baraka of blessing the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) extended to include the book itself; frequent reference is made to the baraka of the physical object. In one case, a Turkish calligrapher was commanded by the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in a dream to dedicate his life to copying Dala’il al-Khayrat, continually blessing the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) through the loving strokes of his pen.

Beautifully illustrated manuscripts, lithographs, and print copies, from all over the Islamic world indicate Dala’il al-Khayrat’s renown. Manuscript artists produced detailed illustrations of Mecca and Medina. These illustrations were not merely decorations; rather they were “attempts to create an ideal symmetry,” indicating “the feeling of a divinely ordered universe, as if the artists were reflecting the perfection of the Almighty’s plan as revealed within the sacred scriptures.” Manuscript copies of Dala’il al-Khayrat were often pocket-sized and could be carried in pouches as amulets. These small books both facilitated daily recitation and distinguished the “Companions of the Dala’il ”from others.When in need, people could turn to Dala’il al-Khayrat.

Al-Fasi reports that whoever seeks to fulfill a need and alleviate sorrow should read Dala’il al-Khayrat forty times. If they strive to complete the proscribed number of readings within forty days, their need, be it great or small, will be fulfilled through the baraka of blessing the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace). If the text of Dala’il al- Khayrat was not handled properly the baraka would rectify the situation. In one instance, mentioned in Mumti’ al- Asma’, a man set a book on top of Dala’il al-Khayrat and left the room. When he returned he was amazed to find Dala’il al-Khayrat resting on top! In composing Dala’il al-Khayrat, al-Jazuli sought to teach the virtue of blessing the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) and the best manner in which to do so. Importantly, Dala’il al-Khayrat mentions over two hundred of the Prophet’s names (God bless him and give him peace) bringing life to his many roles. One rhythmic sequence vividly portrays his names concerning the Day of Judgment: he is the “Prophet of Mercy”, the “Intercessor of the Community”, the “Possessor of the Pool”, and the “Possessor of the raised standard.” Another sequence inspires reverence and awe through depictions of the Prophet’s miracles:

O God! Bless him for whom the palm trunk wept and longed for when parted.

O God! Bless him whom the desert birds implored.

O God! Bless him from whose hand the pebbles glorified.

O God! Bless him from whom the gazelle sought intercession with the most eloquent speech.

O God! Bless him with whom the lizard spoke while in assembly with his distinguished companions.

O God! Bless him whom the stones greeted.

O God! Bless him to whom the trees prostrated.

O God! Bless him whose light brought forth the flowers.

O God! Bless him by whose baraka the fruits ripened.

O God! Bless him by whose wudu’ water the trees flourished green.

O God! Bless him to whose cloak the wild animals would cling when he walked the arid desert.

These remarkable scenes familiarize the reader with the life of the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), fostering love and intimacy. Love and intimacy that inspire the reader to follow his way:

O God make me of those who hold fast to the religion of Muhammad; who exalt his sanctity, honor his word, preserve his covenant and inviolability, assist his party and call, increase his followers and group, deliver his troop, and do not contravene his way and sunna. O God, I ask You for holding fast to his sunna, and I seek refuge in You from turning from what he brought. O God, I ask You for the good that Your Prophet and Messenger asked for, and I seek refuge in You from the evil that Your Prophet and Messenger sought refuge from.

These scenes from the Prophet’s life could also inspire the reader to follow his way in a more literal sense: to walk where the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) walked and to visit the places he frequented in Medina. The most frequently portrayed illustration in Dala’il al-Khayrat depicts the Prophet’s mosque in Medina. In Islamic devotional literature the image of Medina often symbolizes longing for the beloved Prophet (God bless him and give him peace). Medina is the object of immense nostalgia and longing for poets such as Jami, a contemporary of al-Jazuli:

It is we who, like the tulip in the desert of Medina,
Bear in our heart the scar of longing for Medina.
Passionate longing for Paradise may disappear from the wise
man’s head, but
It is not possible that the passionate longing for Medina
should leave him...
The Tuba tree that has lifted its head on the apex of the Throne
Is only a branch from the garden-adorning palm tree of Medina.
When you eat dates, kiss their kernels, for
The kernels of the dates of Medina are the beads of the
angels’ rosary!

Medina is the “City of the Prophet”, for in Medina lies the Prophet of Mercy (God bless him and give him peace) who is “more splendid than the full moon and more generous than the sent clouds and the vast seas.” In Dala’il al-Khayrat, a chapter entitled “A Description of the Noble Garden” lovingly describes the Prophet’s tomb. In this chapter, ‘Aisha (God be pleased with her) relates to her father Abu Bakr (God be pleased with him) a vision concerning the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace):

I saw three moons falling into my room. I told my vision to Abu Bakr (God be pleased with him). He told me, “O ‘Aisha, three will be buried in your house. They are the best people in all the earth.” When the Messenger of God (God bless him and give him peace) passed away and was buried in my house, Abu Bakr (God be pleased with him) said to me, “This is one of your moons and he is the best of them (God bless him and give him peace).”

A textual portrait of the Prophet’s tomb, based upon the hadith of ‘Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, appears in Dala’il al-Khayrat, visually representing the dimensions of the tomb. Abu Bakr was buried behind the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), while ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was buried at the legs of Abu Bakr (God be pleased with them both):

‘The portrait of the Prophet’s tomb inspires the reader to be among those the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) mentioned: “There will come to my Pool on the Day of Resurrection nations I will know only because of their frequent asking for blessings upon me.” Dala’il al-Khayrat, replete with beautiful devotional prayers in honor of the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace), provides an effective means to achieving this end.

Dala’il al-Khayrat stands witness to the tremendous baraka of blessing the Chosen Prophet (God bless him and give him peace). Its composer, Muhammad b. Sulayman al- Jazuli, devoted his life to this cause and, in the process, renewed the spiritual landscape of his native Morocco. Dala’il al-Khayrat spread from Morocco to all corners of the world, inspiring and inculcating love of the Prophet (God bless him and give him peace) in the hearts of Muslims everywhere:

Make us the best of those who bless him and pray for him, the best of those who draw near to him and come to him, the best of those who love him and are beloved with him, and gladden us with him in the Courtyards of the Resurrection. Make him a guide for us to the Garden of Felicity without trouble, difficulty or discussion of the account, make him accept us and do not make him angry towards us, and forgive us and our parents and all the Muslims, the living among them and the dead. The end of our prayer is, praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

Notes: 
Al-Suyuti, Jalal al-Din, al-Hirzu al-Mani’ fi al-Salat ‘ala al-Habib al-Shafi p.,
adapted from the translation of Constance Padwick, Muslim Devotions, London, , pp..
Al-Jazuli, Dala’il al-Khayrat, Maktaba Adab, Cairo
Vincent Cornell, In the Vicinity of the Righteous, University of Texas Press, Austin
Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Fasi, Mumti’ al-Asma’Al-Jazuli, Dala’il al-Khayrat, p..
Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the
Prophet in Islamic Piety, University of North Carolina Press, p..
David James, “Manuscripts of Muslim Spain”, ARAMCO, November/December , vol., no..