Abduljalil Ibn Muhammad Ibn Uzum al-Muradi al-Qairawani (d.1553), Tanbih al-Anam fi Mad'h Taha, copied by Al-Hafiz Abdul Rahman, Turkey, Ottoman, dated 1177 AH/1763 AD

Arabic manuscript on polished paper, 396 leaves plus 9 flyleaves, 21 lines to the page, written in elegant black naskh script, the names of God and the Prophet Muhammad in gold placed in symmetry across double pages, text interrupted by small gold roundels spotted in blue and red, catchwords, over a hundred rococo-style headpieces with chapter titles written in white against gold, several frontispieces illuminated with interlacing polychrome flowers against a gold background, marginal glosses throughout written diagonally, 8 full page miniatures illustrating Mecca (f.110a), Medina (f.110b), al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (f.111a), the Prophet's Sandals and a double-page illustration of one sandal of the Prophet (between ff.140-1), the Prophet's seal 'Mihr al-Nubowa' (f.180) surrounded by Shahadah and ten illustrations of the Prophet's seals as described in the Sunna (f.181), red morocco binding gilt-stamped with medallions filled with black scrolls and chinoiserie cloud bands, with flap, with silk and metal-thread bag

Commissioned by Abu al-Fazl Mustafa Efendi, mid-18th century
Seal impression indicates ownership by Osman Sa'di in 1878

In good overall condition, binding with some abrasions and losses to extremities, pages generally clean, illumination bright, as viewed.
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The author of this work, Abduljalil Ibn Muhammad Ibn Uzum al-Muradi al-Qairawani, was a sixteenth-century Sufi from Qairawan in Tunisia who wrote a number of well known books, including Murshid al-Ahkam, Al-Mabani al-Yaqinyya, and Mawahib al-U'rfan.

The scribe of the manuscript Al-Hafiz Abdul Rahman was known as Tariqati 'Abdullah Efendi, and lived in Istanbul until his death in 1764 AD. His father lived in Aksaray and was known as 'Tarikatcizade'. He graduated at the prestigious school Hoca Mehmet Racim, and learned thuluth and naskh scripts in the style of Shaykh Hamdullah (see Rado Sevket, Turk Hattatları, Istanbul, 1984, p.166, Habib Isfahani, Hat ve Hattatan, Istanbul, 1888, p.87 and Mustakimzade Suleyman Sadeddin, Tuhfe-i Hattatin, Istanbul, 1960, p.247). In this manuscript, the calligrapher has excelled in the technique of reflection (al-tanadhur), resulting in a perfect and visible symmetry in the calligraphy.