Page from Dala'il al-Khayrat (Collection of Prayers for the Prophet Muhammad), c.1660 (opaque w/c &...

Guide to Goodness of Imam Jazuli Suite Court: Golconda School: Deccani State/Province: Telangana Facing pages from a prayer book show Mecca and Medina, holy places of pilgrimage and prayer for all Muslims. On the right the Qa'ba at Mecca is in the center, with minars and other buildings pointing towards it, the whole surrounded by an arcade. The House of the Prophet, at Medina, is also a courtyard surrounded by an arcade and includes a group of date palms and several buildings. November 2005 Tastes of Asia Rotation These two facing pages are from an Arabic prayer book, and they depict the two holiest pilgrimage sites of Islam. The First Mosque at Medina When Muhammad left Mecca to found the first Muslim community in Medina, he began the construction of the first congregational prayer hall, known as a mosque. The form of the mosque was based on the Prophet's domestic architecture, with a courtyard that was covered with a roof at one end. The dome, minarets (towers from which the faithful are called to prayer), and large blind niche (mihrab) of this mosque point towards Mecca. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dalai’il al-Khayrat is an Arabic text that offers a set of prayers to the prophet Muhammad, each to be recited on specific days of the week. The only illustrations in the work belong to an introductory section describing the Prophet Muhammad’s tomb in Medina. These illustrations, the Kaaba in Mecca (on the left) and Muhammad’s mosque and tomb at Medina (on the right), marry bird’s-eye views with easily recognizable ground-level perspectives of the structures. The technique follows the idiosyncratic convention established by illustrators of the famous guide called the Futuh al-Haramayn (The Conquests of the Two Holy Sites). The Kaaba, draped in black cloth, appears at the center of the painting of Mecca, encircled by the Zamzam well, two minbars (pulpits), and other important structures. The seven minarets (towers) indicate that the image was designed after the final tower was added by the Ottoman sultan Suleyman in 1565–66. In the Medina painting four gravestones covered with green cloths lie at the center; below are three palm trees with twisting trunks that appear in profile.