Islamic Manuscripts at Michigan
المشاركة في الفهرسة: المخطوطات الاسلامية في جامعة ميشيغان

Wasīlat al-najāt fī mawlid Ashraf al-mawjūdāt,[15th century].وسلية النجات في مولد اشرف الموجودات,[القرن 15م].

Shelfmark:

Isl. Ms. 412

Title:

Wasīlat al-najāt fī mawlid Ashraf al-mawjūdāt,[15th century].وسلية النجات في مولد اشرف الموجودات,[القرن 15م].

Author:

Süleyman Çelebi,d. 1422?سليمان چلبي.

Place/Date of Production:

[14--].

Size:

61 leaves :paper ;230 x 156 (185 x 110) mm.

Summary:

Fine (though damaged) early copy of the famous poem in praise of the Prophet by Süleyman Çelebi of Bursa (d.1422?) with preface in Arabic, followed by further verses supplied in different hands.

Other Title(s):

Vesîletüʼn-necatوسيله النجاتMevlid-i şerifMevlitMevlûd-u şerifMevlûtMedh-i Mustafaمدح مصطفى عليه الصلوة والسلام

Subject(s):

Mawlid al-Nabī in literature.
Turkish poetry--15th century.
Masnavis, Turkish--Early works to 1800.
Manuscripts, Turkish--Michigan--Ann Arbor.
Muḥammad,--Prophet,--d. 632--Poetry.

Language:

Ottoman Turkish.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from frontispiece (pp.2-3).

Incipit:

"الحمد لله الذي جعل محمد [؟]... كل موجود واشرف كل مخلوق واعز كل مولود ... نحمده على ما جعلنا من امة محمد الوفي بالعهود واشهد ان لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له ولا شبيه له الذي تقدس ذاته عن زمن معدود ... هذا اول كتاب مولد المصطفى عليه السلام الله آدن ذكر ادالم اولا واجب الدر جمله اشده هر قولا ..."

Explicit:

"كردلر سز بولسز اددن نجات عشقلادر ديله ايدك الصلات ... تنكردن يزبك درود يله سلام مصطفانك روحنه هر صبح شام اولسون آلينه دقى اصحابنه تابعين انصار وهم احبابنه امتندن راضى اولسون اول معين رحمة الله عليهم اجمعين"

Colophon:

Can you help transcribe the colophon? Please comment!

Dedication:

Can you help transcribe the dedication? Please comment!

Contents:

1. p.1-p.107 : Vesîletüʼn-necat / Süleyman Çelebi.
2. p.108-p.111 : Medh-i Mustafa.
3. p.112-p.121 : [further verses, ending with "كيم سليمان بلرسه بو وقتى مصطفاكيب مصطفى السر"].

Physical Details:

Collation:

V-1 (9), 4 V(49), IV+1 (58), I+1 (61) ; chiefly quinions ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.

Layout:

Written mainly in 9 lines per page, divided to two columns to set off poetry ; section headings centered ; frame-ruled.

Script:

Naskh ; elegant Turkish hand ; mainly serifless (though left-sloping barbed head-serif appears on alif of lām-alif ligature), quite rounded with curvilinear descenders, some sweeping tails, very slight effect of tilt to the left, almost fully vocalized, گ represented by ك with three dots ; text of pp.108-121 supplied in at least two different hands.

Decoration:

Fine illuminated frontispiece (pp.2-3) in double-page illumination carries the title and opening with upper and lower panels carrying the title and supplication for the Prophet ("كتاب وسيله النجات في مولد اشرف الموجودات عليه افضل الصلوات واكمل التحيات"), mainly in gold thuluth set in cloud bands of blue and red though the opening panel carries the first part of the title on a field of blue (approaching cobalt or lapis lazuli) overlaid with swirling vegetal decoration (arabesque) in orange and white, surmounted by a length of arabesque (black, orange-red and gold) and vertical stalks (tīgh), and flanked by a roundel (ansa) partly lost ; entire written area of frontispiece surrounded by a frame consisting of gold bands and blue rules and basmalah also chrysographed ; keywords (الله، محمد، الخ) and section headings throughout text chrysographed or rubricated ; overlining and abbreviation symbols in red.

Support:

non-European (likely Arab) laid paper with 8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal) and chain lines grouped in threes with 9-10 mm. between chains and 41-47 mm. between groups (see p.28, 30, etc.), cloudy formation, quite sturdy, burnished ; much staining and tide lines ; many repairs including fills at edges of leaves and guards in manuscript "waste" (recycled paper) ; pp.117-122 on replacement leaves of different non-European paper with no chain lines visible.

Binding:

Pasteboards faced in marbled paper with dark brown leather over spine, foreedge flap, and edges/turn-ins (marbled paper faced leather edged framed binding) ; Type II binding (with flap, though now lost) ; board linings in laid paper ; sewn in red thread, two stations ; endbands gone apart from traces of primaries sewn through spine lining ; overall in extremely poor condition with significant losses of leather and paper, severe abrasion and pest damage, moisture damage, flap lost, spine lining exposed, etc. ; housed in box for protection.

Former Shelfmarks:

"247 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" and "242" inscribed in pencil on interior of upper cover.

Origin:

Lacks formal dated colophon ; paper, decoration, etc. certainly suggest 15th century.

Ownership and History:

Fairly clean copy.

Contributor(s) / Included work(s):

Medh-i Mustafaمدح مصطفى عليه الصلوة والسلام

Scribe(s):

Unidentified-Can you help supply this information? Please comment!

Former Owner(s):

Abdülhamid II, Sultan of the Turks, 1842-1918, former owner.

In Collection:

Abdul Hamid Collection.

References:

Cat. Turk. MSS. Brit. Mus.,p. 240