A guide to happiness

A copy of the Islamic prayer-book the Dalāʼil al-khayrāt, or Guide to happiness. This particular copy is a prayer-book meant for travelling, probably across desert regions. The unbound sheets of paper are wrapped in animal skin covers and carried in a leather satchel to prevent the sacred word from coming into contact with the ground or other unclean surfaces.

Jazūlī, Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān (d. 1465)
Dalāʼil al-khayrāt 
West Africa, nineteenth century

MS Add.3500

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