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About this Item

Title

  • Ijazah (diploma)

Names

  • Ali Ra'if Efendi

Created / Published

  • 1206/1791

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Turkey
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Naskh
  • -  Thuluth

Notes

  • -  An "ijazah", or diploma of competency in Arabic calligraphy, was written by 'Ali Ra'if Efendi in 1206/1791.
  • -  Dimensions of Sheet: 28 (w) x 21 (h) cm
  • -  For further information on ijazah practices, see F. Déroche, "Maîtres et disciples: la transmision de la culture calligraphique dans le monde musulman," Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Méditerranée 75-6 (1996): 81-90 and U. Derman, "Turk yazi san'atinda icazetnameler ve teklid yazilar," VII. Turk Tarih Kongresi (Ankara, 1973): 716-28.
  • -  In the two lowermost panels appear the signed approvals of two master calligraphers, Mustafa al-Halimi and Husayn Hamid (Selim 1979, 173), dated 1206/1791. Each section of writing appears on a separate piece of differently colored paper, illuminated with gold and dimpled with a stylus for reflection.
  • -  Secret charity quenches the wrath of the Lord. / The best of you is the best for his family. / The best of the followers is Uways.
  • -  The official function of the ijazah consists in giving a student the authority to sign his own calligraphic works with expressions such as katabahu (written by) and hararahu (composed by), thus allowing him to become independent and take on pupils of his own. In order to receive the diploma, the student had to transcribe or copy (taqlid) several lines of calligraphy that had to be approved by one or more co-signatory master calligraphers (Safwat 1996, 40). In some cases, the ijazah may include the calligrapher's chain of teachers (silsilah or sanad) reaching all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad himself (Gacek 1989: 44-55). In the Ottoman tradition especially, the calligraphic diploma (icazetname) was a well established practice linking, in an almost genealogical fashion, a student (talabah) to his teacher (hoca).
  • -  This ijazah, or diploma of competency in Arabic calligraphy, was written by 'Ali Ra'if Efendi in 1206/1791. The top and middle panels contain a Saying (Hadith) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. It reads:
  • -  Script: thuluth and naskh
  • -  1-88-154.129

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 28 (w) x 21 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714485

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ali Ra'If Efendi. Ijazah Diploma. /1791, 1791. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714485/.

APA citation style:

Ali Ra'If Efendi. (1791) Ijazah Diploma. /1791. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714485/.

MLA citation style:

Ali Ra'If Efendi. Ijazah Diploma. /1791, 1791. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714485/>.