Pankajglobal at 14:52, 30 April 2026

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{{Short description|17th-century literary work by Safi ibn Vali}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage mss-1025-2b.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Illustration from the ''Anis Al-Hujjaj'' showing the port of [[Surat]], [[Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage]]]]
The '''''Anis Al-Hujjaj''''' (''Pilgrim's Companion,'' also transcribed ''Anis ul-Hujjaj'') is a seventeenth-century literary work by Safi ibn Vali, an official of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] court in what is now [[India]]. Written in [[Persian language|Persian]], it describes the [[Hajj]] (the [[Five Pillars of Islam|pillar of Islam]] which is the pilgrimage to [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]) undertaken by him in 1677 [[Anno Domini|AD]] ([[Hijri year|AH]] 1088) and it gives advice to pilgrims. Its illustrations depict pilgrims travelling to the holy sites and taking part in the rituals of the Hajj.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Nassar|first=Nahla|date=2020|title=The Anis al-Hujjaj ('Pilgrims' Companion') of Safi ibn Vali|url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;uk;Mus22;27;en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-25|website=Explore Islamic Art Collections}}</ref> They are also a visual guide to significant places and people.

== Summary ==
Ibn Vali was an official in the court of the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name=":0" /> His Hajj was financially supported by [[Zeb-un-Nissa]], eldest child of Aurangzeb, after ibn Vali wrote for her a commentary on the [[Quran]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC&pg=PA148|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|date=2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3|location=|pages=154|language=en}}</ref><ref name="khalili_first">{{Cite book|title=Holy Makkah: a Celebration of Unity|last=Khalili|first=Nasser|publisher=FIRST|year=2017|isbn=9780995728141|location=London|pages=|chapter=A History of the Hajj in Ten Objects|author-link=Nasser Khalili|url-status=dead|url=http://firstforum.org/DownloadSpecialReportDetail.13677.ashx|access-date=2020-12-16|archive-date=2022-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406190005/http://firstforum.org/DownloadSpecialReportDetail.13677.ashx}}</ref> He had also, in 1665, written a universal history.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Hadi|first=Nabi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjJmzdJFOHwC&pg=PA529|title=Dictionary of Indo-Persian Literature|date=1995|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-311-3|location=|pages=529|language=en}}</ref> After his Hajj, he returned to his job in the court and continued his scholarship into old age.<ref name=":4" />
[[File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage MSS 1025 f3b CROP.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Pilgrims travelling in a ship across the [[Gulf of Oman|Sea of Oman]]<ref name="rogers" />]]
Ibn Vali set out from [[Delhi]] in September 1676, reaching the port of [[Mocha, Yemen]] in January 1677 and continuing with a caravan of other pilgrims.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iftikhar A.|date=1 January 2012|title=A Hajj Pilgrim's Travelogue and Manual: The Sea Traveller 1676-1677|url=|journal=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society|volume=60|issue=1|pages=7–12|via=}}</ref> The sea journey from India to the Arabian Peninsula would have taken about 25 days.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Agius|first=Dionisius A.|title=The Hajj: collected essays|publisher=British Museum|year=2013|isbn=978-0-86159-193-0|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Venetia|location=London|page=86|chapter=Ships that Sailed the Red Sea in Medieval and Early Modern Islam: Perception and Reception|oclc=857109543|editor-last2=Saif|editor-first2=Liana}}</ref> The book has advice about travelling on ships across the [[Indian Ocean]], starting with advice on choosing a ship.<ref name="MahmalRevisited" /> It recommends that each ship should have a ''tabib'' (physician) and a [[Bloodletting|blood-letter]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Abhay Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA659|title=Modern World System and Indian Proto-industrialization: Bengal 1650-1800|date=2006|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=978-81-7211-201-1|location=|pages=659|language=en}}</ref> Pilgrims are advised to carry their own water in earthen pots, as the water available on ship tasted unpleasant.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lambourn|first=Elizabeth A.|title=The "Simple" Bare Necessities: On Water and Rice|date=2018|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abrahams-luggage/simple-bare-necessities-on-water-and-rice/31B6BB096B84BAC9056D9B59834CB565|work=Abraham's Luggage: A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World|volume=|page=173|editor-last=|editor-first=|series=Asian Connections|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781316795453.006|isbn=978-1-107-17388-0|access-date=2020-11-17|url-access=subscription}}</ref> If they did not have their own water, they could make the ship's water palatable by adding [[Pomegranate juice|pomegranate syrup]] or the juice of soured fruit.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lambourn|first=Elizabeth A.|title=The Balanced Body: On Vinegar and Other Sour Foods|date=2018|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abrahams-luggage/balanced-body-on-vinegar-and-other-sour-foods/A13A99723A8D26CE83EFA45D89445D4C|work=Abraham's Luggage: A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World|volume=|pages=237|editor-last=|editor-first=|series=Asian Connections|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781316795453.008|isbn=978-1-107-17388-0|access-date=2020-11-17|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The book recommends that travellers should stay close to the main mast and away from the outer side of the deck, in order to avoid [[sea-sickness]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Disease, Morbidity and Mortality in the Indian Ocean World, 1500-1800|last=Singh|first=Abhay Kumar|editor-last=Sharma|editor-first=Yogesh|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTTGWSme30YC&pg=PA131|title=Coastal Histories: Society and Ecology in Pre-modern India|date=2010|publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-93-80607-00-9|location=|pages=131|language=en}}</ref> It describes in detail the places visited by ibn Vali and the rituals of the Hajj.<ref name="MahmalRevisited" /> These included visits to holy places where the pilgrims shaved their hair, made sacrifices, and performed the [[stoning of the Devil]].<ref name=":0" />

== Surviving exemplars ==
There are manuscripts of the ''Anis'' in the [[Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage]],<ref name="catalogue" /> in the Royal Armoury in [[Lucknow]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Naz |first1=Humera |title=History in the Guise of Hajj Safarnamas (the Hajj Narratives): An Appraisal of the Musafire-Hejaz (a mid-twentieth century hajj pilgrim's travelogue and manual, compiled in Sindh-Pakistan) |journal=Pakistan Perspective |date=2016 |volume=21 |issue=1 |url=https://journal.psc.edu.pk/index.php/pp/article/view/92 |accessdate=17 November 2020 |language=en |issn=2707-899X}}</ref> and in the [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya]] in Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-11|title=Futuh Al-Haramayn : a pilgrim's guide to Hajj {{!}} National Museum New Delhi|url=https://www.theheritagelab.in/futuh-al-haramayn-pilgrims-guide-to-hajj/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=The Heritage Lab|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Illustrations ==
While there are other pilgrims' guides that illustrate the pilgrimage and its locations diagrammatically, the ''Anis Al-Hujjaj'' is distinctive for also including colourful depictions of the pilgrims themselves.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="rogers" />

The Khalili exemplar (accession number MSS 1025), thought to originate from [[Gujarat]] between 1677 and 1680, consists of 23 [[Folio#Page numbering|folios]] including nine half-page and eleven full-page illustrations.<ref name=":0" /> The text is in [[nastaliq]] script, with 23 lines per page.<ref name="catalogue" /> The Khalili manuscript includes labelled depictions of places including [[Surat]], [[Mocha, Yemen|Mocha]], [[Jeddah]] and [[Mina, Saudi Arabia|Mina]].<ref name=":3" /> The maps of these towns show buildings which are still identifiable today.<ref name=":3" /> The illustrations also depict shrines around Mecca, some of which no longer exist. These include birthplaces of [[Muhammad]], of his daughter [[Fatimah]], and of his companion [[Abu Bakr|Abu Bakr al Siddiq]].<ref name=":3" /> The convention for maps in the ''Anis'' is that the top of the page represents the direction in which pilgrims are travelling.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=King|first=Geoffrey|date=December 2011|title=Mukhâ' (Mocha), Jidda and Makka Al-Mukarrama: Urban Mapping in the Anis Al-Hujjâj Ms. in The Nasser D. Khalili Collection|url=https://staging.nla.ae/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=3efbb5de-e952-d4d0-1387-51c96d218c20&groupId=20121#page=5|journal=Liwa (Journal of the National Center for Documentation and Research)|volume=3|issue=6|pages=3–4|issn=1729-9039}}</ref>

The illustrations show ships carrying pilgrims from the port of Surat on the Indian subcontinent, crossing the [[Gulf of Oman|Sea of Oman]], and arriving at Jeddah on the Arabian Peninsula. At Jeddah, smaller boats are shown which would have conveyed passengers between the large ships and the port.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Agius|first=Dionisius A.|url=|title=The Hajj: collected essays|publisher=British Museum|year=2013|isbn=978-0-86159-193-0|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Venetia|location=London|page=93|chapter=Ships that Sailed the Red Sea in Medieval and Early Modern Islam: Perception and Reception|oclc=857109543|editor-last2=Saif|editor-first2=Liana}}</ref> Another folio of the Khalili manuscript shows a pilgrim caravan, including its [[amir al-hajj]] ("commander of the pilgrimage"), named as Abdi Pasha, and ahead of him the [[mahmal]], an empty litter carried on a camel with each pilgrim caravan from [[Egypt]]. Sources differ on whether anything was carried within the mahmal, with some sources saying it was kept empty, although in ibn Vali's illustration it contains a Quran on a stand.<ref name="MahmalRevisited">{{Cite book|last=Porter|first=Venetia|title=The Hajj: collected essays|publisher=British Museum|year=2013|isbn=978-0-86159-193-0|editor-last=Porter|editor-first=Venetia|location=London|page=199|chapter=The Mahmal Revisited|oclc=857109543|editor-last2=Saif|editor-first2=Liana}}</ref> The illustrations also show the [[Sharif]] Barakat, ruler of the sanctuaries, meeting an emissary of the Ottoman sultan [[Mehmed IV]].<ref name=":0" /> The pilgrims converging on Mecca included groups from North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Iran, India and the [[Arabian Desert]]; the ''Anis'' shows their camps.<ref name=":0" /> At [[Muzdalifah]], pilgrims are shown collecting pebbles. Then at [[Mina, Saudi Arabia|Mina]] they throw the pebbles in the ritual of ''ramy al-jamarāt'' ([[stoning of the Devil]]).<ref name=":0" />

<gallery heights="200">
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 10b.jpg|Pilgrims in [[Mina, Saudi Arabia|Mina]], being shaved, making sacrifices and stoning the Devil<ref name="catalogue">{{Cite web|title=Safi ibn Vali's Anis al-Hujjaj ('Pilgrims' Companion')|url=https://www.khalilicollections.org/collections/hajj-and-the-arts-of-pilgrimage/khalili-collection-hajj-and-the-arts-of-pilgrimage-safi-ibn-valis-anis-al-hujjaj-mss1025/|access-date=2021-06-01|website=Khalili Collections|language=en-US}}</ref>
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 11b.jpg|The birthplaces of the Prophet Muhammad; of Fatimah; of Abu Bak al-Siddiq; as well as the Madrasah of [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], and a [[Bektashi order|Bektashi]] lodge <ref name="rogers">{{cite book| first=J. M. |last=Rogers|authorlink=J. M. Rogers| title=The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection| year=2010| pages= 284–7|publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=9780500515549| oclc=1000710554}}</ref>
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 15a.jpg|Camp of the North African pilgrim caravan<ref name="rogers" />
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 17a.jpg|Camps of the Indian (top) and Iranian pilgrim caravans<ref name="rogers" />
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 18b.jpg|The [[Amir al-Hajj]] of the Egyptian caravan riding from Mecca to Medina with the [[mahmal]]<ref name="catalogue" />
File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 21a.jpg|Pilgrim ships leaving the port of [[Mocha, Yemen]] for India<ref name="rogers" />
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{commons category|Anis al-Hujjaj}}
* [[Mughal painting]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.khalilicollections.org/collections/hajj-and-the-arts-of-pilgrimage/khalili-collection-hajj-and-the-arts-of-pilgrimage-safi-ibn-valis-anis-al-hujjaj-mss1025/ Safi ibn Vali’s Anis al-Hujjaj (‘Pilgrims’ Companion’)], Khalili Collections online catalogue

[[Category:1670s in India]]
[[Category:1670s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:1677 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1680 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1680s in India]]
[[Category:1680s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:17th century in Delhi]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:17th-century Persian books]]
[[Category:Hajj accounts]]
[[Category:Hajj pilgrimage from India]]
[[Category:History of Jeddah]]
[[Category:History of Mecca]]
[[Category:History of Medina]]
[[Category:History of Surat]]
[[Category:Indian manuscripts]]
[[Category:Indian painting]]
[[Category:Indian religious texts]]
[[Category:Indian travel books]]
[[Category:Islamic illuminated manuscripts]]
[[Category:Islamic studies books]]
[[Category:Khalili Collections]]
[[Category:Mughal art]]
[[Category:Persian-language literature]]
[[Category:Works set at sea]]

Anis Al-Hujjaj - Revision history

Pankajglobal at 14:52, 30 April 2026