The Hadith and Shamail Books

The subject matter of the hadith and shamail books is the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his sunnah. While most of them are not written as calligraphic or artistic works, there are many of them that have been written by expert calligraphers, and therefore have an artistic value. For example, these works include, among others, the eight-volume Sahih al-Bukhari (TSMK, Hirka-i saadet, no. 39) written by the calligrapher Hasan Riza Efendi on the directives of Sultan Mehmed Resad for the purpose of being read in the Sultan's Hirka-i Saadet Office, the Gayetu't- tavzih li'l- Cami'i's -sahih (TSMK, III. Ahmed, no. 384), written by the royal calligrapher Abdullah Vefai in a beautiful nesih style, and the famous calligrapher Muhsinzade Abdullah Efendi's Sifa-i Serif, written on the directives of Sultan Abdulhamid II, Sheikh Hamdullah's Mesabihu's-sunne (TSMK, III. Ahmed no. 278) and Mesariku'l-envari'l- nebeviyye (Suleymaniye library, Ayasofya, no. 898).

On the other hand, the famous hadith that promises a reward on the Day of Judgment for those who memorize forty hadiths from Prophet Muhammad has led, since the very beginning of Islam, to the edition of collections of forty hadiths in both prose and verse forms. Among these, we can cite the Kitabu Nefahati'l-‘abiri's -sari (TSMK, III. Ahmed, no. 567), and Mevahibu' l-aziziyye (TSMK, Medine, no. 321) both written by Hasan Uskudari, a royal calligrapher and one of the best-known artists of his time.

Another kind of calligraphic works that has received great attention from Muslims are the shamail books, whose subject matter is the life-style of Prophet Muhammad and his behavior; these have been accepted as the best example for Muslims. Some of these include, among others, Serh-i Semail-i Tırmidhi (commentary on the shamail of Tirmidhi) (TSMK III. Ahmed, no. 458) and selected couplets from the Hilye-i Hakanî written in the taliq style, which were collected as albums, by such leading figures of Turkish calligraphic tradition - that is, the main tradition in Islamic calligraphy - as Mehmed Esad Yesari, Yesdarizade Mustafa Izzet, Omer Vasfi and Aziz Efendi. ² To these should also be added the calligraphic booklets that contain prayers and blessings for Prophet Muhammad; the calligraphic quality, as well as the gilding and bindings of these shine out as beautiful examples of calligraphy. These can be found in different museums and libraries all over the world.