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Hajj power of attorney document
(وثيقة توكيل بالحج)

Title	Hajj power of attorney document
Title Original	وثيقة توكيل بالحج
Author	Umm Abbas, wife of Ghalib.
Publication Date:	Year 602 / 1206
Publication Place	- Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
Subject	A thinly laminated paper (abadi) drawn and written by hand, using ink and watercolour.
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	القطعة رقم 4737: الارتفاع: 55 سم؛ العرض: 26.5 سم؛ القطعة رقم 4746: الارتفاع: 51 سم؛ العرض: 26.5 سم
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID	4737, 4746
Record ID	object;ISL;tr;Mus01;7;ar
Library Location	Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
Date	Year 602 / 1206
Notes	A power of attorney document for Hajj, handwritten, colored and drawn on expensive yellow glossy paper, known as “al-abadi”. The paper is torn, and its title has been lost, as has the part containing the basmala (the formula “In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”). The first fragment of this document includes a pair of standard forms (emblems) bearing the name of the contemporary Abbasid caliph, Al-Nasir (r. 575-622 / 1180-1225); This formula is still partially intact in the right section of the piece. Under this logo there is a colored drawing of Mount Arafat surrounded by two candlesticks, and underneath it there are also illustrations of the Maqam of Abraham, the stone associated with the Prophet Abraham, and the water wells. Further down, there is a drawing of Muzdalifah, where pilgrims spend a night, and this is part of the duties of Hajj. Followed by Mina, which is considered the third most important site for pilgrims. The spaces between the drawings were filled with writings explaining the requirements of Hajj rituals. It is unfortunate that the drawing of the Kaaba was not included in this document. The second piece of the document shows illustrations of Safa and Marwah (two sites visited by pilgrims in Mecca), Medina (where pilgrims visit the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad), the city of Jerusalem, which pilgrims usually visit after performing the Hajj to Mecca and Medina, and finally a picture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This power of attorney document was prepared for a woman named Umm Abbas, Ghalib’s wife. The person who performed the Hajj pilgrimage on her behalf was Ahmed bin Fadl Al-Andalusi. The document was completed in the year 602/1206. In the Middle Ages, it was difficult for people, especially women, to undertake the Hajj journey. Therefore, people who were going on Hajj, as well as those who were sending someone on their behalf, wanted to keep certificates confirming that they had visited the holy places and performed all the rituals of the Hajj (perhaps in order to leave these documents for later generations). These Hajj certificates and authorizations are considered valuable documents because they show Hajj rituals, depict holy places, and provide information about social life in that period.
Sample Text	Şule Aksoy “Hajj Power of Attorney Document” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tr;Mus01;7;ar
Bu sayfanın künyesi	Prepared by:Şule AKSOYŞule Aksoy is Vice Director of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul. She was born in Istanbul in 1947. She graduated from the Department of History and Art History of the Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University in 1970. She has been working at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul since 1967, first as an expert, then as the Head of the Manuscripts Department until 2003, when she became Vice Director. She has participated in numerous projects and exhibitions organised by the museum and is the author of various publications.
Seçili bibliyografya	Aksoy, Ş., and Milstein, R., “A Collection of Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Hajj Certificates”,M. Uğur Derman 65th Birthday Festschrift, Istanbul, 2000, pp.73–134.ölçer, N.et al, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, 2002, pp.80–81.

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Museum With No Frontiers

Hajj power of attorney document

(وثيقة توكيل بالحج)

Author Umm Abbas, wife of Ghalib.

Publication Date Year 602 / 1206

Publication Place - Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

Subject A thinly laminated paper (abadi) drawn and written by hand, using ink and watercolour.

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions القطعة رقم 4737: الارتفاع: 55 سم؛ العرض: 26.5 سم؛ القطعة رقم 4746: الارتفاع: 51 سم؛ العرض: 26.5 سم

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Library Asset ID 4737, 4746

Record ID object;ISL;tr;Mus01;7;ar

Library Location Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

Date Year 602 / 1206

Notes A power of attorney document for Hajj, handwritten, colored and drawn on expensive yellow glossy paper, known as “al-abadi”. The paper is torn, and its title has been lost, as has the part containing the basmala (the formula “In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”). The first fragment of this document includes a pair of standard forms (emblems) bearing the name of the contemporary Abbasid caliph, Al-Nasir (r. 575-622 / 1180-1225); This formula is still partially intact in the right section of the piece. Under this logo there is a colored drawing of Mount Arafat surrounded by two candlesticks, and underneath it there are also illustrations of the Maqam of Abraham, the stone associated with the Prophet Abraham, and the water wells. Further down, there is a drawing of Muzdalifah, where pilgrims spend a night, and this is part of the duties of Hajj. Followed by Mina, which is considered the third most important site for pilgrims. The spaces between the drawings were filled with writings explaining the requirements of Hajj rituals. It is unfortunate that the drawing of the Kaaba was not included in this document. The second piece of the document shows illustrations of Safa and Marwah (two sites visited by pilgrims in Mecca), Medina (where pilgrims visit the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad), the city of Jerusalem, which pilgrims usually visit after performing the Hajj to Mecca and Medina, and finally a picture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This power of attorney document was prepared for a woman named Umm Abbas, Ghalib’s wife. The person who performed the Hajj pilgrimage on her behalf was Ahmed bin Fadl Al-Andalusi. The document was completed in the year 602/1206. In the Middle Ages, it was difficult for people, especially women, to undertake the Hajj journey. Therefore, people who were going on Hajj, as well as those who were sending someone on their behalf, wanted to keep certificates confirming that they had visited the holy places and performed all the rituals of the Hajj (perhaps in order to leave these documents for later generations). These Hajj certificates and authorizations are considered valuable documents because they show Hajj rituals, depict holy places, and provide information about social life in that period.

Sample Text Şule Aksoy “Hajj Power of Attorney Document” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;tr;Mus01;7;ar

Bu sayfanın künyesi Prepared by:Şule AKSOYŞule Aksoy is Vice Director of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul. She was born in Istanbul in 1947. She graduated from the Department of History and Art History of the Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University in 1970. She has been working at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul since 1967, first as an expert, then as the Head of the Manuscripts Department until 2003, when she became Vice Director. She has participated in numerous projects and exhibitions organised by the museum and is the author of various publications.

Seçili bibliyografya Aksoy, Ş., and Milstein, R., “A Collection of Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Hajj Certificates”,M. Uğur Derman 65th Birthday Festschrift, Istanbul, 2000, pp.73–134.ölçer, N.et al, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Istanbul, 2002, pp.80–81.