What is the Blessed Hilye Sharif (Hilya Sharif)?
The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said;*
“He who sees my hilye after me, it is as if he had actually seen me, and he who sees it out of love and desire for me, Allah will forbid the fire of Hell to touch him; he will be safe from the trials of the grave, and he will not be sent forth naked on the day of resurrection.”* — Al-Tirmidh
The most famous hilye texts, of course, are those that characterize the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.In Turkish they are called Hilye-i Saadet (the Hilye of Felicity), Hilye-i Serif (the Noble Hilye), and Hilye-i Nebevi (the Prophetic Hilye).The most popular of these texts for calligraphers is one related by *Ali ibn Abi Talib*, which I translate as follows:
Transmitted from Ali [son-in-law of the Prophet], may God be pleased with him, who, when asked to describe the Prophet, peace be upon him, would say:
He was not too tall nor too short. He was medium sized. His hair was not short and curly, nor was it lank, but in between. His face was not narrow, nor was it fully round, but there was a roundness to it. His skin was white. His eyes were black. He had long eyelashes. He was big-boned and had wide shoulders.He had no body hair except in the middle of his chest. He had thick hands and feet. When he walked, he walked inclined, as if descending a slope. When he looked at someone, he looked at them in full face.Between his shoulders was the seal of prophecy, the sign that he was the last of the prophets. He was the most generous-hearted of men, the most truthful of them in speech, the most mild-tempered of them, and the noblest of them in lineage.Whoever saw him unexpectedly was in awe of him. And whoever associated with him familiarly, loved him. Anyone who would describe him would say, I never saw, before him or after him, the like of him. Peace be upon him.
The most comprehensive hilye text is found in the great work on the Prophet by Al-Qadi Iyad (d. 1149). Here it is, in its fullest version:...http://hilya.co.uk/.../what-is-the-blessed-hilye-sharif.../