About The Product

This calligraphic arrangement of the Hilya Sharif originated in Ottoman times by the scholar and master calligrapher Hafiz Osman. Hilya (Hilye in Turkish) literally means "ornament" and is understood as “a beautiful description”.

The Hilya is a written description of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and it originates from shama'il, the study of Muhammad's ﷺ appearance and character. The best source on this subject is considered to be Imam Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il al-Muhamadiyyah wa al-Khasa'il al-Mustafawiyyah, "The Sublime Characteristics of Muhammad".  The Hilya has historically been displayed in a prominent place in Muslim households throughout the world. 

THE COMPONENTS OF THE HILYA SHARIF:

• The basmala, “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate” at the top

• A large central disc, typically containing the description of the Prophet ﷺ found in hadith 7 of the Shama’il

• Four smaller discs containing the names of the four rightly-guided caliphs

• A verse of the Qur’an containing a description of the Prophet ﷺ, often verse 21:107 or 68:4, below the discs

• The remainder of the text of hadith 7 of the Shama’il at the bottom, followed by prayers and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ

The embellishment and ornamentation of the Hilya Sharif also take on many different forms & styles.

In his discussion of the Hilya, and of the Shama’il in general, Shaykh Aslam repeatedly, emphatically stresses the importance of remembering the Prophet ﷺ while at home:

"Once [the Prophet] ﷺ becomes the one who is most spoken about, most remembered, most revered, and most praised in our homes, we will find that our homes become a different place. We will find that within our homes, we have Gardens of Paradise."

In this present time, we believe it is particularly important to revive the practice of displaying the Hilya Sharif in our homes.

Perhaps the terrible events of recent times, related to deliberately offensive depictions of Allah’s noble Messenger ﷺ, can serve as a catalyst for Muslims across the world to revive this practice, of connecting to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ through the beautiful word-portrait of the Hilya Sharif.

Calligraphy by: Shahryanshah Sirjuddin
Islamic Illumination: Ayşe Gülcan Özbalak
Style: Celi Sülüs ve Nesih/ /Thuluth Jali and Naskh Scripts
Date: 1442 H/ 2021 M