Anis Al-Hujjaj

Ibn Vali was an official in the court of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He had also, in 1665, written a universal history. After his Hajj, he returned to his job in the court and continued his scholarship into old age. The sea journey from India to the Arabian Peninsula would have taken about 25 days. The book has advice about travelling on ships across the Indian Ocean, starting with advice on choosing a ship. Pilgrims are advised to carry their own water in earthen pots, as the water available on ship tasted unpleasant. If they did not have their own water, they could make the ship's water palatable by adding pomegranate syrup or the juice of soured fruit. 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. It describes in detail the places visited by ibn Vali and the rituals of the Hajj. These included visits to holy places where the pilgrims shaved their hair, made sacrifices, and performed the stoning of the Devil. == Surviving exemplars ==

There are manuscripts of the Anis in the Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage, and in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai. == 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. The illustrations show ships carrying pilgrims from the port of Surat on the Indian subcontinent, crossing the 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. 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. The illustrations also show the Sharif Barakat, ruler of the sanctuaries, meeting an emissary of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed IV. 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 lodge File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 15a.jpg|Camp of the North African pilgrim caravan File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 17a.jpg|Camps of the Indian (top) and Iranian pilgrim caravans 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 File:Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage Mss 1025 fol 21a.jpg|Pilgrim ships leaving the port of Mocha, Yemen for India == See also ==