Hilye-i şerif show ends with ceremony

ISTANBUL - Agence France-Presse

“Ask-ı Nebi and Zikir Taneleri,” the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center’s exhibition of hilye – calligraphy illuminations of religious Ottoman literature – closed on Feb. 5 with a ceremony.

The exhibition, which opened on Jan. 26, also featured Ottoman-era rosaries made of many precious materials like ivory, amber and coral as well as contemporary rosaries made of fish teeth, ivory and rhino horn.

During the closing event, Directorate of Religious Affairs President Mehmet Görmez said religion in the world needed more love and elegance.

The exhibition’s collection is known as “hilye-i şerif” (noble description), hilye-i saadet (description of felicity) or “hilye-i nebevi” (the prophetic description) and describes the physical and spiritual features of the Prophet Muhammad as well as his behavior. The pieces compiled what scholars of the period wrote about the Prophet Muhammad’s characteristics and physical appearance and have an important place in Islamic literature.