The Pilgrims' Companion - by Qaisra M Khan (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A long-awaited translation of a wonderfully illustrated 17th-century pilgrimage guide, offering unique insights into the Hajj, maritime travel and Indian Ocean ports, and encounters with Muslims across diverse nations and societies.

The Khalili Anīs al-Ḥujjāj (Pilgrims' Companion) presents a ground-breaking new exploration of Safi ibn Vali Qazwini's richly illustrated manuscript dating from 1676-77. This beautifully produced volume, with a scholarly introduction by Qaisra M. Khan and translation by Michael Burns, documents the author's year-long journey to Mecca and Medina from Mughal India via the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.

Commissioned by Zeb un-Nisa, the daughter of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, this delightfully vivid account belongs to a long-established tradition of guides to the Holy Sanctuaries. It gives comprehensive advice to prospective pilgrims on every aspect of the maritime journey, such as which ships to select, the best foods to consume, rituals to observe, significant places to visit and the people one might encounter.

This volume extensively explores the original manuscript's detailed illustrations and text, providing an invaluable window into 17th-century religious practices, maritime travel, and the cultural landscape of the Indian Ocean world.

About the Author

Qaisra M. Khan is a Curator of Islamic Art, specializing in the Arts of Pilgrimage. She holds a degree in Law from Cambridge University and an MPhil in Oriental Studies, also from Cambridge. After several years in financial consulting, she transitioned to the arts, earning an MA in Islamic Art and Architecture from SOAS, University of London. Her career includes working at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, before joining the British Museum as Project Curator for the acclaimed exhibition Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam (2012). She has also consulted on projects with museums worldwide. Since 2015, she has been the Curator of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage at the Khalili Collection in London. Her publications include Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage (Assouline, 2022) and Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage: Essays in Honour of Nasser David Khalili (Gingko, 2023). She also co-curated the exhibition William Morris and Art from the Islamic World (Spring 2025), the first exhibition to explore the influence of Islamic art on William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Qaisra has lectured extensively and appeared on various broadcast platforms, contributing to the global discourse on Islamic Art. Michael Burns is a translator and researcher specializing in Arabic and Persian. Through his practice, Lisān, he works across classical literature and contemporary Middle Eastern politics, with a particular interest in poetic translation and the cosmopolitan mobility of people, texts and ideas. He holds a degree in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics. Alongside translation, he contributes to the research and delivery of heritage and cultural projects, particularly those engaging with Yemen. Anīs al-Ḥujjāj is his first full-length published translation.