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About this Item

Title

  • Qur'anic Verses

Created / Published

  • 12th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iraq
  • -  Arabic calligraphy
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Kufi

Notes

  • -  Qur'anic verses 9-24 of the 72nd chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-Jinn (The Spirits), written in the Kufi script, New Style, during 12th cent.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 13 (w) x 22.2 (h) cm
  • -  Keep in remembrance the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him wholeheartedly. (73:8).
  • -  Other verse markers within the text consist of gold 6-petalled flowers dotted with red and black circles. The name of God (Allah) is consistently written in gold ink and outlined in black for visual emphasis. Recitation notes known as "signs for stopping" ('alamat al-waqf) have been added in red ink; these marks allow the reader to determine the pace of his reading.
  • -  Surat al-Jinn is a late Meccan surah containing 28 verses that describe the right path of the believer. Surat al-Muzzammil describes prayer and humility:
  • -  The chapter heading of Surat al-Muzzammil is written in gold ink at the center of the folio and states that the surah consists of 19 verses (rather than the accepted 20 in Qur'ans of today). The next 7 verses of this surah continue unproblematically until verse 7, where a mistake in transcription has occurred. To compensate for the error, the scribe has inserted a band of decorative scrollwork that otherwise bears no structural function within the text. Marginal decorations on the left include a finial to demarcate the chapter heading, as well as a round blue and gold medallion inscribed with the term 'ashar (ten) to mark the surah's tenth verse. Two other round medallions on the folio's recto mark off verses 10 and 20 of Surat al-Jinn.
  • -  The text is executed in Kufi script on a beige sheet of paper rather than on parchment. The script is in New Style I typical of vertical Qur'ans produced on paper during the 12th century (Déroche 1992, 181-183, cat. no. 98).
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes verses 9-24 of the 72nd chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-Jinn (The Spirits), as well as the chapter heading and first 11 verses of the 73rd chapter of the Qur'an called Surat al-Muzzammil (The Enfolded One). Another folio (AL-3) from the same Qur'an in the collections of the Library of Congress also contains verses 17-29 of the 48th chapter of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-Fath (The Victory).
  • -  Script: Kufi
  • -  AL-2

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 19.7 (w) x 30.2 (h) cm

Repository

  • Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714712

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The contents of the Library of Congress Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions and are free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, African and Middle East Division, Near East Section Persian Manuscript Collection

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 12th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714712/.

APA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 12th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714712/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 12th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714712/>.