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Manuscript/Mixed Material Qur'anic verses (9:33-36)

About this Item

Title

  • Qur'anic verses (9:33-36)

Created / Published

  • 15th century

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Qur'anic verses in the Masahif style of Arabic calligraphic writing.
  • -  In the upper left corner of the folio appears a section (hizb) marker, consisting of gold and blue concentric circles, blue finials on its perimeter, and the word hizb written in its center (see Selim 1979, 155). The ayah marker that appears in the center of the uppermost line consists of a flower with petals, outlined in dark brown ink, provided with a red center, and filled in with gold leaf. Various diacritical marks, such as the prolonged initial "a" sound (alif maddah) and the glottal stop (al-hamzah), are marked in red ink and seem to have been added at a later date to facilitate the pronunciation and recitation of the Qur'an.
  • -  Recto: Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.7 (w) x 14.8 (h) cm. Verso: Dimensions of Written Surface: 10.2 (w) x 15 (h) cm.
  • -  The layout of five lines per page is typical of 15th-century Qur'ans made in Mamluk Egypt (1250-1517). This folio's layout and script resemble closely another Mamluk fragment in the Library of Congress (see 1-86-154.137b R and V).
  • -  The recto of this fragment contains verses 33-34 of Chapter 9 of the Qur'an entitled al-Tawbah (The Repentance), which is continued sequentially with verses 34-36 on the fragment's verso (see 1-86-154.137a V). Surat al-Tawbah is also known as Surat al-Bara'ah (The Immunity), the from surah's opening word, since it is the only surah to which the introductory bismillah is not affixed (see 1-86-154.137b V). These few verses (9:33-34) speak about how men must fight against pagan enemies and uphold their faith.
  • -  The verso of this fragment contains verses 34-36 of Chapter 9 of the Qur'an entitled al-Tawbah (The Repentance), thus continuing sequentially verses 33-34 on the fragment's recto (see 1-86-154.137a R). These few verses (9:34-36) speak about recompense and punishment, as well as the necessity to fight pagans, as per 9:36: "Fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together, and know that God is with those who restrain themselves".
  • -  This Qur'an is written in dark brown ink on a light beige rag paper. The script used here is called masahif , which was used for copying the Qur'an (and occasionally for copies of the Bible as well). It is a smaller and less stiff version of muhaqqaq, with which it is often mistaken. With the cursive naskh and muhaqqaq scripts, masahif is the most popular of all Qur'anic scripts (Zakariya 1979, 25).
  • -  Script: masahif
  • -  1-86-154.137a

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 18.5 (w) x 25.8 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714470

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 9:33-36. 15th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714470/.

APA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses 9:33-36. 15th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714470/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses 9:33-36. 15th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714470/>.