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About this Item

Title

  • Qur'anic verses

Created / Published

  • 14th- 15th centuries

Headings

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

Notes

  • -  Qur'an from Mamluk period (14th-15th centuries) Egypt.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 14.9 (w) x 20.3 (h) cm
  • -  Say: O creatures of God, those of you / Who have acted against your own interests / Should not be disheartened of the mercy of God. / Surely God forgives all sins. / He is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful.
  • -  That this is indeed a Glorious Qur'an / In a Well-Guarded Book, / Which none shall touch but those who are clean.
  • -  The green and red illuminated carpet page on the folio's left is intended to introduce the 24th section (juz') of the Qur'an, and it includes an extracted inscription containing verses 77-79 of Chapter 56 entitled Surat al-Waqi'ah (The Inevitable). These verses typically open the Qur'an as included on a double page illuminated frontispiece (see 1-88-154.8a and 1-89-154.168 R), although they may appear in decorated pages used to separate the parts (ajza') of the Qur'an. The verses read:
  • -  The text on the right side of the folio is executed in black thuluth script at five lines per page. A number of alifs (the vowel "a") are picked out in red ink, while the name of God (Allah) is written out in gold and outlined in black ink. In the right margin appears the term 'ashar, which denotes the tenth verse, while verse markers consist of eight-petalled rosettes with red and blue dots.
  • -  The verso of this fragment continues with verses 32-34 and, on the left hand side, verses 50-52 of al-Zumar (The Crowds). Verse 34 in particular promises God's recompense for good behavior:
  • -  They shall have all that they wish for / In the presence of their Lord. / Such is the reward of those who do good.
  • -  This illuminated page's style and the text's script all match another fragment in the Library of Congress (1-87-154.151 R & V, viz. Selim 1979, 161). Both fragments appear to have come from the same Qur'an produced during the Mamluk period (14th-15th centuries) in Egypt.
  • -  This Qur'anic fragment includes a carpet page on the left intended to introduce a new section of the Qur'an, as well as the subsequent verses, i.e. ayahs 53-54 of the 39th surah of the Qur'an entitled al-Zumar (The Crowds). The immediately preceding verses (50-52) appear on the left side of the fragment's verso (1-84-154.26 V). Surat al-Zumar is the last of a series of six chapters (34-39) dealing with the mysteries of the spiritual world and the Hereafter. Verse 53 in particular stresses God's compassion:
  • -  Script: thuluth
  • -  1-84-154.26

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 43.3 (w) x 30 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714500

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. 14th- 15th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714500/.

APA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 14th- 15th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714500/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 14th- 15th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714500/>.