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About this Item

Title

  • Qur'anic verses

Created / Published

  • 9th century

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Arabian Peninsula
  • -  Iraq
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Kufi
  • -  Qur'anic verses

Notes

  • -  Qur'anic verses last verse (88) of the 28th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Qasas (The Stories), written in Kufic D.I script, from the 9th century.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 23.1 (w) x 14.5 (h) cm
  • -  Do men think that they will be left alone / When they say "We believe" and that they will not be tested? / We did test those before them, / And God will know those who are true from those who are false (29:2-3)
  • -  Surat al-'Ankabut dates from the late Meccan period and contains 69 verses. It warns that belief always is tested by trial and personal conduct:
  • -  The illuminated heading of Surat al-'Ankabut is damaged due to wear and being placed on the flesh side of the parchment (because of its pore holes, the hair side on the fragment's verso holds ink better). Nevertheless, it appears that the chapter's title was executed in gold ink on the plain folio and provided with a rectangular gold frame. In the left margin appear the remaining traces of a gold decorative palmette, truncated at the edge due to cropping.
  • -  The text is written in Kufic D.I script, in which red dots indicate vocalization. No a posteriori diacritical marks have been added to the text. This particular script typifies Qur'ans of the 9th century, which began to prefer a vertical, rather than horizontal, format at this time (Déroche 1992: 120-121, cat. no. 66). Verse markers are barely visible to the naked eye and consist of three adjacent circles forming a triangle.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes the last verse (88) of the 28th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Qasas (The Stories), as well as the illuminated heading and first six verses of the subsequent (29) chapter entitled al-'Ankabut (The Spider). The text of Surat al-'Ankabut continues with verses 7-11 on the fragment's verso (1-87-154.79 V).
  • -  Those who believe and perform righteous deeds, / From them will We blot out all evil that may be in them, / And We will reward them according to the best of their deeds (29:7)
  • -  Script: Kufi
  • -  1-87-154.79

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 28.5 (w) x 19.5 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714639

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. 9th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714639/.

APA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 9th Century. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714639/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 9th Century. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714639/>.