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About this Item

Title

  • Qur'anic verses

Created / Published

  • 11th-12th centuries

Headings

  • -  Calligraphy, Arabic
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Iraq
  • -  Arabian Peninsula
  • -  Arabic script calligraphy
  • -  Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Islamic calligraphy
  • -  Islamic manuscripts
  • -  Kufi (New Style I)

Notes

  • -  Qur'anic verses from written Kufi script (New Style I). Typical of 10th to 12thh Cent. Qur'an's.
  • -  Dimensions of Written Surface: 14.7 (w) x 24 (h) cm
  • -  Many verse markers are absent. The few markers that are visible consist of three parallel diagonal lines executed in black ink. In the left margin appears a decorative roundel in yellow and red ink intended to mark a tenth verse. The lower part of the folio is lost due to damage, and some of the words on uppermost horizontal line of text appear to have been rewritten.
  • -  Surat al-Kahf relates the story of the Companions of the Cave (ahl al-kahf), also known as the "Sleepers of Ephesus." These Christian martyrs were immured in a cave near Ephesus during the persecutions by Decius (c. 250). They awoke in the 5th century during the reign of Theodosius II, when Christianity finally was established. They fell asleep once more and, we are told, will not awake again until the Day of Judgment. This surah uses the parable of the Companions of the Cave to underscore our defective notions of time and to prove that faith always triumphs over disbelief.
  • -  This calligraphic fragment includes verses 17-22 of the 18th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-Kahf (The Cave). The text continues on the fragment's verso with verses 22-31 (1-89-154.169 V).
  • -  This fragment resembles another folio in the Library of Congress (1-94-154.176a).
  • -  This text is executed in Kufi (New Style I), a script typical of Qur'ans produced in the vertical format during the 11th-12th centuries (Déroche 1992: 172-173, cat. no. 90). The script's simple form was popular and widely used. The main text, diacritical dots, and strokes are executed in black ink, while vocalization marks are made with red ink. Orthoepics (pronunciation marks) such as the duplication of a vowel (tashdid) and the silence (sukun) are written in green ink.
  • -  Script: Kufi (New Style I)
  • -  1-89-154.169

Medium

  • 1 volume ; 20.4 (w) x 29.3 (h) cm

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019714572

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. 11th-12th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714572/.

APA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 11th-12th Centuries. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019714572/.

MLA citation style:

Qur'anic Verses. 11th-12th Centuries. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2019714572/>.