Folio from a Qur'an
Arab, North Africa, or Near East. Abbasid. c. eighth to ninth century C.E. ink, color, and gold on parchment
The Qur'an is the sacred text of Islam, consisting of the divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. Over the course of the first century and a half of Islam, the form of the manuscript was adapted to suit the dignity and splendor of this divine revelation. However, the word Qur'an, which means "recitation," suggests that manuscripts were of secondary importance to oral tradition. In fact, the 114 chapters of the Qur'an were compiled into a textual format, organized from longest to shortest, only after the death of Muhammad, although scholars still debate exactly when this might have occurred.
The Folio is part of the Qur’an which is the sacred text of Islam
Two page spread Qur’an manuscript
The Qur’an is written on parchment in blank ink with a broad-nibbed reed pen
Kufic is the type of calligraphy used in this manuscript
The Qur’an is read from left to right
The text of the sura is divided into verses by triangles made up of 5 gold circles which is located at the end of each verse
The title of each sura is written in gold ink, which is surrounded by a rectangle filled with a golden vine
This allows readers to quickly locate the beginning of each sura
Function:
This book was used for sacred rituals and recitations
The Qur’an which means “recitation” suggests that the manuscripts were secondary importance to oral tradition
Heavily decorated for ceremonial purposes
The Qu’ran is the central part of Islam and the Islamic faith revolves around this book
Content:
Human and animal forms was considered inappropriate for the ornamentation of sacred monuments and objects, artists relied on vegetal and geometric motifs when they decorated mosques and sacred manuscripts
The Qur’an consists of the divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic
The words on the Qur’an translate as rays of light for the people who read and recite the recitations Piece from “The Spider” a text in the Qur’an
Translation: “So each We punished for his sin; of them was he on whom We sent down a violent storm, and of them was he whom the rumbling overtook, and of them was he whom We made to be swallowed up by the earth, and of them was he whom We drowned; and it did not beseem Allah that He should be unjust to them, but they were unjust to their own souls.
The meaning of this passage can be interpreted as if you do betray the words of Allah you will never be at peace
Context:
Huge part of the daily lives of people of Islamic faith and is still is to this day
Very high value and prosperity in the religion
Along with the flourishing of the Islamic faith there were advancements happening in the intellectual community
It was a luxury to have such a fine inscripted object
The scribes who illustrated these books were valued in their community for their stylistic abilities
Some say the owner of this book could have been from a royal lineage
Cross Cultural Comparisons: Calligraphy
Book of Lindisfarne
Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace
Vienna Genesis
