The Holy Qur'an - Early Manuscripts
Ya Ali Madad.
I am still awaiting answer from our Ms A/T.( she has escaped earlier 5 questions as well).
failing to answer a common sense question is ignorance and escapism.
Shirk is in a mind of an ignorant, un blessed and may be a cursed person.
Every year over 70 million leave religion all together because their parents,peer and religious leaders cannot answer their simple questions of rational sense as conceived by them.
eg. why do people ring the bell in church or mandir?
and create noise pollution.
why all this acrobatic acts and for what?
why pray to a unknown and unseen in the first place?
they want know the value,use, logic and reasoning from science and reality of today and NOT A SINGLE word of stories/commands from the past.
I am still awaiting answer from our Ms A/T.( she has escaped earlier 5 questions as well).
failing to answer a common sense question is ignorance and escapism.
Shirk is in a mind of an ignorant, un blessed and may be a cursed person.
Every year over 70 million leave religion all together because their parents,peer and religious leaders cannot answer their simple questions of rational sense as conceived by them.
eg. why do people ring the bell in church or mandir?
and create noise pollution.
why all this acrobatic acts and for what?
why pray to a unknown and unseen in the first place?
they want know the value,use, logic and reasoning from science and reality of today and NOT A SINGLE word of stories/commands from the past.
Tracing the Quran's Journey
A major exhibit in Washington, D.C., showcases the world’s many Qurans.
The first major Quran exhibition in the United States opened its doors in Washington, D.C., this weekend, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art. The exhibit, entitled “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts,” goes on display at a timely moment, amid the lively political debate over the nature and place of Islam in the United States. Unfortunately, over half of the American population has an unfavorable opinion of Islam. It is to be hoped that this exhibition will do its part in introducing more Americans to an appreciation of Islam, via, in this case, the Quran.
The Quran is the holy book of Islam, revered by more than one billion Muslims throughout the world. All the Qurans at the exhibit, numbering around sixty, were on loan from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, Turkey. The Qurans included ranged from the Umayyad (661-750 CE) era to the Ottoman (1299-1923) Dynasty, and came from Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and other places. At some point, the Qurans in the collection were acquired by members of the House of Osman, the Ottoman royal family.
Each Quran’s journey to the Ottoman family is an interesting tale; these stories shed light on related historical events and social and economic trends. Many Qurans show the seals of the owners, libraries, mosques, or other institutions they had passed through, making their journeys traceable. By way of example, there is a gilded Quran in the exhibition that the Ottomans acquired in Yemen after their conquest of that region in the sixteenth century.
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The Quran was placed, as a blessing, in the mausoleum of Ottoman Sultan Murad I (reigned 1362–80) in Busra. The Quran itself was originally copied in Cairo, Egypt, during the Fatimid period (909-1171 CE) in 1028, when the Ismaili Shia Fatimid dynasty was preeminent throughout much of the Islamic world. According to the Smithsonian Institution:
…as a symbol of Fatimid religious authority and political power, Caliph al-Mustansir bi’llah presented this manuscript to Ali al-Sulayhi, the Yemeni ruler of the Sulayhids (1047–1138). The exchange likely took place in 1062, when al-Sulayhi pledged religious and political allegiance to the Fatimid caliph. After that, the lucrative trade routes of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, which the Sulayhids controlled, became integrated within the larger Fatimid sultanate.
As I’ve written before, the Quran is a breathtakingly poetic and beautiful book, “melancholic, wistful, and sharp.” Moreover, Qurans are works of art, as the exhibit demonstrated. They served as talismans, decorations, and markers of prestige, in addition to being read. Individual Qurans are gilded, bound, and illuminated in a variety of ways, many of which often mark the era and place where they were copied. The Qurans on display came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some manuscripts were pocket-sized or even contained just portions of the Quran for reflection. One Quranic verse, about light (Surah 24:35), on display was not even on a manuscript but inscribed on a lamp. At the other end of scale, of particular interest, was a giant Quran created for the Central Asian conqueror Timur; each page measures five feet by seven feet.
Additionally, different Qurans were and are copied using different calligraphic scripts, and calligraphic masters, making each Quran distinct and unique. In general, Arabic writing has grown more curvaceous and flowing over time (though previous styles were still used as new ones developed), from the angular Kufic script of the Umayyads to the airy quality of the Nastaliq script commonly used in the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires after 1500 CE.
Despite the text of the Quran being the same in all the books at the display, there is an amazing variety of styles of beautiful art at the display. Both those new to the art of the Islamic world and those familiar with it will discover something new and interesting at this exhibit. A visit is highly recommended–but one should make haste, as the exhibit will only be at the Smithsonian until February 20, 2017.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/10/tracing- ... s-journey/
A major exhibit in Washington, D.C., showcases the world’s many Qurans.
The first major Quran exhibition in the United States opened its doors in Washington, D.C., this weekend, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art. The exhibit, entitled “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts,” goes on display at a timely moment, amid the lively political debate over the nature and place of Islam in the United States. Unfortunately, over half of the American population has an unfavorable opinion of Islam. It is to be hoped that this exhibition will do its part in introducing more Americans to an appreciation of Islam, via, in this case, the Quran.
The Quran is the holy book of Islam, revered by more than one billion Muslims throughout the world. All the Qurans at the exhibit, numbering around sixty, were on loan from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, Turkey. The Qurans included ranged from the Umayyad (661-750 CE) era to the Ottoman (1299-1923) Dynasty, and came from Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and other places. At some point, the Qurans in the collection were acquired by members of the House of Osman, the Ottoman royal family.
Each Quran’s journey to the Ottoman family is an interesting tale; these stories shed light on related historical events and social and economic trends. Many Qurans show the seals of the owners, libraries, mosques, or other institutions they had passed through, making their journeys traceable. By way of example, there is a gilded Quran in the exhibition that the Ottomans acquired in Yemen after their conquest of that region in the sixteenth century.
Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.
The Quran was placed, as a blessing, in the mausoleum of Ottoman Sultan Murad I (reigned 1362–80) in Busra. The Quran itself was originally copied in Cairo, Egypt, during the Fatimid period (909-1171 CE) in 1028, when the Ismaili Shia Fatimid dynasty was preeminent throughout much of the Islamic world. According to the Smithsonian Institution:
…as a symbol of Fatimid religious authority and political power, Caliph al-Mustansir bi’llah presented this manuscript to Ali al-Sulayhi, the Yemeni ruler of the Sulayhids (1047–1138). The exchange likely took place in 1062, when al-Sulayhi pledged religious and political allegiance to the Fatimid caliph. After that, the lucrative trade routes of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, which the Sulayhids controlled, became integrated within the larger Fatimid sultanate.
As I’ve written before, the Quran is a breathtakingly poetic and beautiful book, “melancholic, wistful, and sharp.” Moreover, Qurans are works of art, as the exhibit demonstrated. They served as talismans, decorations, and markers of prestige, in addition to being read. Individual Qurans are gilded, bound, and illuminated in a variety of ways, many of which often mark the era and place where they were copied. The Qurans on display came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some manuscripts were pocket-sized or even contained just portions of the Quran for reflection. One Quranic verse, about light (Surah 24:35), on display was not even on a manuscript but inscribed on a lamp. At the other end of scale, of particular interest, was a giant Quran created for the Central Asian conqueror Timur; each page measures five feet by seven feet.
Additionally, different Qurans were and are copied using different calligraphic scripts, and calligraphic masters, making each Quran distinct and unique. In general, Arabic writing has grown more curvaceous and flowing over time (though previous styles were still used as new ones developed), from the angular Kufic script of the Umayyads to the airy quality of the Nastaliq script commonly used in the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires after 1500 CE.
Despite the text of the Quran being the same in all the books at the display, there is an amazing variety of styles of beautiful art at the display. Both those new to the art of the Islamic world and those familiar with it will discover something new and interesting at this exhibit. A visit is highly recommended–but one should make haste, as the exhibit will only be at the Smithsonian until February 20, 2017.
http://thediplomat.com/2016/10/tracing- ... s-journey/
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shivaathervedi2
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 7:29 pm
I was reading history of Pir Sadardin and came to know that for his livelihood he did KITABET of Quran (wrote complete Quran for Hadiyah). His hand writing of Arabic was excellent. Not only Pir Sadardin but Pir Hasan Kabiruddin and Syed Imam Shah beside his brothers also did KITABET of Quran. Few years back two hand written Qurans by Syed Imam Shah which were kept at his dargah disappeared. It is said those were disappeared due to conspiracy of Kaka who has converted Imam Shahi into Hinduism. Those hand written Qurans by Syed Imam Shah were valuable assets.
My question is any hand written Quran By Pir Sadardin survived and is available in British library, or in any university library, or in collection of Hazar Imam, or ISS, or Toronto Museum.
My question is any hand written Quran By Pir Sadardin survived and is available in British library, or in any university library, or in collection of Hazar Imam, or ISS, or Toronto Museum.
I don't know but from time to time some old manuscripts are surfacing with valiance such as the one found in Bhankipore with the Surah al - Narayanshivaathervedi wrote: My question is any hand written Quran By Pir Sadardin survived and is available in British library, or in any university library, or in collection of Hazar Imam, or ISS, or Toronto Museum.
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shivaathervedi2
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 7:29 pm
Dai ul Mutaliq of Bohra Ismaili community has many hand written copies of Quran in his possession which were written in Yemen and other places by Ismaili dais in Fatimid era. Hazar Imam also has many manuscripts of that era. If these manuscripts are made available, should be beneficial for scholars and Ismailis particularly youth.Admin wrote:I don't know but from time to time some old manuscripts are surfacing with valiance such as the one found in Bhankipore with the Surah al - Narayanshivaathervedi wrote: My question is any hand written Quran By Pir Sadardin survived and is available in British library, or in any university library, or in collection of Hazar Imam, or ISS, or Toronto Museum.
5 minutes with... A monumental royal Mamluk Qur’an
‘Mamluk Qur’ans of this size with a royal dedication are extremely rare. This is why they get so much attention when they come to market,’ says William Robinson, International Head of Islamic Art. The Qu’ran is offered in London on 2 May
According to William Robinson, International Head of Islamic Art at Christie’s in London, there are three primary factors that make this monumental royal Mamluk Qur’an extraordinary.
The first lies in its royal provenance. ‘From the dedicatory inscription on its double-page illuminated frontispiece, we know that this Mamluk Qur’an was made for the Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qaytbay, who reigned from 1468 to 1496,’ states Robinson.
The inscription in gold thuluth, an elegant angular Islamic script, is painted on a lapis lazuli ground. ‘It’s rather unusual for a Qur’an dating to this period to come complete with its original and unrestored front and back pages, as well as the name and date of the scribe,’ explains the specialist. ‘Mamluk Qur’ans of this size with a royal dedication are extremely rare. This is why they get so much attention when they do come to market.’
Quran, signed Tanam al-Najmi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi, Mamluk Egypt, dated 21 Jumada I 89430 April 1489. Folio 26¾ x 18 in (68 x 45.5 cm). Estimate £500,000-800,000. Offered in Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets on 2 May 2019 at Christie’s in London
Qur’an, signed Tanam al-Najmi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi, Mamluk Egypt, dated 21 Jumada I 894/30 April 1489. Folio 26¾ x 18 in (68 x 45.5 cm). Estimate: £500,000-800,000. Offered in Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets on 2 May 2019 at Christie’s in London
For Robinson, Sultan Qaytbay of Egypt was the last great sultan of the Mamluk period (1250-1517). His reign — over an area that spanned present-day Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Syria, as well as parts of Arabia — witnessed the last period of Mamluk stability and the construction of spectacular institutions and foundations across the region, from Cairo to Mecca.
Illuminated monumental Qur’ans were a speciality of the middle and later Mamluk periods and were often commissioned by Mamluk sultans as endowments for these institutions, where many still reside. This explains why there are very few Qur’ans of this size in private hands.
‘Although this monumental Qur’an is more than 500 years old, its pages are in excellent condition and retain their bright, fresh, cream colour’ — William Robinson
The second factor is the size of the folio, which measures 68 cm by 45.5 cm (26¾ in x 18 in). This roughly equates to the half-Baghdadi size of paper developed in the city of Baghdad and adopted throughout the medieval Islamic world. For Robinson, its great size — large Qur’ans from this period are usually quarter-Baghdadi in size or smaller — suggests that it was indeed endowed to one of Qaytbay’s foundations, and only later sold to a private collector.
‘Mamluk paper is generally of very good quality,’ he says. ‘Although this monumental Qur’an is more than 500 years old, its pages are in excellent condition and retain their bright, fresh, cream colour.’ They are also free from two of the deadliest scourges of ancient books of the Islamic world: insects and damp.
The third factor that makes this Qur’an so exceptional is its script. ‘It's rare to see naskh script on this scale in a volume of this size,’ the specialist explains. ‘Its compact nature makes it more commonly employed in volumes on a far smaller scale.’
In substantial Qur’ans such as this one, one would normally expect to see muhaqqaq, a script with much longer, elegant verticals. ‘Yet, on this scale,’ says Robinson, ‘the large naskh is wonderfully easy to read.’ The naskh in this volume has flow, strength, and individuality. ‘The scribe plays with form here and allows himself quite a bit of freedom,’ observes the specialist.
Images at:
https://www.christies.com/features/A-mo ... sc_lang=en
‘Mamluk Qur’ans of this size with a royal dedication are extremely rare. This is why they get so much attention when they come to market,’ says William Robinson, International Head of Islamic Art. The Qu’ran is offered in London on 2 May
According to William Robinson, International Head of Islamic Art at Christie’s in London, there are three primary factors that make this monumental royal Mamluk Qur’an extraordinary.
The first lies in its royal provenance. ‘From the dedicatory inscription on its double-page illuminated frontispiece, we know that this Mamluk Qur’an was made for the Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qaytbay, who reigned from 1468 to 1496,’ states Robinson.
The inscription in gold thuluth, an elegant angular Islamic script, is painted on a lapis lazuli ground. ‘It’s rather unusual for a Qur’an dating to this period to come complete with its original and unrestored front and back pages, as well as the name and date of the scribe,’ explains the specialist. ‘Mamluk Qur’ans of this size with a royal dedication are extremely rare. This is why they get so much attention when they do come to market.’
Quran, signed Tanam al-Najmi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi, Mamluk Egypt, dated 21 Jumada I 89430 April 1489. Folio 26¾ x 18 in (68 x 45.5 cm). Estimate £500,000-800,000. Offered in Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets on 2 May 2019 at Christie’s in London
Qur’an, signed Tanam al-Najmi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi, Mamluk Egypt, dated 21 Jumada I 894/30 April 1489. Folio 26¾ x 18 in (68 x 45.5 cm). Estimate: £500,000-800,000. Offered in Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets on 2 May 2019 at Christie’s in London
For Robinson, Sultan Qaytbay of Egypt was the last great sultan of the Mamluk period (1250-1517). His reign — over an area that spanned present-day Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Syria, as well as parts of Arabia — witnessed the last period of Mamluk stability and the construction of spectacular institutions and foundations across the region, from Cairo to Mecca.
Illuminated monumental Qur’ans were a speciality of the middle and later Mamluk periods and were often commissioned by Mamluk sultans as endowments for these institutions, where many still reside. This explains why there are very few Qur’ans of this size in private hands.
‘Although this monumental Qur’an is more than 500 years old, its pages are in excellent condition and retain their bright, fresh, cream colour’ — William Robinson
The second factor is the size of the folio, which measures 68 cm by 45.5 cm (26¾ in x 18 in). This roughly equates to the half-Baghdadi size of paper developed in the city of Baghdad and adopted throughout the medieval Islamic world. For Robinson, its great size — large Qur’ans from this period are usually quarter-Baghdadi in size or smaller — suggests that it was indeed endowed to one of Qaytbay’s foundations, and only later sold to a private collector.
‘Mamluk paper is generally of very good quality,’ he says. ‘Although this monumental Qur’an is more than 500 years old, its pages are in excellent condition and retain their bright, fresh, cream colour.’ They are also free from two of the deadliest scourges of ancient books of the Islamic world: insects and damp.
The third factor that makes this Qur’an so exceptional is its script. ‘It's rare to see naskh script on this scale in a volume of this size,’ the specialist explains. ‘Its compact nature makes it more commonly employed in volumes on a far smaller scale.’
In substantial Qur’ans such as this one, one would normally expect to see muhaqqaq, a script with much longer, elegant verticals. ‘Yet, on this scale,’ says Robinson, ‘the large naskh is wonderfully easy to read.’ The naskh in this volume has flow, strength, and individuality. ‘The scribe plays with form here and allows himself quite a bit of freedom,’ observes the specialist.
Images at:
https://www.christies.com/features/A-mo ... sc_lang=en
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swamidada1
- Posts: 239
- Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:21 pm
The Qur’an Illuminated
June 8, 2017
Yael Rice on Islamic Book and Manuscript Arts in America
In October 2016, during the final month of a fractious presidential election that saw the GOP contender (now President of the United States) campaign on a promise to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the country, an exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the White House. “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures From the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts,” which closed on February 20, was the most ambitious exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts ever undertaken in the United States. It is worth letting that point sink in: the very first large–scale exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts in the United States was mounted in 2016–17 at a governmentally administered museum. Given the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic attacks, some might say an exhibition like this one was timely. I’d say it was long overdue.
The curators of the show, Massumeh Farhad and Simon Rettig, had their work cut out for them. The exhibition showcased over sixty manuscripts, two-thirds of which were borrowed from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul. To coordinate a loan show of this scale is no small feat, not least when you take into account the failed military coup that took place in Turkey in July 2016, and the purge of civil servants that followed. Negotiations between the Turkish and U.S. institutions, which were years in the making, could have easily derailed.
Another challenge the curators faced was the task of contextualizing a scripture whose unusual format resists facile explication. Although the Qur’an is often characterized as a book, it is better understood as an orally proclaimed text. It is in this state that, according to Islamic tradition, the Qur’an was transmitted from God to the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632), via the Archangel Jibra’il (Gabriel). Muhammad received the revelations over a period of twenty-two years, and in two different locales (Mecca and Medina). When the Qur’anic text was compiled as a single corpus, following the Prophet’s passing, its 114 suras (chapters) were arranged not in chronological, geographical, or thematic order, but according to length. Barring the first sura (al-Fatiha, “the opening”), the Qur’an proceeds from the longest to the shortest sura. The text is also often divided into thirty roughly equal parts (azja’). This organizational scheme likely served to facilitate recitation and memorization of the divine text and thus ensure its preservation. The practice of committing the Qur’an to memory, considered to be a pious act, continues to this day.
If the arrangement of the Qur’anic corpus aids recitation and memorization, it also amplifies the text’s nonlinear qualities. The Qur’an lacks a clear narrative arc, and each of its suras functions in effect as a standalone text unit. The oneness of God, the finality of the revelations, and a self-conscious awareness of its place vis-à-vis other scriptural traditions are themes that run throughout the Qur’anic corpus, but the individual suras take up many other issues that have little or no connecting thread between them. Even more, the text employs a diversity of literary forms and rhetorical devices to create an intensity of expression that reinforces its sanctified nature. The combined thematic and formal heterogeneity can make the Qur’an a difficult subject to broach with a general audience.
Tasked with this challenge, the curators used the upper story of the exhibition space to flesh out some of the Qur’an’s most salient themes. These include its monotheistic message, eschatological emphasis, and self-referentiality. A series of didactic texts on the prophets and other holy personages that appear in the Qur’an introduced Muhammad alongside ‘Isa (Jesus), Maryam (Mary), and Ibrahim (Abraham), thereby underscoring Islam’s status as an Abrahamic religion. The prophets also play a fundamental role as models of conduct, and the Qur’an itself is considered to be the ultimate moral and ethical guide, providing instruction on dietary restrictions, divorce, and more.
Two folios from a monumental, dispersed Qur’an attributed to the calligrapher ‘Umar Aqta’ greeted visitors as they descended from one level of the exhibition to the next. The original manuscript was probably produced in Samarqand, Uzbekistan around 1400. Art and History Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1995.2.16.1, LTS1995.2.16.2
Two folios from a monumental, dispersed Qur’an attributed to the calligrapher ‘Umar Aqta’ greeted visitors as they descended from one level of the exhibition to the next. The original manuscript was probably produced in Samarqand, Uzbekistan around 1400. Art and History Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1995.2.16.1, LTS1995.2.16.2
The array of manuscripts on display in the introductory galleries made a stunning backdrop to the presentation of the Qur’an’s core tenets—still, one could not help being pulled into the glimmer of the verse markers’ gilding and the rhythms of the calligraphy’s dark, inky curls. An enormous Safavid Qur’an manuscript that greeted the viewer upon entering the exhibition seemed to revel in its own massive physicality. For those literate in Arabic, the manuscripts signified in yet other ways. The exhibition proceeded from these anterior galleries into a transitional space containing cases filled with pens, burnishing tools, gold leaf, and pigments. One then descended a staircase overlooking Qur’an pages that measure nearly six feet in height. Produced in Samarqand, in present-day Uzbekistan, around the early fifteenth century, the monumental folios combine joined bands of thick paper with ink, watercolor paint, and gold, forming a magnificent field of masterfully executed calligraphy and illumination. In spite of its very large size, the original manuscript—perhaps produced for the great ruler Timur (d. 1405)—was carried beyond Samarqand (probably taken as plunder) and dispersed. If the Qur’an is at once timeless and immaterial, its instantiation in the form of a manuscript is most certainly not; the mammoth Timurid pages reminded us of that point.
The remainder of the exhibition concentrated on the history of the Qur’an’s production and use. Here the Qur’an manuscript emerged as a thoroughly physical entity: a container for divine revelation and, on occasion, non-Qur’anic prayers; a material vehicle for the transmission of baraka (divine blessing); a bearer of the calligrapher’s trace; a site for the negotiation of and experimentation with aesthetic and linguistic practices; and a statement of filial and political loyalty and religious devotion. Qur’an manuscripts seldom stayed in one location, but rather circulated widely as gifts, booty, and pious endowments.
Folio from a Qur’an manuscript on parchment produced in Iran or Iraq at the end of the eighth century AD. As was typical for this period, the calligrapher here used an angular script known as kufic. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1998.2.3 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Folio from a Qur’an manuscript on parchment produced in Iran or Iraq at the end of the eighth century AD. As was typical for this period, the calligrapher here used an angular script known as kufic. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1998.2.3 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The story began with the Qur’an’s compilation as a written text during the seventh through tenth centuries. Parchment, rather than paper—which only came into use in the broader Islamic world around the tenth century—, was the most commonly used support during this period. In many of the examples of Qur’an manuscript pages on view, the calligraphers wrote in an angular script known as kufic, stretching select letters along the baseline to shape the divine text into a geometrically harmonized block. Economical use of the expensive animal skin was not necessarily an overriding concern. Only during the latter phase of this period was a more regular system for pointing, a system of diacritical marks used to differentiate Arabic letter forms that have the same basic configuration, and short vowel marking advanced. Considered alongside the emergence of more elaborate and distinctive text divisions for chapter titles and verse markers, these developments suggest the Qur’an manuscript’s changing function from a mnemonic device to a read text. Throughout this early phase, the Qur’an remained (and continues to remain) unillustrated.
Single-volume Qur’an on paper produced in eastern Iran or Afghanistan around 1020–30 AD. Although a certain Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali copied the text, the manuscript bears a spurious attribution to the famed calligrapher and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 449 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Single-volume Qur’an on paper produced in eastern Iran or Afghanistan around 1020–30 AD. Although a certain Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali copied the text, the manuscript bears a spurious attribution to the famed calligrapher and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 449 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The spread of papermaking technology around the end of the tenth century had an indelible effect on Qur’an manuscript production. Since paper was comparatively more affordable than parchment, the pool of patrons and manuscripts expanded. With the intensification and diffusion of production came new and more legible scripts and a greater range of styles of ornamentation. The names of calligraphers also began to appear in manuscript colophons. The Baghdad-based scribe and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022) gained such widespread fame that his name was spuriously added to a spectacular eleventh-century Qur’an included in the exhibition. The owner of the manuscript apparently deemed the hand of the original calligrapher, a certain Abu’l Qasim ‘Ali, to hold insufficient prestige. Pages from a diminutive tenth-century parchment Qur’an also on view were, in sixteenth-century Iran, inscribed with the “signature” of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 660), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. ‘Ali is not only a supremely important spiritual figure for Shi’i Muslims, but he is also popularly identified as the progenitor of the kufic script. The addition of his name was likely intended to elevate the manuscript’s spiritual value.
Qur’an manuscripts, as conceived in the Sackler installation, are deeply layered objects; they are mediums for the divine words of God, but they can also give voice to a diverse range of sectarian, devotional, artisanal, and dynastic claims. The Ottomans here took center stage, since the exhibition loans had been held in long-established personal and institutional collections across the Ottoman Empire prior to their transfer to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in the early twentieth century. Many Ottoman elites acquired Qur’ans that were associated with esteemed (or politically subdued) royal lineages, individuals, and cultural centers. They also collected Qur’an manuscripts because of the special baraka these books were perceived to possess. Two such manuscripts—one made in 1577 in the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, the other made around 1250–1300 in Konya, burial place of the great Sufi Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273)—were spiritually activated by virtue of their places of production.
Single-volume Qur’an copied by Khalil Allah ibn Mahmud Shah and illuminated by Muhammad ibn ‘Ali in Istanbul in September 1517 and later gifted by the Ottoman princess Ismihan to the tomb of her father, Selim II (r. 1566–74). Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 224 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Single-volume Qur’an copied by Khalil Allah ibn Mahmud Shah and illuminated by Muhammad ibn ‘Ali in Istanbul in September 1517 and later gifted by the Ottoman princess Ismihan to the tomb of her father, Selim II (r. 1566–74). Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 224 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The concentration of Qur’an manuscripts in royal libraries, mosques, and mausoleums could magnify the baraka in those spaces. The tomb of Sultan Selim II (r. 1566–74), in Istanbul, once held eighteen Qur’an manuscripts, including one that his daughter Ismihan presented to augment the site’s blessedness and broadcast her own religious and filial devotion. A large number of Ottoman elites participated in these public demonstrations of piety and dynastic loyalty; as a result, the purchase, trade, and gifting of Qur’an manuscripts flourished, and charitable donations of these materials to religious institutions multiplied.
Around 1911, the process to transfer many of these manuscript bequests to the Museum of Islamic Endowments (renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in 1923) was initiated. Taking the exhibition’s premise to its logical conclusion, one might ask: Does this early twentieth-century episode represent a complete break from or a continuation of prior collection practices? Further, what does the temporary transfer of forty-eight of these Qur’an manuscripts and folios from Turkey to the United States mean today, in the age of Erdogan and Trump? These questions loomed as specters in the galleries, and they continue to reverberate in the exhibition’s aftermath, as Erdogan and Trump find common ground in their shared opposition to a free press and checks on presidential power; academic institutions are also increasingly under attack in both Turkey and the United States. “The Art of the Qur’an,” if only coincidentally, brought the contradictions and perils of the U.S.-Turkey partnership into sharper relief. For most visitors to the Sackler exhibition, however, the manuscripts offered up powerfully palpable historical resonances, while the stunning beauty of the books acted as another compelling lure. For many, the manuscripts also contained the literal words—and, thus, baraka—of God. For those who accept the Qur’an as revelation, the exhibition manifested a glorious repetition of a text that is enduring and unearthly, and which knows no bounds.
Yael Rice is Assistant Professor of the History of Art and Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College. She specializes in the art and architecture of South Asia and Iran, with a particular focus on manuscripts and other portable arts of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.?yrice@amherst.edu.
June 8, 2017
Yael Rice on Islamic Book and Manuscript Arts in America
In October 2016, during the final month of a fractious presidential election that saw the GOP contender (now President of the United States) campaign on a promise to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the country, an exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the White House. “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures From the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts,” which closed on February 20, was the most ambitious exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts ever undertaken in the United States. It is worth letting that point sink in: the very first large–scale exhibition of Qur’an manuscripts in the United States was mounted in 2016–17 at a governmentally administered museum. Given the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic attacks, some might say an exhibition like this one was timely. I’d say it was long overdue.
The curators of the show, Massumeh Farhad and Simon Rettig, had their work cut out for them. The exhibition showcased over sixty manuscripts, two-thirds of which were borrowed from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul. To coordinate a loan show of this scale is no small feat, not least when you take into account the failed military coup that took place in Turkey in July 2016, and the purge of civil servants that followed. Negotiations between the Turkish and U.S. institutions, which were years in the making, could have easily derailed.
Another challenge the curators faced was the task of contextualizing a scripture whose unusual format resists facile explication. Although the Qur’an is often characterized as a book, it is better understood as an orally proclaimed text. It is in this state that, according to Islamic tradition, the Qur’an was transmitted from God to the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632), via the Archangel Jibra’il (Gabriel). Muhammad received the revelations over a period of twenty-two years, and in two different locales (Mecca and Medina). When the Qur’anic text was compiled as a single corpus, following the Prophet’s passing, its 114 suras (chapters) were arranged not in chronological, geographical, or thematic order, but according to length. Barring the first sura (al-Fatiha, “the opening”), the Qur’an proceeds from the longest to the shortest sura. The text is also often divided into thirty roughly equal parts (azja’). This organizational scheme likely served to facilitate recitation and memorization of the divine text and thus ensure its preservation. The practice of committing the Qur’an to memory, considered to be a pious act, continues to this day.
If the arrangement of the Qur’anic corpus aids recitation and memorization, it also amplifies the text’s nonlinear qualities. The Qur’an lacks a clear narrative arc, and each of its suras functions in effect as a standalone text unit. The oneness of God, the finality of the revelations, and a self-conscious awareness of its place vis-à-vis other scriptural traditions are themes that run throughout the Qur’anic corpus, but the individual suras take up many other issues that have little or no connecting thread between them. Even more, the text employs a diversity of literary forms and rhetorical devices to create an intensity of expression that reinforces its sanctified nature. The combined thematic and formal heterogeneity can make the Qur’an a difficult subject to broach with a general audience.
Tasked with this challenge, the curators used the upper story of the exhibition space to flesh out some of the Qur’an’s most salient themes. These include its monotheistic message, eschatological emphasis, and self-referentiality. A series of didactic texts on the prophets and other holy personages that appear in the Qur’an introduced Muhammad alongside ‘Isa (Jesus), Maryam (Mary), and Ibrahim (Abraham), thereby underscoring Islam’s status as an Abrahamic religion. The prophets also play a fundamental role as models of conduct, and the Qur’an itself is considered to be the ultimate moral and ethical guide, providing instruction on dietary restrictions, divorce, and more.
Two folios from a monumental, dispersed Qur’an attributed to the calligrapher ‘Umar Aqta’ greeted visitors as they descended from one level of the exhibition to the next. The original manuscript was probably produced in Samarqand, Uzbekistan around 1400. Art and History Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1995.2.16.1, LTS1995.2.16.2
Two folios from a monumental, dispersed Qur’an attributed to the calligrapher ‘Umar Aqta’ greeted visitors as they descended from one level of the exhibition to the next. The original manuscript was probably produced in Samarqand, Uzbekistan around 1400. Art and History Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1995.2.16.1, LTS1995.2.16.2
The array of manuscripts on display in the introductory galleries made a stunning backdrop to the presentation of the Qur’an’s core tenets—still, one could not help being pulled into the glimmer of the verse markers’ gilding and the rhythms of the calligraphy’s dark, inky curls. An enormous Safavid Qur’an manuscript that greeted the viewer upon entering the exhibition seemed to revel in its own massive physicality. For those literate in Arabic, the manuscripts signified in yet other ways. The exhibition proceeded from these anterior galleries into a transitional space containing cases filled with pens, burnishing tools, gold leaf, and pigments. One then descended a staircase overlooking Qur’an pages that measure nearly six feet in height. Produced in Samarqand, in present-day Uzbekistan, around the early fifteenth century, the monumental folios combine joined bands of thick paper with ink, watercolor paint, and gold, forming a magnificent field of masterfully executed calligraphy and illumination. In spite of its very large size, the original manuscript—perhaps produced for the great ruler Timur (d. 1405)—was carried beyond Samarqand (probably taken as plunder) and dispersed. If the Qur’an is at once timeless and immaterial, its instantiation in the form of a manuscript is most certainly not; the mammoth Timurid pages reminded us of that point.
The remainder of the exhibition concentrated on the history of the Qur’an’s production and use. Here the Qur’an manuscript emerged as a thoroughly physical entity: a container for divine revelation and, on occasion, non-Qur’anic prayers; a material vehicle for the transmission of baraka (divine blessing); a bearer of the calligrapher’s trace; a site for the negotiation of and experimentation with aesthetic and linguistic practices; and a statement of filial and political loyalty and religious devotion. Qur’an manuscripts seldom stayed in one location, but rather circulated widely as gifts, booty, and pious endowments.
Folio from a Qur’an manuscript on parchment produced in Iran or Iraq at the end of the eighth century AD. As was typical for this period, the calligrapher here used an angular script known as kufic. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1998.2.3 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Folio from a Qur’an manuscript on parchment produced in Iran or Iraq at the end of the eighth century AD. As was typical for this period, the calligrapher here used an angular script known as kufic. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, LTS1998.2.3 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The story began with the Qur’an’s compilation as a written text during the seventh through tenth centuries. Parchment, rather than paper—which only came into use in the broader Islamic world around the tenth century—, was the most commonly used support during this period. In many of the examples of Qur’an manuscript pages on view, the calligraphers wrote in an angular script known as kufic, stretching select letters along the baseline to shape the divine text into a geometrically harmonized block. Economical use of the expensive animal skin was not necessarily an overriding concern. Only during the latter phase of this period was a more regular system for pointing, a system of diacritical marks used to differentiate Arabic letter forms that have the same basic configuration, and short vowel marking advanced. Considered alongside the emergence of more elaborate and distinctive text divisions for chapter titles and verse markers, these developments suggest the Qur’an manuscript’s changing function from a mnemonic device to a read text. Throughout this early phase, the Qur’an remained (and continues to remain) unillustrated.
Single-volume Qur’an on paper produced in eastern Iran or Afghanistan around 1020–30 AD. Although a certain Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali copied the text, the manuscript bears a spurious attribution to the famed calligrapher and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 449 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Single-volume Qur’an on paper produced in eastern Iran or Afghanistan around 1020–30 AD. Although a certain Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali copied the text, the manuscript bears a spurious attribution to the famed calligrapher and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 449 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The spread of papermaking technology around the end of the tenth century had an indelible effect on Qur’an manuscript production. Since paper was comparatively more affordable than parchment, the pool of patrons and manuscripts expanded. With the intensification and diffusion of production came new and more legible scripts and a greater range of styles of ornamentation. The names of calligraphers also began to appear in manuscript colophons. The Baghdad-based scribe and illuminator Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022) gained such widespread fame that his name was spuriously added to a spectacular eleventh-century Qur’an included in the exhibition. The owner of the manuscript apparently deemed the hand of the original calligrapher, a certain Abu’l Qasim ‘Ali, to hold insufficient prestige. Pages from a diminutive tenth-century parchment Qur’an also on view were, in sixteenth-century Iran, inscribed with the “signature” of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 660), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. ‘Ali is not only a supremely important spiritual figure for Shi’i Muslims, but he is also popularly identified as the progenitor of the kufic script. The addition of his name was likely intended to elevate the manuscript’s spiritual value.
Qur’an manuscripts, as conceived in the Sackler installation, are deeply layered objects; they are mediums for the divine words of God, but they can also give voice to a diverse range of sectarian, devotional, artisanal, and dynastic claims. The Ottomans here took center stage, since the exhibition loans had been held in long-established personal and institutional collections across the Ottoman Empire prior to their transfer to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in the early twentieth century. Many Ottoman elites acquired Qur’ans that were associated with esteemed (or politically subdued) royal lineages, individuals, and cultural centers. They also collected Qur’an manuscripts because of the special baraka these books were perceived to possess. Two such manuscripts—one made in 1577 in the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, the other made around 1250–1300 in Konya, burial place of the great Sufi Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273)—were spiritually activated by virtue of their places of production.
Single-volume Qur’an copied by Khalil Allah ibn Mahmud Shah and illuminated by Muhammad ibn ‘Ali in Istanbul in September 1517 and later gifted by the Ottoman princess Ismihan to the tomb of her father, Selim II (r. 1566–74). Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 224 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
Single-volume Qur’an copied by Khalil Allah ibn Mahmud Shah and illuminated by Muhammad ibn ‘Ali in Istanbul in September 1517 and later gifted by the Ottoman princess Ismihan to the tomb of her father, Selim II (r. 1566–74). Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, TIEM 224 (Photograph: Freer|Sackler staff)
The concentration of Qur’an manuscripts in royal libraries, mosques, and mausoleums could magnify the baraka in those spaces. The tomb of Sultan Selim II (r. 1566–74), in Istanbul, once held eighteen Qur’an manuscripts, including one that his daughter Ismihan presented to augment the site’s blessedness and broadcast her own religious and filial devotion. A large number of Ottoman elites participated in these public demonstrations of piety and dynastic loyalty; as a result, the purchase, trade, and gifting of Qur’an manuscripts flourished, and charitable donations of these materials to religious institutions multiplied.
Around 1911, the process to transfer many of these manuscript bequests to the Museum of Islamic Endowments (renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in 1923) was initiated. Taking the exhibition’s premise to its logical conclusion, one might ask: Does this early twentieth-century episode represent a complete break from or a continuation of prior collection practices? Further, what does the temporary transfer of forty-eight of these Qur’an manuscripts and folios from Turkey to the United States mean today, in the age of Erdogan and Trump? These questions loomed as specters in the galleries, and they continue to reverberate in the exhibition’s aftermath, as Erdogan and Trump find common ground in their shared opposition to a free press and checks on presidential power; academic institutions are also increasingly under attack in both Turkey and the United States. “The Art of the Qur’an,” if only coincidentally, brought the contradictions and perils of the U.S.-Turkey partnership into sharper relief. For most visitors to the Sackler exhibition, however, the manuscripts offered up powerfully palpable historical resonances, while the stunning beauty of the books acted as another compelling lure. For many, the manuscripts also contained the literal words—and, thus, baraka—of God. For those who accept the Qur’an as revelation, the exhibition manifested a glorious repetition of a text that is enduring and unearthly, and which knows no bounds.
Yael Rice is Assistant Professor of the History of Art and Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College. She specializes in the art and architecture of South Asia and Iran, with a particular focus on manuscripts and other portable arts of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries.?yrice@amherst.edu.
Curator Conversation: A Most Unusual Qur'an
Completed in 1399 in what is now India, the Gwalior Qur’an has many features that distinguish it from other Qur’ans in the Museum’s Collection. Curator Dr. Marika Sardar delves into the fascinating details in this history-rich short video for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELJyLvHams
Completed in 1399 in what is now India, the Gwalior Qur’an has many features that distinguish it from other Qur’ans in the Museum’s Collection. Curator Dr. Marika Sardar delves into the fascinating details in this history-rich short video for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELJyLvHams