Manuscript/Mixed Material Qur'anic verses (44:56-59, 45:1-4)
About this Item
Title
- Qur'anic verses (44:56-59, 45:1-4)
Created / Published
- 15th century
Headings
- - Calligraphy, Arabic
- - Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
- - Egypt
- - Arabic script calligraphy
- - Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
- - Islamic calligraphy
- - Islamic manuscripts
- - Masahif
- - Pseudo-eastern kufi
Notes
- - Qur'anic verses in the Masahif style of Arabic calligraphic writing.
- - Below the chapter heading in gold executed in pseudo-eastern Kufi script, a cursive transcription of the same heading is written in blue thuluth. It states that the chapter consists of thirty-seven ayat and was revealed in Mecca. The blue transcription was probably added at a later date to clarify the rather illegible surah heading, as well as to give the proper number of verses (although the numbers 30 and 7 are transposed in the transcription).
- - Recto: Dimensions of Written Surface: 12 (w) x 17.8 (h) cm
- - Recto: Script: masahif
- - The first verse of al-Jathiyah appearing after the initial bismillah ("In the Name of God"), contains only the two letters "h" (ha) and "m" (mim), a double-letter combination appearing at the beginning of surahs 40-46, all dated from the later Meccan period. These abbreviated letters (al-muqatta'at) usually appear in various combinations at the opening of certain surahs in the Qur'an. Because the exact meaning of each letter or letter combination remains unclear, the letters also are referred to as the "mystery" letters. This appellation suggests that only God knows their exact, esoteric meanings (for a discussion of the mystery letters, see Qur'an 2001: 122-4, Appendix I).. In this particular case, it may be suggested that the ha stands for Hayy ("God the Living") and the mim for Qayyum ("God the Eternal"), and thus combine the dual concepts of life and death (Qur'an 2001, 1203). However, the meaning of these two letters remains purely conjectural.
- - The Qur'an is written in dark brown ink on a light beige rag paper. The script is called masahif: It is smaller than muhaqqaq and used principally for the copying of Qur'ans (for a discussion, see 1-86-154.137a R). The diacritical marks (tashkil) are executed in the same brown ink, while three upturned gold-painted commas (or virgules) represent the verse markers (Selim 1979, 154). The layout of five lines per page is typical of 15th-century Qur'ans made in Mamluk Egypt (1250-1517). This folio resembles closely another Mamluk fragment in the Library of Congress (see 1-86-154.137a R and V).
- - This Qur'anic fragment contains the last verses (44: 56-59) of the surah entitled al-Dukhan (The Smoke). Its verso continues with the beginning al-Jathiyah (The Kneeling Down), chapter 45 of the Qur'an (see 1-86-154.137b V). The theme of Surat al-Dukhan revolves around how worldly pride and power fade to smoke in front of spiritual truths and how men will meet God's judgment in the Hereafter. As 44:56 states, God will preserve the righteous from the tortures of the Hell ('azab al-jahim). The initial verses of al-Jathiyah discuss the various material signs of God on earth, such as the presence of humans and animals.
- - Verso: Script: pseudo-eastern Kufi (surah heading in gold) and masahif (verses)
- - Verso: Dimensions of Written Surface: 11 (w) x 18.2 (h) cm
- - 1-86-154.137b
Medium
- 1 volume ; 18 (w) x 26 (h) cm
Repository
- Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2019714471
Online Format
- image