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Mamluk
early
14th century
Reproduced
by kind permission of the Trustees
of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
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early 14th century
The
is the holy book of the Islamic faith. Muslims
consider it a record of the exact words of God
as revealed to the Prophet Mohammed by the Archangel
Gabriel over a period of more than 20 years, both
in Mecca and in Medina (in present-day Saudi Arabia).
The
is divided into 114 chapters, or
and the beginning of each new chapter is usually
announced by an illuminated heading, as on the
left-hand page of this manuscript. This heading
signals the start of Chapter 14, and is inscribed
with the title of the chapter, 'Ibrahim' (the
Biblical prophet Abraham). The line of large script
immediately below the heading is known as the
basmala: the statement, 'In the name of
God, the Merciful, the Compassionate' with which
each chapter begins. Chapters are divided into
a varying number of verses, or ayas, with
the end of each verse indicated by a small gold
rosette. Marginal decorations guide the reading
of the holy text by indicating every fifth and
tenth verse, and places in the text that require
ritual prostration; the motif in the right-hand
margin is inscribed with the word 'ashara'
to mark the tenth verse.
Because
the
is considered to be a record of the actual words
of God, copying the
is an act imbued with sanctity. Calligraphy therefore
is the most highly esteemed art in Islam, and
the calligrapher has always been held in greater
regard than any other type of artist or artisan.
The calligrapher of this fine
has copied the text in two sizes of the script,
known as rayhan.
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