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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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Chester Beatty Library
Dublin
Ireland

Mamluk Qur'an
early 14th century

The Qur'an 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 Qur'an 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 Qur'an is considered to be a record of the actual words of God, copying the Qur'an 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 Qur'an has copied the text in two sizes of the script, known as rayhan.