Qur'an Manuscripts
Dr. M S M Saifullah
Assalamu-alaikum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
>Ware the earliest extant manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an? Where they are =
held?
>What are their dates and condition?
The earliest manuscripts of the Qur'an range from first century hijra til=
l
19th century. They are scattered in various libraries and Museums all ove=
r
the world. In the Islamic world they can be seen in Najaf, Cairo, Zahiriy=
ya
Library (Damascus), Kuwait National Museum etc. In the Western world they
are mostly at:
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
Aya Sofia Library, Istanbul.
Topkapi Sarayi Library, Istanbul.
Royal Library, Copenhagen.
Gotha State Library.
Museum f=FCr Islamische Kunst, Berlin-Dahlem.
Freer Art Gallery, Washington DC.
Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenb=FCttel.
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
British Museum, London.
It is also worthwhile to add that A J Arberry mentions some of the Qur'an=
ic
manuscripts at Chester Beatty Library, Dublin in his book "The Koran
Illuminated: A Handlist Of The Korans In The Chester Beatty Library", 196=
7,
Dublin. This is well supplmented by David James' "Qur'ans and Bindings Fr=
om
the Chester Beatty Library", World of Islam Festival Trust, London 1980.
Martin Lings' "The Qur'anic Art of Calligraphy & Illumination", pp. 242 i=
s
again a very impressive collection of manuscripts
There are all some pretty huge private collections such as Nasser D.
Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. It has resulted in the impressive
documentation in the following books.
--------
The Abbasid Tradition: Qur'ans Of The 8th To The 10th Centuries AD, The
Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. I, 1992, Fran=E7ois D=E9=
roche,
Oxford University Press, 192 pp.
The Master Scribes: Qur'ans of the 10th to 14th Centuries, The Nasser D.
Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. II, 1992, David James, Oxford
University Press, 240 pp.
After Timur: Qur'ans of the 15th and 16th Centuries, The Nasser D. Khalil=
i
Collection of Islamic Art Vol. III, 1992, David James, Oxford University
Press, 256 pp.
The Decorated Word: Qur'ans of the 17th to 19th Centuries, The Nasser D.
Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. IV, 1999, Manijeh Bayani, Anna
Contadini & Tim Stanley, Oxford University Press, 334 pp.
-----------------
Please note that these are on sale but extremely expensive.
Other books worth going through are Anthony Welch's "Calligraphy in the
Arts of the Muslim World", Univ. of Texas Press, Austin 1979 and A J
Arberry's, "The Koran Illuminated", Dublin, 1967.
>I am interested in the process through which the Holy Qur'an was reveale=
d and
>transmitted.
This information can be available in any standard book dealing with the
Qur'an. The transmission of the Qur'an was primarily oral.
>Furthermore, what are the best books, articles, and monographs available=
in
>English on this topic?
"The Recited Koran", As-Said, Labib, Translated by Weiss, Bernard, The
Darwin Press 1975.
The above book is very comprehensive and deals with aspects of collection=
,
Qira'at (recitation) of the Qur'an etc.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more information, inshallah.
--
Dr. M S M Saifullah NTT Basic Research Laboratories
'Islamic Awareness' http://salam.muslimsonline.com/~islamawe/
abujamal
Thank you, Brother Professor, for a wealth of information that
is set forth concisely in a language that most are able to
understand. I have a single question that will clear up what
I see as a possible source of confusion among those who seek
to "challenge" the Qur'an, so that our khateebs and those who
invite may have a ready explanation based on sound and steady
facts ...
> The transmission of the Qur'an was primarily oral.
I understand perfectly that this refers to the process of
passing on The Message from mouth to ear, along with the
adab and balance of ALLAH's Mercy with which The Message
was delivered, in order that there be those who within
their hearts remain only His Qur'an and on their tongues
remain only His Qur'an and for whom is the privilege of
being an Illumination and a Mercy for all who encounter
them. I myself had have the privilege of coming into the
same room where these living saints have come to visit,
and bear witness that into their presence no discord may
occur or enter, and in whose proximity no muslim could for
an instant hesitate to place himself in the path of danger
offered to the Hafiz, knowing instinctively that this is a
certain path to Paradise without account and a part of what
ALLAH has said when He assures us that He will preserve His
Holy Qur'an.
But then there are those who visit us, who may think the above-
quoted sentence is a proof that the Qur'an was not: committed
to writing during the time of Rasuluhil-Kareem Ibn Abdullah
Muhammad sallallahu 'alaihi was-sallam; collected during the
time of the leader of the khulufatur-rashideen Abu Bakr
as-Siddiq radi ALLAH anhu and compiled and verified by two
written texts proving the memory of those many who had so
memorized the Qur'an as I have described in the above paragraph
(I think being among so many would cause my heart to burst!);
and meticulously copied by the third of those khalafa kana
nabuwwah 'Uthman bin Affan radi ALLAH anhu and preserved in
widely-scattered capitals, one of which is in our hands as
I write these words and am too far distant from it.
Should you be able to add to this account I would be grateful
for the knowledge that you possess. And certainly should I
be as insane as others reasonably fear me to be, please
correct what I have written in order that others be preserved
>from any error in what I write in a continuing stream of
words I have never read nor heard before, among them many
which I have and know to be utterly sound.
I can't stop thinking, though, that ALLAH subhanahu wa ta'ala
is turning on the lights. I am blinded in His Mercy to all
defect and error except what He illuminates, and I see more
than anyone could ever imagine of what He has illuminated,
or so I imagine.
Everywhere I look I see His Face: everywhere proof beyond any
doubt that who He sent was His Rahmatal-'Alameen al-Haqiqati
Muhammadi minurALLAHI Ibn Abdullah Muhammad sallallahu 'alaihi
was-sallam, His Mercy to All of the Worlds. It's almost like
seeing him sitting in the room, from what I see.
And in your paper, too. Please forgive my poor Arabic. I
scarcely know what I am saying until I look at it again.
was-salaam,
abujamal
-------- condensation: editorial changes only ------------
"Dr. M S M Saifullah" <sa...@aecl.ntt.co.jp> wrote:
> Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.
> Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
> Aya Sofia Library, Istanbul.
> Topkapi Sarayi Library, Istanbul.
> Royal Library, Copenhagen.
> Gotha State Library.
> Museum f=FCr Islamische Kunst, Berlin-Dahlem.
> Freer Art Gallery, Washington DC.
> Bodleian Library, Oxford.
> Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenb=FCttel.
> Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
> British Museum, London.
> A J Arberry "The Koran Illuminated: A Handlist Of The Korans
> In The Chester Beatty Library", 1967, Dublin.
> David James' "Qur'ans and Bindings From the Chester Beatty
> Library", World of Islam Festival Trust, London 1980.
> Martin Lings' "The Qur'anic Art of Calligraphy & Illumination",
> pp. 242 is again a very impressive collection of manuscripts.
> Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art.
> The Abbasid Tradition: Qur'ans Of The 8th To The 10th
> Centuries AD, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art
> Vol. I, 1992, Franois Droche, Oxford University Press, 192 pp.
> The Master Scribes: Qur'ans of the 10th to 14th Centuries,
> The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. II, 1992,
> David James, Oxford University Press, 240 pp.
> After Timur: Qur'ans of the 15th and 16th Centuries, The
> Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. III, 1992,
> David James, Oxford University Press, 256 pp.
> The Decorated Word: Qur'ans of the 17th to 19th Centuries,
> The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art Vol. IV, 1999,
> Manijeh Bayani, Anna
> Contadini & Tim Stanley, Oxford University Press, 334 pp.
> Please note that these are on sale but extremely expensive.
[not so expensive:]
> Anthony Welch's "Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World",
> Univ. of Texas Press, Austin 1979 and A J Arberry's, "The
> Koran Illuminated", Dublin, 1967.
> "The Recited Koran", As-Said, Labib, Translated by Weiss,
> Bernard, The Darwin Press 1975.
[priceless:]
> Dr. M S M Saifullah NTT Basic Research Laboratories
> 'Islamic Awareness'
> http://salam.muslimsonline.com/~islamawe/
Astaghfirullahul-ladhee laa ilaha illa
huwal-hayyul-qayyoom wa 'atoobu 'alaihi!
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