What's New and Updated?
Updates for the years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
5th June 2009
Addition of Inv. No. LNS 19 CAab – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st Century Of Hijra. This manuscript bears a striking resemblence to the British Musuem Ms. Or. 2165. Just like the latter, the former is not vocalised. The consonants are frequently differentiated by dashes. Six oval dots ranked in three pairs punctuate the verses. Every tenth verse is marked by a red hollow circle surrounded by dots. Even the size of the folio is same as those found in Ms. Or. 2165. Thus, it can be said with reasonable certainty that both Ms. Or. 2165 and LNS 19 CAab belong to the same codex. There is one folio in this collection. Located at Dār al-Athar al-Islāmiyyah, Kuwait.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
1st June 2009
Addition of Codex TIEM ŞE 12995 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 2nd Century Of Hijra. Written in the ḥijāzī script. The interesting part of this manuscript is the use of different colour of inks. Four varieties of ink have been used for the copy of the text. In addition of the most common used brown ink, the scribe also employed a red, an orange and a green one. These inks are not connected with the beginning or the end of sūrahs. The usage of inks does not follow any rule or sequence. However, an interesting patterning of the coloured inks is applied to the last three lines of a sūrah and the first three lines of the next one. For example, the end of sūrah al-Nisā is written in green and contrasts wiith the first and third lines of sūrah al-Mā'idah which are written in red, the second one being also in green. Only 22 folios of this codex survive. It is written in the reading of Ibn ʿĀmir and this information has been added in The Qirā'āt Identified In The Qur'ānic Manuscripts. The manuscript is located at the Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi (Turkish and Islamic Art Museum), Istanbul, Turkey.
These are in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
28th May 2009
Addition of The “Damascus Umayyad Qur'ān” TIEM ŞE 321 – 1st Century Of Hijra. This manuscript was dated by Déroche using art-historical methods to the time after 72 AH / 691-692 CE or more probably during the last quater of the 1st (early 8th) century AH. It is written in Kufic or perhaps late ḥijāzī script. The letters are spread over the entire page due to an extensive use of elongation of horizontal connections or to a regular spacing of the letters or groups of letters irrespective of being part of the word or not. The sūrah headings are illuminated. The illumination of this Qur'an relies on motifs which find their parallels with the mosaics at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The codex has 33+ folios and is located at the Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi (Turkish and Islamic Art Museum), Istanbul, Turkey.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
23rd May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-29.2 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 2nd Century Of Hijra. This beautiful codex is one of the two Qur'ans found in Ṣanʿāʾ which resemble the monumental codex from Syria, the “Great Umayyad Qur'ān” (Codex Ṣanʿāʾ – DAM 20-33.1). Their similarity in size, proportion, number of lines, script and illumination suggest that the “Great Umayyad Qur'an” may have served as a model. The fragments from this codex reflect the Syrian codex in quality rather than features. The letters are spaciously distributed and once connected individual letters tend to blend with their neighbours. The total number of folios in this codex are not known but 10 of them have been published so far. Located at Dār al-Makhtūtāt, Ṣanʿāʾ, Yemen.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
21st May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-32.1 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 2nd Century Of Hijra. Written in the late ḥijāzī script. About 12 lines per page. It has few diacritical marks but the vocalization is probably contemporary. The style bears many features common to both ḥijāzī and early Kufic, or perhaps show a transition from the former to the latter. The total number of folios in this codex are not known but 7 of them have been published so far.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
19th May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-18.3 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st / 2nd Century Of Hijra. Written in the late ḥijāzī script. The codex consists of 16 folios. Few diacritical marks but no vocalization. The vertical format is a common feature of most Qur'ans written in the ḥijāzī style. This example is an exception, where the horizontal format contradicts somewhat vertical features of the script.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
17th May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-30.1 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 2nd Century Of Hijra. It is written in the late ḥijāzī script. There are about 32 lines per page. Few diacritical marks but no vocalization. The indication of the end of every tenth verses has been added later. The total number of folios in this codex are not known but 9 of them have been published so far. Located at Dār al-Makhtūtāt, Ṣanʿāʾ, Yemen.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
14th May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-29.1 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st Century Of Hijra. Written in the ḥijāzī script. This codex was probably written by at least two different copyists as the scripts differ in various folios. There are few diacritical marks but no vocalization. The sūrahs are separated by simple ornaments. The are 9 published folios of this codex but it is believed that others also exist. Located at Dār al-Makhtūtāt, Ṣanʿāʾ, Yemen.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
12th May 2009
Addition of Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-25.1 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st Century Of Hijra. Written in the ḥijāzī script. The codex consists of 29 folios. There are few diacritical marks but no vocalization. The verses divisions indicate the beginning of the usage of simple ornamentation which is nothing but adjacent strokes. An interesting feature of this early ḥijāzī manuscript is the presence of sūrah al-Fātiḥah which is followed immediately by sūrah al-Baqarah. The presence of sūrah al-Fātiḥah is rare in the Qur'ans from first century hijra, the only other known example being the “Great Umayyad Qur'ān”, DAM 20-33.1, also from Ṣanʿāʾ.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
10th May 2009
We have now started to systematically arrange all the early Qur'anic manuscripts from Dār al-Makhṭūtāt, Ṣanʿāʾ, Yemen. The first on the list is Codex Ṣanʿāʾ DAM 01-28.1 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st / 2nd Century Of Hijra. The codex consists of 60 folios.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
7th May 2009
Addition of A Qur'anic Leaf In The Ḥijāzī Script On Vellum, 1st Century Of Hijra. It is written in the ḥijāzī script in brown ink on vellum. No vocalization, verses indicated occasionally by four dots; a few dots and angled dashes indicating diacritical marks and consonants.
This is added in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.
8th April 2009
With fraud prevalent these days resulting in some of the countries going bankrupt or some on the verge of bankruptcy, it is worthwhile reminding ourselves to be honest, give just measure and not to cheat customers. Glass vessels used in business, perhaps as standard measures for liquids, from early Islamic period precisely emphasize this fact. The update Glass Vessel With Stamp At Beit Shean From The Time Of Sulaymān Bin ʿAbd al-Malik, 98 AH / 716 CE deals with dated and undated glass vessels from the Umayyad times which remind people of honesty and justice when dealing with customers.
This is present in the section The Arabic & Islamic Inscriptions.
21st March 2009
The article Raḥmānān (RḤMNN) - An Ancient South Arabian Moon God? has been enlarged with refutation of silly polemics of Christian missionaries. Added are a new section dealing with al-Raḥmān in the Qur'an, an excursus on Abraha and the Murayghan inscription and a further refutation of the claim that Raḥmānān in this inscription should be translated as "power".
This article is in the section Refutation Of The Borrowing Theories Of The Qur'an.
9th March 2009
Based on a variety of internet webpages the Christian missionaries argue that the Queen of Sheba and her subjects worshipped the Moon as their main deity. Subsequently the missionaries insist that Muslims influenced the text of a Christian composition known as the Kebra Nagast – which states the Queen of Sheba worshipped the Sun – so that it now comports with their beliefs as documented in the Qur'an. Due to their wholly inadequate attempts to research the topic properly, the missionaries have utterly confused themselves and in the process weaved together a strange unsustainable combination of events that are unsupported when viewed in light of the extant archaeological evidence and scholarly studies on the literary sources of the Kebra Nagast. The article The Queen Of Sheba And Sun Worship discusses the issues raised in the light of modern archaeology and literary evidence.
This article is in the section Refutation Of External Contradictions In The Qur'an.
23rd January 2009
Was crucifixion as a method of punishment known in ancient Egypt? When can we observe the first recorded instances of crucifixion in antiquity? Based on a string of faulty self-made definitions, the Christian missionaries think crucifixion defines a method of execution used by the Romans. The article Crucifixion Or ‘Crucifiction’ In Ancient Egypt? discusses the concept of "cross" and "crucifixion" in conjunction with crucifixion terminology and suspension. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic evidence is considered along with some examples of crucifixion in ancient Egypt, making reference to the precise expression of this punishment.
This article is in the section Refutation Of External Contradictions In The Qur'an.
19th January 2009
Addition of Codex Mixt. 917 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st / 2nd Century Hijra. This manuscript was written in either the late ḥijāzī or kufic script and contains 105 folios. The extant folios contain about 27% of the text of the Qur'an. A rare form of punctuation is also displayed in this manuscript corroborating its eighth century CE dating.
This is in the section The Qur'anic Manuscripts.