MS. Or. 2165: A Qur'anic Manuscript From The 1st Century Hijra In The British Library
Islamic Awareness
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First Composed: 27th August 2005
Last Updated: 5th July 2006
Date
1st century of hijra.
The dating of MS. Or. 2165 has an interesting history.[1] William Wright was perhaps the first scholar to publish this manuscript and he dated it to the 8th century CE.[2] This date was accepted by Josef von Karabacek who dated the manuscript to the early 8th century CE, i.e., the end of the 1st century of hijra or the beginning of the 2nd century.[3] On the other hand, based on a careful evaluation of the paleographic considerations, Adolf Grohmann dated this manuscript to the 1st century of hijra.[4]
For reasons which remain unelaborated, Martin Lings and Yasin Safadi dated MS. Or. 2165 to the late 2nd century of hijra (i.e., 8th century CE).[5] However, a recent study by Dutton has shown that this manuscript is remarkably similar to the 1st century Qur'anic manuscript MS. Arabe 328a in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, and was written in the qira'at of Ibn ‘Amir (just like MS. Arabe 328a). Based on the similarity between MS. Arabe 328a and MS. Or. 2165, Dutton suggests re-dating this manuscript to the time just before the Umayyad Caliph Walid (r. 86-96 AH), i.e., within the period 30-85 AH with the latter end of this time scale being safer.[6] Thus, this study confirms the earlier datings of Karabacek and Grohmann.
Manuscript Number
MS. Or. 2165.
Size
31.5 cm x 21.5 cm.
Contents
Folios 1-14: Qur'an 7:42-9:95
Folios 15-113: Qur'an 10:9-39:47
Folios 114-21: Qur'an 40:61-43-71
A volume of the facsimile edition published by Déroche and Noseda only includes the first 61 folios of the total of 121.[7]
Script
Ma‘il [or Hijazi] script.
Manuscript on vellum. The mushaf is not vocalised. The consonants are frequently differentiated by dashes. The manuscript is written in the qira'at of Ibn ‘Amir, the Syrian.
Location
British Library, London (United Kingdom).
Acknowledgements
We thank the British Library for providing us with an image of the manuscript.
References & Notes
[1] The dating of MS. Or. 2165 has also taken some interesting twists on the internet as well – on a website no less prestigious than that of the British Library. In early 2005, the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures Of The British Library: Sacred Texts stated MS. Or. 2165 was a "Qur'an in Ma'il script, probably Mecca or Medina, late 7th century." However, later in the same year the date was unexpectedly transformed to the 8th century.
[2] W. Wright, Facsimiles Of Manuscripts And Inscriptions (Oriental Series), 1875-1883, The Palæographical Society, William Clowes and Sons, Ltd.: London, Plate LIX.
[3] J. von Karabacek, "Julius Euting's Sinaïtische Inschriften", Vienna Oriental Journal (Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes), 1891, Volume 5, p. 324; idem., "Arabic Palaeography", Vienna Oriental Journal (Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes), 1906, Volume 20, p. 137.
[4] A. Grohmann, "Zum Problem Der Datierung Der Ältesten Koran-Handschriften" in H. Franke (Ed.), Akten Des Vierundzwanzigsten Internationalen Orientalisten-Kongresses München, 28. August Bis 4. September 1957, 1959, Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft e.V.: Weisbaden, p. 272.
[5] M. Lings & Y. H. Safadi, The Qur'an: Catalogue Of An Exhibition Of Qur'anic Manuscripts At The British Library 3 April - 15 August 1976, 1976, Published for the British Library by The World Of Islam Publishing Company, p. 20. Official British Library publications also record an 8th century date. For instance, see C. F. Baker (Ed.), Subject Guide To The Arabic Manuscripts In The British Library, 2001, The British Library: London, p. 1.
[6] Y. Dutton, "Some Notes On The British Library's 'Oldest Qur'an Manuscript' (Or. 2165)", Journal Of Qur'anic Studies, 2004, Volume VI (no. 1), pp. 43-71.
[7] F. Déroche and S. N. Noseda (Eds.), Sources de la transmission manuscrite du texte coranique. I. Les manuscrits de style hijazi. Volume 2. Tome I. Le manuscrit Or. 2165 (f. 1 à 61) de la British Library, 2001, Fondazione Ferni Noja Noseda, Leda, and British Library: London.
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