A Qur'anic Manuscript From The Middle Of 1st Century Hijra
Islamic Awareness
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First Composed : 11th October 2006
Last Updated: 8th October 2007
Verso
Recto
Date
Middle of 1st century hijra (mid-late 7th century CE). Western Arabia or Syria.
Inventory No.
Inv. no. 862003.
Size
Manuscript on vellum, written in sepia ḥijazi script with 24 lines, verso with 20 lines, verses indicated by clusters of short sepia dashes, one marginal medallion of red green and sepia, possibly later, areas of wear and tear to edges, in green Morocco presentation case 14¼ x 11 in. (36 cm x 27.5cm).
Contents
The scriptio superior text is part of Sūrah al-Baqarah, the recto of the leaf from the word al-zakāt in verse 277 to the words illa an in verse 282; the verso from the word tijarat in verse 282 to the words nasiynā aw in verse 286.
The earlier washed off text, i.e., scriptio inferior, is also from Sūrah al-Baqarah, the recto from the last two words of verse 206 to the second fīhi in verse 217; the verso from the word kabīr in verse 217 to harthun lakum in verse 223.
Script
Ḥijazi.
Although the script in this fragment is italic, yet its angles are sharp. The extremities of its letters are elongated under the line until they almost reach the following line, especially the letters sīn and nūn.
Important Features
According to Nabil Saidi and Marcus Fraser, experts-in-charge of the Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures sale at Sotheby's, this Qur'an leaf is perhaps one of the earliest fragments of the Qur'an ever produced.[1] It may well be part of the codices of ‘Uthman that were sent to the main cities of the fledgling Islamic state and may even be copied by one of the companions of the Prophet. It is a relic of the utmost religious and artistic significance.
The leaf is writen on a large sheet of white vellum in dark brown ink in the vertical format which preceded the horizontal format of Kufic Qur'ans of the 9th-11th centuries. Beneath the script the original text may clearly be seen. Presumably the earlier text was washed off the vellum, but the iron gall ink has corroded the vellum and left a clear trace. The fact that this is a palimpsest is very significant, it suggests that the original manuscript may have been written before the ‘Uthmanic recension. Vellum was a rare commodity and would have been reused.
This is one of the four (five?) remaining folios originating from the same codex. Two folios were auctioned at Sotheby's (London) as Lot 31 on the 22nd October 1993 for £51,000[2] and Bonham's (London) as Lot 13 on the 11th October 2000, respectively. The remaining folio can be found in the exhibition catalogue Maṣāḥif Ṣan‘a' (Plate IV) where it has been tentatively dated to the first half of the 1st century hijra.[3] It is unclear whether Inv. no. 01-27.1, also from Ṣan‘a', is from the same codex too. According to the inventory scheme developed by Gerd-R Puin, as described by Dreibholz, it would appear it is indeed from the same volume.[4]
Discussion
This folio was put under the hammer at Sotheby's (London) on the 23rd October 1992 and fetched a princely sum of £159,500, around five times the estimated asking price. The folio thereafter found its way under the hammer yet again, this time at Christie's (London) on the 1st May 2001, sold as Lot no. 12. Subsequently, the folio was acquired by the renowned antiquarian Sam Fogg, and soon made its way into their Islamic Calligraphy catalogue published in 2003.[5] In the same year, the scriptio superior and scriptio inferior text of this manuscript was first discussed by Dr. Yasin Dutton from Edinburgh University’s Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Department, at a conference entitled "The Qur'an: Text, Interpretation and Translation", held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Discussing the readings in the scriptio inferior (i.e., washed-away text) of the Qur'an, he suggested that they originated from pre-‘Uthmanic times.
This folio was discussed (amongst others) at a Symposium on Islamic Calligraphy held at Vortragssaal, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Kulturforum, Berlin which drew together six internationally recognised experts in the field of Islamic calligraphy; some notable attendees include François Déroche and Sheila Blair as well as others. The symposium inaugurated the exhibition Ink and Gold: Masterpieces of Islamic Calligraphy, held at the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum of Islamic Art), Berlin , in July-August of 2006. Held in collaboration with Sam Fogg, this exhibition charted the development of Islamic calligraphy from its beginnings in the 7th century Arabia onwards. The stated catalogue accompanying this exhibition was published on behalf of Sam Fogg in 2006.[6] One will note in this publication the date of the folio is more cautiously given as mid to late 7th century as opposed to mid-7th century in the previous catalogue. The provenance of this folio has also been extended to include Syria as well as the Ḥijaz.
Recently, the scriptio inferior text of this manuscript including one of its sister folios has been studied again by Alba Fedeli, who confirmed some of the readings were of Ibn Mas‘ūd as well as some other companions as reported in the Islamic traditions.[7] Fedeli has established no more than what the scribe who washed away this text around fourteen centuries ago already knew: the initial text contained on this parchment was not in accordance with the Qur'anic text collected by ‘Uthman. The author notes it is baseless to assert this folio was one of Ibn Mas‘ūd's or a leaf from one of the Qur'ans ‘Uthman distributed. However, suggesting as she does, that this manuscript could originate from the 10th century (4th century hijra), the author leaves anyone with a passing knowledge of the chronology of Arabic palaeography scratching their heads. On the other hand, Déroche stated this folio could be one of the oldest examples of an Arabic palimpsest and that it was apparently in use sometime in the 1st century AH / 7th century CE.[8]
Location
The David Collection, Copenhagen.
References
[1] Islamic And Indian Art, Oriental Manuscripts And Miniatures, Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd October 1992 (Catalogue No. 2961), Sotheby's: London, pp. 254-259 ( Lot 551).
[2] Oriental Manuscripts And Miniatures, Friday 22nd October 1993 (Catalogue No. 93561), Sotheby's: London, pp. 18-23 (Lot 31). This leaf immediately precedes the leaf described above containing the verses 2:264-277.
[3] Maṣāḥif Ṣan‘a', 1985, Dār al-Athar al-Islamiyyah: Kuwait, p. 59, Plate IV.
[4] U. Dreibholz, "Preserving A Treasure: The Sana'a Manuscripts", Museum International, 1999, Volume LI, No. 3, p. 22. She says:
The signatures of the different volumes consist of three numbers which also represent the main criteria of classification: (a) the number of lines on the page; (b) the maximum length of the lines in centimetres; and (c) how many different volumes with these same criteria already exist. For example, '7-11' means that there are seven lines to the page and they are not longer than 11 cm. Of course, there may be several Korans with these same criteria, distinguished from each other by different script, decoration, format, etc. For each of these an individual number is added at the end of the signature (i.e., 7-11.1, 7-11.2, etc.). An inconsistent number of lines within a volume is designated by the number '01', followed by the length of the lines. Where the number of lines or their length cannot be established, '00' is used.
Also see U. Dreibholz, "Treatment Of Early Islamic Manuscript Fragments On Parchment: A Case History: The Find At Sana'a, Yemen", in Y. Ibish (Ed.), The Conservation And Preservation Of Islamic Manuscripts, Proceedings Of The Third Conference Of Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation 18-19 November 1995, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation Publication: No. 19: London (UK), p. 140-141, for a more detailed description of the classification system. Please note that these two essays are similar in content.
[5] Islamic Calligraphy, 2003, Catalogue 27, Sam Fogg: London, pp. 6-11.
[6] Ink And Gold: Islamic Calligraphy, 2006, Sam Fogg: London, pp. 14-17. One will note that the co-author of this entry is Marcus Fraser, formerly Director of Islamic and Indian Art at Sotheby's (London), now an independent Islamic art consultant. Fraser was the expert in charge at the Sotheby's sale of this manuscript in 1992; he was also the expert-in-charge at the Sotheby's sale in 1993 when another folio from the same codex was sold. He is currently preparing a catalogue of Qur'anic manuscripts held at the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, dating from the 1st century hijra onwards.
[7] A. Fedeli, "Early Evidences Of Variant Readings In Qur'ānic Manuscripts", in K-H. Ohlig & G-R. Puin (Eds.), Die Dunklen Anfänge: Neue Forschungen Zur Entstehung Und Frühen Geschichte Des Islam, 2006, 2nd Auflage, Verlag Hans Schiler: Berlin (Germany), pp. 298-299 and pp. 304-306. Given the context of the discussion, it is more than a little surprising that in discussing the acquisition of this leaf, Fedeli commits an error of fact (see footnote 29). Discussing the Sotheby's sale of 1992, she says the description attached to the parchment was, “A highly important early Qur'an leaf in hijazi script from the period of the "Rashidun" caliphs”. In actual fact the description is as follows: “Vellum Qur'an leaf in Hijazi script, (surat al-Baqara, verses 277-286) probably Medina, mid-seventh century”. Similar imprecision afflicts the succeeding description also. Fedeli says Lot 34 refers to a “Qur'an section: an important early Qur'an section in Hijazi script”. In actuality the description states “Qur'an section (Surat al-Amran, verses 34-184), Arabic manuscript on vellum written in late Hijazi script, Mecca or Medina, c.700 A. D.” See pp. 26-29 of the Sotheby's catalogue.
[8] F. Déroche (Trans. D. Dusinberre & D. Radzinowicz, Ed. M. I. Waley) Islamic Codicology: An Introduction To The Study Of Manuscripts In Arabic Script, 2006, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation Publication: No. 102, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation: London (UK), pp. 43-45. This is an English translation of Déroche's De Codicologie Des Manuscrits En Ècriture Arabe published by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, in the year 2000. Also see F. Déroche, "New Evidence About Umayyad Book Hands", Essays In Honour Of Ṣalāḥ Al-Dīn Al-Munajjid, 2002, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation Publication: No. 70, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation: London (UK), p. 640, footnote 66. Deroche makes a passing mention that this manuscript is dated to the first half of the 1st century AH. Sheila Blair also makes a passing mention of this manuscript. Please see S. S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy, 2006, Edinburgh University Press Ltd: Scotland, p. 128 & p. 140, footnote 112. Speculating on the early date, Blair states that the textual sources inform us that the first people to make copies of the Qur'an worked in the 8th century. Blair contradicts herself however as in the previous chapter [p. 85] she confidently informs the reader that copies of the Qur'an were penned in the 7th century! Quite apart from what the textual sources inform us, one would find it most remarkable that the powerful new Islamic "state" that was administering conquered lands, collecting taxes, minting coins, sending armies to the extremities of its realm on expeditions, proclaiming the faith, etc., find themselves unable to execute the relatively simple task of copying a book!
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