The “Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān” At St. Petersburg (Russia), Katta Langar, Bukhārā And Tashkent (Uzbekistan), From 2nd Century Hijra

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First Composed: 16th June 2000

Last Updated: 24th June 2008

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Assalamu ʿalaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:

A folio from the "Qur'an of ‘Uthman" (Manuscript E20) at the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia showing the last part of Surah al-Sāffat (verses 158-182) and beginning of Surah Sād (verses 1-8).

Date

2nd century hijra (final quarter of the 8th century CE).[1]

The results of radiocarbon dating of this manuscript were published by Efim Rezvan. For this manuscript, a 68.3% confidence level (1σ) yields the dating ranges, 781 CE - 791 CE, 825 CE - 843 CE, 859 CE - 903 CE and 915 CE - 977 CE. The 95.4 % confidence level (2σ) yields 775 CE - 995 CE.[2] Palaeographic analysis of this manuscript gave the date around the final quarter of the 8th century CE.[3] This dating was also agreed by François Déroche.[4]

History Of The Manuscript

The major portion of this manuscript is at the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia, with smaller number of folios scattered in Katta Langar, Bukhara and Tashkent. Manuscript E 20 at St. Petersburg was bought by the Institute of Oriental Studies in 1936 from an elderly lady who most probably "purchased" it from the library of Irinei Georgievich Nofal, Professor of Arabic and Islamic law at the School of Oriental Languages of the Ministry of Affairs during the second half of the nineteenth century. Nofal was born into a very well-known Arab-Christian family in Tripoli, Syria, and had received a typical Leventine education and spoke French fluently. He divided his time between commerce, representing foreign powers and literary endeavours. The fate of his library, however, is not as remarkable as his upbringing. Nofal's sons were neither interested in scholarship nor literature and consequently they did not make careers for themselves, preferring to live at their father's expense. Gradually reaching a point where, taking advantage of his advanced years, they secretly sold off his library piecemeal to booksellers. After his death, the entire library was disposed off.[5]

In June 1998, Efim Rezvan published an article with the detailed description of the manuscript at the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, in the ḥijāzī script.[6] About a year later François Déroche published the Qur'anic fragments at Katta Langar and compared it with the manuscript E 20 at St. Petersburg.[7] Here he positively identified both these manuscripts belonging to the same codex. Déroche also mentioned yet another folio from this codex held in the collection of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Bīrūnī Institute of Oriental Studies, Tashkent. Later Rezvan identified two more folios from this codex held at the Ibn Sīnā Bukhārā Regional Library, Bukhārā. With this information, Rezvan surmised that this codex of the Qur'an originated from the Greater Syria and Nofal brought it with him from his homeland (Tripoli, Syria).[8] The discovery of other folios at Katta Langar, Bukhārā and Tashkent suggests that this manuscript arrived in St. Petersburg via Central Asia. A facsimile edition of this codex was prepared by Rezvan in 2004.[9]

Script & Text

The text is written in what is called the late ḥijāzī script.[10] It was written by two copyists, A and B. In accordance with François Déroche's classification, both hands correspond to the styles B.I and B.II among the early Abbasid scripts.[11] The style of medial jīm / ḥāʾ / khāʾ, however, largely corresponds to style A.I. On the whole the manuscript is indicative of the transition from the ḥijāzī script to later styles. As a rule alif is perpendicular to the line, although it sometimes preserves a slight incline to the right, as does the vertical stroke in ʾ and lām. Copyist B, a more professional hand, is characterized by a rounded finish to final jīm / ḥāʾ / khāʾ, ʿayn and ghayn, which serves as a principal distinguishing characteristic from copyist A. The number of lines per page varies widely (Copyist A - 23 to 31 lines; Copyist B - 21 to 26 lines), as does the size of the letters.

Diacritical marks to distinguish the consonants are consistently provided in the manuscript. For example, dots above tāʾ are set vertical to the line; dots above the thāʾ are either vertical or in a single horizontal line at a slight angle to the line of the text. Initial and medial qāf are marked both by two dots above the letter and a dot below it; the two dots could have been added possibly later by another hand.

The blanks between the surahs were later filled in with ornamented illuminations, each of them an original composition of triangles and semicircles made up of parallel, interwoven and intersecting red and green lines and, in number of cases added vignettes. The basmala is treated as a separate āya throughout the text.

Total number of folios: 97 = 81 (Manuscript E 20, Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia) + 1 (Call no. 11604, Collection of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Bīrūnī Institute of Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan) + 2 (Ibn Sīnā Bukhārā Regional Library, Bukhārā, Uzbekistan) + 12 (Mazār of the shaykhs of the ʿIshqiyya brotherhood in Katta Langar, Uzbekistan) + 1 (Library of Administration of Muslim Affairs, Tashkent, Uzbekistan). The manuscript contains about 40% of the text of the Qur'an, with full texts of 22 surahs and fragments of another 22. The sequence of the surahs correspond to rasm al-ʿUthmānī. This manuscript was falsely attributed to caliph ʿUthmān in Katta Langar[such as the one at Samarqand, two in Istanbul (Topkapi Library and TIEM), and two in Cairo (al-Hussein mosque and Dār al-Kutub)].

Contents

The table below is produced by combining Tables 1 and 14 as seen in the facsimile edition.[12]

Folio Number (True) Qur'anic Surah / Ayah Copyist Number of Lines Location
1r 2:17 - 2:29 A 27 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
1v 2:30 - 2:47 A 26  
1a 2:126 - 2:140     Library of Administration of Muslim Affairs, Tashkent
1b 2:140 - 2:144      
2r 2:176 - 2:184 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
2v 2:184 - 2:190 A 23  
2a 3:26 - 3:42     Bīrūnī Institute of Oriental Studies, Taskhent
2b 3:42 - 3:61      
3r 3:95 - 3:112 A 31 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
3v 3:112 - 3:131 A 31  
4r 3:163 - 3:179 A 29 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
4v 3:179 - 3:191 A 29  
5r 4:25 - 4:36 A 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
5v 4:36 - 4:47 A 26  
6r 4:47 - 4:58 A 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
6v 4:58 - 4:71 A 26  
7r 4:71 - 4:81 A 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
7v 4:81 - 4:91 A 26  
8r 4:91 - 4:102 A 28 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
8v 4:102 - 4:114 A 28  
9r 4:114 - 4:127 A 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
9v 4:127 - 4:136 A 25  
3a 4:136 - 4:146     Katta Langar Complex
3b 4:146 - 4:157      
4a 4:157 - 4:169     Katta Langar Complex
4b 4:169 - 4:176      
5a 5:1 - 5:4     Katta Langar Complex
5b 5:4 - 5:9      
6a 5:10 - 5:17     Katta Langar Complex
6b 5:17 - 5:27      
7a 5:28 - 5:40     Katta Langar Complex
7b 5:40 - 5:45      
8a 5:46 - 5:54     Katta Langar Complex
8b 5:54 - 5:64      
9a 5:64 - 5:73     Katta Langar Complex
9b 5:73 - 5:85      
10a 5:86 - 5:95     Katta Langar Complex
10b 5:95 - 5:106      
11a 5:106 - 5:113     Katta Langar Complex
11b 5:113 - 6:3      
12a 6:3 - 6:19     Katta Langar Complex
12b 6:19 - 6:33      
13a 6:33 - 6:46     Katta Langar Complex
13b 6:46 - 6:59      
14a 6:59 - 6:70     Katta Langar Complex
14b 6:70 - 6:82      
10r 6:82 - 6:93 A 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
10v 6:93 - 6:102 A 25  
11r 6:125 - 6:136 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
11v 6:136 - 6:144 A 24  
12r 6:144 - 6:151 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
12v 6:151 - 6:159 A 23  
13r 6:159 - 6:165, 7:1 - 7:9 A 21 + 2 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
13v 7:9 - 7:22 A 23  
14r 7:23 - 7:33 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
14v 7:33 - 7:42 A 23  
15r 7:42 - 7:53 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
15v 7:53 - 7:62 A 24  
16r 7:62 - 7:73 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
16v 7:73 - 7:84 A 23  
17r 7:84 - 7:93 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
17v 7:93 - 7:104 A 23  
18r 7:104 - 7:125 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
18v 7:125 - 7:135 A 23  
19r 7:168 - 7:178 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
19v 7:178 - 7:190 A 25  
20r 7:190 - 7:205 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
20v 7:206 - 7:206, 8:1 - 8:9 A 20.5 + 2.5  
21r 9:61 - 9:70 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
21v 9:70 - 9:78 A 23  
22r 9:96 - 9:105 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
22v 9:105 - 9:113 A 23  
23r 9:113 - 9:122 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
23v 9:123 - 9:129, 10:1 - 10:4 A 22 + 2  
24r 10:4 - 10:15 A 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
24v 10:15 - 10:23 A 23  
25r 10:23 - 10:33 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
25v 10:33 - 10:45 A 24  
26r 10:45 - 10:61 A 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
26v 10:61 - 10:73 A 25  
27r 10:73 - 10:88 A 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
27v 10:88 - 10:99 A 24  
28r 10:100 - 10:109, 11:1 - 11:2 A 20.5 + 2.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
28v 11:2 - 11:14 A 25  
29r 20:89 - 20:108 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
29v 20:108 - 20:124 B 23  
30r 24:11 - 24:22 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
30v 24:22 - 24:31 B 24  
31r 24:31 - 24:39 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
31v 24:39 - 24:49 B 24  
32r 24:49 - 24:58 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
32v 24:58 - 24:62 B 23  
33r 24:63 - 24:64, 25:1 - 25:9 B 20 + 3 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
33v 25:9 - 25:23 B 23  
34r 25:23 - 25:40 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
34v 25:41 - 25:58 B 24  
35r 25:58 - 25:74 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
35v 25:75 - 25:77. 26:1 - 26:19 B 22 + 3  
36r 26:19 - 26:45 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
36v 26:45 - 26:75 B 24  
37r 26:75 - 26:115 B 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
37v 26:116 - 26:152 B 25  
38r 26:152 - 26:181 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
38v 26:183 - 26:215 B 24  
39r 27:54 - 27:66 B 22 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
39v 27:66 - 27:82 B 22  
40r 27:82 - 27:93, 28:1 - 28:3 B 20.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
40v 28:3 - 28:15 B 23  
41r 28:15 - 28:25 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
41v 28:25 - 28:35 B 23  
15a 28:35 - 28:45     Ibn Sīnā Bukhārā Regional Library, Bukhārā
15b 28:45 - 28:56      
16a 28:57 - 28:70     Ibn Sīnā Bukhārā Regional Library, Bukhārā
16b 28:70 - 28:81      
42r 28:81 - 28:88, 29:1 - 29:6 B 21.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
42v 29:6 - 29:17 B 23  
43r 29:17 - 29:29 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
43v 29:29 - 29:40 B 23  
44r 29:40 - 29:51 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
44v 29:51 - 29:65 B 23  
45r 30:27 - 30:39 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
45v 30:39 - 30:51 B 24  
46r 30:51 - 30:60, 31:1 - 31:7 B 22 + 2 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
46v 31:7 - 31:19 B 24  
47r 31:19 - 31:32 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
47v 31:32 - 31:34, 32:1 - 32:10 B 22.5 + 2.5  
48r 32:10 - 32:24 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
48v 32:24 - 32:33, 33:1 - 33:5 B 21.5 + 2.5  
49r 33:5 - 33:16 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
49v 33:16 - 33:25 B 23  
50r 33:25 - 33:35 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
50v 33:35 - 33:47 B 24  
51r 33:47 - 33:53 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
51v 33:53 - 33:69 B 25  
52r 33:69 - 33:73, 34:1 - 34:8 B 24.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
52v 34:8 - 34:20 B 26  
53r 34:20 - 34:33 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
53v 34:33 - 34:44 B 24  
54r 34:44 - 34:54, 35:1 - 35:3 B 22 + 2 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
54v 35:3 - 35:12 B 24  
55r 35:38 - 35:45 B 21.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
55v 36:1 - 36:21 B 23  
56r 36:21 - 36:41 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
56v 36:41 - 36:61 B 23  
57r 36:61 - 36:83, 37:1 B 24 + 1 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
57v 37:2 - 37:36 B 25  
58r 37:36 - 37:76 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
58v 37:76 - 37:114 B 24  
59r 37:114 - 37:158 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
59v 37:158 - 37:182, 38:1 - 38:8 B 22 + 2  
60r 38:8 - 38:26 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
60v 38:26 - 38:43 B 25  
61r 38:43 - 38:69 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
61v 38:69 - 38:88, 39:1 - 39:3 B 20.5 + 2.5  
62r 43:8 - 43:28 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
62v 43:28 - 43:48 B 25  
63r 44:3 - 44:21 B 23 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
63v 44:31 - 44:59, 45:1 - 45:2 B 22 + 2  
64r 45:2 - 45:17 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
64v 45:17 - 45:30 B 24  
65r 45:30 - 45:37, 46:1 - 46:5 B 21.5 + 2.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
65v 46:5 - 46:15 B 24  
66r 46:15 - 46:26 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
66v 46:26 - 46:35 B 23 + 1  
67r 47:1 - 47:13 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
67v 47:13 - 47:25 B 24  
68r 47:25 - 47:28, 48:1 B 23.5 + 2.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
68v 48:2 - 48:15 B 26  
69r 48:15 - 48:26 B 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
69v 48:26 - 48:29, 49:1 - 49:6 B 23.5+1.5  
70r 49:6 - 49:16 B 26 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
70v 49:16 - 49:18, 50:1 - 50:18 B 24 + 2  
71r 50:18 - 50:44 B 25 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
71v 50:45, 51:1 - 51:36 B 24.5 + 1.5  
72r 51:36 - 51:60, 52:1 - 52:11 B 23.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
72v 52:11 - 52:40 B 25  
73r 52:41 - 52:49, 53:1 - 53:23 B 22 + 2 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
73v 53:23 - 53:45 B 23  
74r 53:46 - 53:62, 54:1 - 54:10 B 18.5 + 2.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
74v 54:10 - 54:33 B 22  
75r 54:34 - 54:55, 55:1 - 55:2 B 20.5 + 2.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
75v 55:3 - 55:33 B 22  
76r 55:33 - 55:59 B 22 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
76v 55:60 - 55:78, 56:1 - 56:11 B 19.5 + 2.5  
77r 56:11 - 56:51 B 22 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
77v 56:51 - 56:83 B 22  
78r 56:83 - 56:96, 57:1 - 57:6 B 19.5 + 1.5 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
78v 57:6 - 57:13 B 21  
79r 57:13 - 57:20 B 22 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
79v 57:20 - 57:27 B 22  
80r 57:27 - 57:29, 58:1 - 58:4 B 20 + 2 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
80v 58:4 - 58:11 B 22  
81r 70:1 - 70:37 B 24 Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg
81v 70:38 - 70:44, 71:1 - 71:12 B 22 + 2  

Location

Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia; Collection of the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Bīrūnī Institute of Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Ibn Sīnā Bukhārā Regional Library, Bukhārā, Uzbekistan; Mazār of the shaykhs of the ʿIshqiyya brotherhood in Katta Langar, Uzbekistan; Library of Administration of Muslim Affairs, Tashkent, Uzbekistan).

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References

[1] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān" (St. Petersburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent), 2004, Volume I, St. Petersburg Centre For Oriental Studies: St. Petersburg (Russia), pp. 69-70.

[2] E. A. Rezvan, "On The Dating Of An “‘Uthmanic Qur'an” From St. Petersburg", Manuscripta Orientalia, 2000, Volume 6, No. 3, pp. 19-22.

[3] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'an And Its World VI. Emergence Of A Canon: The Struggle For Uniformity", Manuscripta Orientalia, 1998, Volume 4, No. 2, p. 26.

[4] F. Déroche, "Note Sur Les Fragments Coraniques Anciens De Katta Langar (Ouzbékistan)", Cahiers D'Asie Centrale, 1999, Volume 7, p. 70.

[5] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān" (St. Petersburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent), 2004, Volume I, op. cit., pp. 17-18.

[6] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'an And Its World VI. Emergence Of A Canon: The Struggle For Uniformity", Manuscripta Orientalia, 1998, op. cit., p. 13-54; idem., "Yet Another “‘Uthmanic Qur'an” (On The History Of Manuscript E 20 From The St. Petersburg Branch Of The Institute Of Oriental Studies", Manuscripta Orientalia, 2000, Volume 6, No. 1, pp. 49-68.

[7] F. Déroche, "Note Sur Les Fragments Coraniques Anciens De Katta Langar (Ouzbékistan)", Cahiers D'Asie Centrale, 1999, op. cit., pp. 65-73.

[8] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān" (St. Petersburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent), 2004, Volume I, op. cit., p. 19.

[9] ibid.

[10] ibid., pp. 61-65. The discussion in this section is taken from these pages.

[11] F. Déroche, The Abbasid Tradition: Qur'ans Of The 8th To The 10th Centuries AD, 1992, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Volume I, Oxford University Press, pp. 35-36.

[12] E. A. Rezvan, "The Qur'ān Of ʿUthmān" (St. Petersburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent), 2004, Volume I, op. cit., pp. 124-129 and p. 146.

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