Codex Arabe 331 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st Century Hijra

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First Composed: 7th December 2014

Last Updated: 8th March 2020

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(a)		(b)

(c)		(d)

(e)		(f)

(g)		(h)

Folios of Codex Arabe 331 (a) 3r, (b) 41r, (c) 56v and (d) 45v at Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Folios of (e) Leiden Or. 14.545b recto, (f) Leiden Or. 14.545c recto, (g) Nabécor Encheres 2019, Lot 94, recto, and (h) Nabécor Encheres 2019, Lot 94, verso.

Date

1st century of hijra.

Noseda included this manuscript in his table of ḥijāzī manuscripts from 1st century hijra. Giving information about a ḥijāzī manuscript kept at the Universiteitsbibliothek Leida (i.e., University Library, Lieden), he does not mark any dash to indicate the contents of the manuscript.^[1] One may surmise that perhaps Noseda had only limited information concerning this manuscript at the time of writing and made note of the existence of the manuscript. However, it was Nabia Abbott in 1939, who first classified two folios from this codex at the Oriental Institute, Chicago, to be from 1st/2nd century AH.^[2]

Originally believed to date from the latter part of the 8th century, two folios of this manuscript have now been subjected to radiocarbon analysis under the auspices of the Corpus Coranicum project. Folio 1 of Leiden Or. 14.545b has been dated to 652-765 CE with 95.4% probability, with that range being broken down into a 81.1% probability that it dates to between 652 and 715 CE and a 14.3% probability that it dates to between 744 and 765 CE. Folio 1 of Leiden Or. 14.545c has been dated to 650-765 CE with 95.4% probability, with that range being broken down into a 83.7% probability that it dates to between 650 and 714 CE and a 11.7% probability that it dates to between 744 and 765 CE. Just like the above manuscript, the combined dating is given as 652–763 CE by Marx and Jocham, it does not give the true nature of distribution of probabilities of dates. Radiocarbon analyses of folios combinely date the codex to 652-763 CE with 95.4% probability, with that range being broken down into a 89.3% probability that it dates to between 652 and 694 CE and a 6.1% probability that it dates to between 747 and 763 CE.^[3]

Size & Folios

41.3 cm x 34.8 cm. There are 19 lines per page. Manuscript on parchment.

This manuscript has 88 folios = 56 (Arabe 331, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)^[4] + 26 (Marcel 3, National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg) + 2 (Ms. Leiden Or. 14.545b + Or. 14.545c, University Library, Leiden)^[5] + 2 (A 6959 + A 6990, Oriental Institute, Chicago)^[6] + 1 (E16264 R, University of Pennsylvania Museum) + 1 (Nabécor Enchères, 2019, Lot 94).^[7] The extant folios contain ~28.5% of the text of the Qur'an.

History Of The Manuscript

This manuscript was kept at the ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ mosque, Fusṭāṭ until, at the end of the 18th century, a member of French expedition to Egypt, Jean-Joseph Marcel, acquired a few leaves which, in 1864, became part of the collection of what is now known as National Library of Russia at St. Petersburgh. A few years later another Frenchman, Jean-Louis Asselin de Cherville (d. 1822), a consular agent of France in Cairo from 1806 to 1822, was able to buy a larger number of folios. These were passed to the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, in 1833, and became part of Arabe 331 collection of Qur'an manuscripts. François Déroche was the first person to give a brief description in his handlist of manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Ms. Leiden Or. 14.545b + Or. 14.545c were purchased in May 1979 from Mr. H. C. Jorissen, former Dutch ambassador in Beirut, where he had purchased the fragments. François Déroche was the first person to give a brief description in his handlist of manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, and connected Arabe 331 with the two folios at the Oriental Institute, Chicago.^[8]

Script & Ornamentation

Ḥijāzī or ḥijāzī-like. B1a according to the classification of Déroche. The script is upright though slightly tilted to the right and is penned in a brownish ink. The consonants are frequently differentiated by oblique strokes. There is no vocalisation. Usually six, sometimes less, small oblique strokes (giving the appearance of dots) arranged in a triangular formation punctuate the verses. Every tenth verse is indicated by alphabetic numerals (abjad) usually enclosed in a black hollow circle. The beginning and end of the sūrahs are characterized by an extra blank line that has been added with the absence of any ornamentation. After the last word of the sūrah written in a smaller script almost without diacritics, possibly by a later(?) copyist, or, sometimes in the space between the two sūrahs, we find the phrase "khatimatu sūrati...".

Contents

The contents of the manuscript are tabulated below.

Location

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg; University Library, Leiden; and private collection.

References & Notes

[1] S. N. Noseda, "Note Esterne In Margin Al 1° Volume Dei ‘Materiali Per Un'edizione Critica Del Corano’", Rendiconti: Classe Di Lettere E Scienze Morali E Storiche, 2000, Vol. 134, Fasc. 1, pp. 19-28.

[2] N. Abbott, The Rise Of The North Arabic Script And Its Kur'ānic Development, With A Full Description Of The Kur'ān Manuscripts In The Oriental Institute, 1939, University of Chicago Press, pp. 60-61, Plates VIII, IX.

[3] M. J. Marx & T. J. Jocham, "Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) Dating Of Qur'ān Manuscripts", in A. Kaplony, M. Marx (Eds.), Qur'ān Quotations Preserved On Papyrus Documents, 7th-10th Centuries, 2019, Documenta Coranica: Volume 2, Brill: Leiden, pp. 188-221, esp. Table 6.2 on p. 216. Also see M. J. Marx & T. J. Jocham, "Zu Den Datierungen Von Koranhandschriften Durch Die ¹⁴C-Methode", Frankfurter Zeitschrift Für Islamisch-Theologische Studien, 2015, Volume 2, p. 24. Also see "Oudste Leidse Koranfragmenten ruim een eeuw ouder dan gedacht". For English translation of the same see "Oldest Quran Fragments in Leiden" at Leiden University. Both the links accessed on 29th December 2014.

[4] F. Déroche, Catalogue Des Manuscrits Arabes: Deuxième Partie: Manuscrits Musulmans - Tome I, 1: Les Manuscrits Du Coran: Aux Origines De La Calligraphie Coranique, 1983, Bibliothèque Nationale: Paris, p. 67 & Plate IX.

[5] J. J. Witkam, Inventory Of The Oriental Manuscripts Of The Library Of The University Of Leiden, 2007, Volume 15, Manuscripts Or. 14.001 - Or. 15.000, Ter Lugt Press: Leiden, p. 253; J. J. Witkam, ''Course of Islamic Paleography'', The Netherlands, 2007, available online.

[6] N. Abbott, The Rise Of The North Arabic Script And Its Kur'ānic Development, With A Full Description Of The Kur'ān Manuscripts In The Oriental Institute, 1939, op. cit., Plates VIII, IX.

[7] Nabécor Enchères, 2019, Lot 94. Details are here (text only).

[8] F. Déroche, Catalogue Des Manuscrits Arabes: Deuxième Partie: Manuscrits Musulmans - Tome I, 1: Les Manuscrits Du Coran: Aux Origines De La Calligraphie Coranique, 1983, op. cit., p. 67.

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