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Lot Essay
The opening and closing sections of what must once have been a magnificent single volume Qur'an. Signed and with first rate illumination by the same hand, this piece is important as a rare early example of a dated Eastern kufic Qur'an. Qur'ans of this type are often catalogued as 12th century, but this one is securely dated to the first half of the 11th century AD.
Inscriptions are as follows:
On the opening page:
In the outer border: Qur'an (LVI) surat al-waqi'a , vv.76-80
In the blue band: Qur'an (LXI) surat al-saff, parts of 13; (XVII)surat al-kahf, parts of v.49.
In the centre in gold : The numbers of words, letters, chapters in the Qur'an, and how many were given in Mecca and how many in Al-Madina.
In 2 of the roundels:
baraka wa yumn wa surur wa sa'ada wa salama
"Blessing and Good-fortune and Joy and Well-being"
In the other 2 of the roundels:
baraka wa yumn wa surur wa sa'ada li-sahibihi
"Blessing and Good-fortune and Joy to its owner"
On the top of the opening page of the main text, repeated twice :
al-qur'an kalam allah ghayr al-makhluq
"Qur'an is the Word of God, not created"
The added Persian marginal notes in nasta'liq are on the benefits of reciting each chapter.
The colophon reads:
katabahu wa dhahhabahu zayd ibn al-riza ibn zayd ibn 'ali ibn harun ibn al-husayn ibn … ibn harun ibn muhammad ibn al-qasim ibn al-hasan ibn zayd ibn al-hasan ibn 'ali ibn abi ta[lib] salla allah 'alayh wa 'ala …. al-tahirin wa faragha min kita[batihi] fi shahr rajab sana ithnin wa thalathin wa a[rba]'a mi'a min hi[jrah al-nabawiyya]
"It was copied and illuminated by Zayd ibn al-Riza ibn Zayd ibn 'Ali bin Harun ibn al-Husayn ibn … ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn a be upon him and his pure [family]. And the copying of it was completed on the month of Rajab, the year four hundred and thirty two of [the Prophet's] migration (March-April, 1041)"
The text in gold in the last two pages are prayers to be recited in finishing the Qur'an.
From the genealogy, it is clear that the scribe belongs to the Zaydiyya creed of Islam who had political power on the coasts of the Caspian Sea up to circa 520/1126-7, and in the Yemen up to the Ottoman conquest.
Inscriptions are as follows:
On the opening page:
In the outer border: Qur'an (LVI) surat al-waqi'a , vv.76-80
In the blue band: Qur'an (LXI) surat al-saff, parts of 13; (XVII)surat al-kahf, parts of v.49.
In the centre in gold : The numbers of words, letters, chapters in the Qur'an, and how many were given in Mecca and how many in Al-Madina.
In 2 of the roundels:
baraka wa yumn wa surur wa sa'ada wa salama
"Blessing and Good-fortune and Joy and Well-being"
In the other 2 of the roundels:
baraka wa yumn wa surur wa sa'ada li-sahibihi
"Blessing and Good-fortune and Joy to its owner"
On the top of the opening page of the main text, repeated twice :
al-qur'an kalam allah ghayr al-makhluq
"Qur'an is the Word of God, not created"
The added Persian marginal notes in nasta'liq are on the benefits of reciting each chapter.
The colophon reads:
katabahu wa dhahhabahu zayd ibn al-riza ibn zayd ibn 'ali ibn harun ibn al-husayn ibn … ibn harun ibn muhammad ibn al-qasim ibn al-hasan ibn zayd ibn al-hasan ibn 'ali ibn abi ta[lib] salla allah 'alayh wa 'ala …. al-tahirin wa faragha min kita[batihi] fi shahr rajab sana ithnin wa thalathin wa a[rba]'a mi'a min hi[jrah al-nabawiyya]
"It was copied and illuminated by Zayd ibn al-Riza ibn Zayd ibn 'Ali bin Harun ibn al-Husayn ibn … ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn a be upon him and his pure [family]. And the copying of it was completed on the month of Rajab, the year four hundred and thirty two of [the Prophet's] migration (March-April, 1041)"
The text in gold in the last two pages are prayers to be recited in finishing the Qur'an.
From the genealogy, it is clear that the scribe belongs to the Zaydiyya creed of Islam who had political power on the coasts of the Caspian Sea up to circa 520/1126-7, and in the Yemen up to the Ottoman conquest.