Mushaf-i Sharif

This article contributes to the body of knowledge regarding early manuscripts of the Qurʾān by reporting the findings of a multidisciplinary investigation of the historical significance of a unique Qurʾānic copy. Discovered in the earlynineteenth century CE in the Mosque of ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ in Fusṭāṭ (Old Cairo), the manuscript is distinctive for its monumental size, which suggests its significance in the production of Qurʾānic manuscripts. It is also notable for heterogeneous leaves, some of which were not part of the original volume, an indication of conservation issues throughout the centuries. The multidisciplinary study of this composite copy and its preservation provides insight into the history of the written transmission of the Qurʾān, from the first manuscripts ordered by the Caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (r. 644-656) to the Fāṭimid copies in Egypt (969-1171).

Undoubtedly, the formation of calligraphy as an independent artistic tradition was the result of trying to transcribe the great and holy book of Islam with its most complete and original features. The Kufi script, which became popular and developed in Damascus and Kufa from the beginning of Islam, became the first type of script to write the the holy Quran in the Arab world. When Islam spread to the east, it changed to the Eastern Kufi and in the west to the Western Kufi and the examples have been remained until today. Despite the harsh nature of the Kufi script, its circular characters have effected on Thuluth, Naskh, Mohaghagh, and Reyhan scripts, which originated from Arabic script, and have given the Quran an extraordinary beauty. The efforts of the various Islamic governments that became powerful in Iran, the Mamluk government in Egypt, the Seljuk dynasty and the Ottomans in Anatolia, draw attention to transcribing God’s words. These scripts are used alone or alternately in transcribing of the Quran. By passing the time, the scale of the mentioned scripts above was determined by Yaghout al-Mostasami (died in 1299 A.D.) in Abbasid era by using dot. After the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453 A.D., Sheikh Hamdallah Amasi (1642-1698 A.D.), who appeared in Anatolia, chose the beauties of Yaghout scripts and created a new style and dedicated Naskh script to the transcribing of the Quran. Later, Hafiz Uthman (1642-1698 A.D.) repeated this choice through Sheikh’s transcriptions and revealed an understanding of Naskh script that is still accepted in the transcribing of the Quran today. So Naskh script introduced as “ Server of God’s Quran“ in Ottomans.