Thread by @BaytAlFann

Muslims believe Laylat al-Qadr, is the night God first revealed the Qurʾān to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), through the angel Gabriel. It takes place on one of the final 10 nights of Ramadan.

For #LaylatalQadr here are 23 Qur’anic manuscripts in museums & collections.

A thread…

1/ Folio from Qur’an, 1075-1100 Saljuq
Iran
@NatAsianArt

Sura al-Ma'ida (the Table spread) 5:34 and part of 35, recto begins with "illalladhina"; verso: sura 5:parts of 35 and 36, verso begins with "waja[a]hidu; Arabic in black eastern kufic (New Style)
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

2/ Folio from Qur’an, 9th - 10th century
North Africa
@brooklynmuseum

The “Blue” Qur’an, named after the rich, indigo-dyed parchment used for its folios, is arguably one of the most extraordinary luxury manuscripts ever created #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

3/ Folio from Qur’an, c. 19th century
Malay Peninsula, Terengganu
Asian Civilisations Museum

Gold played an important, possibly role in defining the aesthetics of Qur’anic calligraphy from Terengganu (eastern Malaysia). #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

4/ Folio from Qur’an, c. 16th century
Iran
@LACMA

Shiraz was a significant and highly prolific center for the production of luxury manuscripts, including copies of the Qur’an, some of which were intended for export.
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

5/ Folio from Qur’an, 19th century
Ottoman, Turkey
@Sothebys

Written in naskh in black ink, ruled in gold, black & red, verses separated by gold and polychrome rosettes
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

6/ Folio from Qur’an, 1640–41
Pre-Partition India
@KhaliliOnline

The scribe was ‘Abd al-Haqq Amanat Khan Shirazi, who was particularly famous as a calligrapher and designed the inscriptions for the Taj Mahal at Agra, retired to a village near Lahore #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

7/ Folio from Qur'an, 14th century
Egypt or Syria
@metmuseum

Mamluk Qur’an manuscript, surat al-Maryam written in naskhi script inside cloud-bands, a device inspired by Chinese art, against a hatched background #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

8/ Leaf from Qur'an, 3rd century AH/CE 9th
Middle East
@walters_museum

Written in Early Abbasid (Kufic) script in dark brown ink & vocalized with red & green dots.
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

9/ Folio from Qur'an, 1053/1643
Beijing, China
credit @CellardEleonore

Women calligraphers copying the Qur'ān are well known but female names are rarely found in manuscripts. This copy has the name of calligrapher Ama Allāh Nūr al-'ilm bint Rashīd al-Dīn #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

10/ Leaf from Qur'an, 19th century
Dagestan
@britishlibrary

Dagestan is a republic located in the Russian Federation & home to a rich & distinctive manuscript culture. Start of Surah Maryam, with calligraphic treatment of the 'mysterious letters', at the #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

11/ Folio from Qur'an, c. 1360-1380
Cairo, Egypt
@CBL_Dublin

Closing pages from a Mamluk Qur'an with chapter 113 and 114 in muhaqqaq script.
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

12/ Folio from Qur'an, 1307–8
Baghdad, Iran
@metmuseum

During the Ilkhanid period a series of magnificent large‑scale Qur'an manuscripts were produced. This can be directly linked to royal patronage; the size, quality of their paper & splendid calligraphy #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

13/ Folio from Qur'an, Hafsid dynasty, early 9th/15th
National Library of France

Purple Quran’ from the collection of the National Library of France. Made in Maghreb, written with silver ink on dyed paper.
#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

14/ Folio from Qur'an, 16th century
Ottoman, Turkey
@NatAsianArt

Arabic in white and black thuluth, naskh and muhaqqaq scripts #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

15/ Folio from Qur'an, 1232-1492 CE
Spain
@ChristiesInc

The Andalusian Pink Qur’ān, written in Maghribi script on large dyed paper, is attributed to the Nasrid sultans of Granada, who used to write their letters on colored papers varying from red to pink #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

16/ Folio from Qur'an, 14th century
Cairo, Egypt
@librarycongress

The first chapter of the Qur’an, al-Fatihah (The Opening). The script in the main text frame is in naskh, a cursive style preferred in Qur’ans made in Cairo during the 14th-15th centuries #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

17/ Folio from Qur'an
Djenne, Mali
@britishlibrary

A page from qur’ān EAP488/1/8/1 (undated), reproduced courtesy of the British Library.

#Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

18/ Leaf from Qur'an, 8th/9th c.
Hast Imam Library, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The Samarkand Kufic Qur’an was thought to be one of the oldest copies. The date the it was written varies between 595 AD – 855 AD. Most researchers agree it was written in 8th/9th c. #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

19/ Folio from Qur'an, 19th Century
Banten, Java, Indonesia.
National Library of Indonesia, Jakarta

A fine example of Islamic illumination in South East Asia, with distinctive use of black and red #Ramadan #LaylatulQadr

20/ Folio from Qur'an, 1246 AH/1831 AD
Kashmir
@Sothebys

Copied by Muhammad Hasan lines to the page, written in naskh in black ink within clouds against a gold ground, the Persian interlinear in red nasta’liq #Ramadan #LaylatalQadr

21/ Folio from Qur'an, c. 1330-1350
Central Asia
@philamuseum

Early Muslim settlers from central and western Asia carried Islamic book traditions into India, especially in the form of Qur'ans, such as the one from which these pages come #Ramadan #LaylatalQadr

22/ Folio from Qur'an, 14th century
Mamluk, Egypt
@NatAsianArt

Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; left -hand half of a double-page frontispiece; Sura al-Baqara (the Cow), sura heading in white kufic with gold rosette verse markers #Ramadan #LaylatalQadr

23/ Folio from Qur'an, Late 16th century
Deccan (Golconda)
@MorganLibrary

This magnificent leaf originally must have faced a page that began with Muḥammad's first revelation (610), sura 96.1—5 (Iqraa, or "Read!" or "Proclaim"), also known as al-˓Alaq #Ramadan #LaylatalQadr