Leaf from blue Qurʾān

An inventory of the manuscripts from the Great Mosque of Kairouan, compiled in AH 693/AD 1292–1293, lists this Qurʾān as: ‘Seven large-format volumes written in gold kufic characters on blue-black parchment. The surahs, the number of verses, and the hizb are inscribed in silver; bound in embossed leather on silk-lined wood.’

Apart from the first four juz’ (sections), which are held in various museums and private collections around the world, this manuscript is currently conserved in Tunisia.

Analyses have shown that the vellum is dyed indigo and madder-red, materials which originated from trade with India and Egypt, which developed in the tenth century. The gilding was fixed to the parchment with egg white.

The kufic text in gold ink is written in a compact script and shows no indication of vowels. The text does, however, contain certain diacritic signs, in accordance with the method developed by al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf ibn Matār[1].

A band consisting of a stylized gilded leafy rinceau, punctuated with red and blue, marks the beginning of the surah. It seems to extend from a motif in the margin that represents a tree. The name of the surah and the number of verses are inscribed in silver ink just below the motif. The verse divisions are marked by silver rosettes, which are now oxidized. Elsewhere in the text, the tenth verse is marked by a letter (the abjad numbering system). The numerical order of the letters used enabled J. Bloom[2] to identify this Qurʾān as originating from the Maghrib and to ascertain that it is Ifryqian or Andalusian in origin. But the fact that the Qurʾān belonged to the Great Mosque of Kairouan and that the collection contains other dated Qurʾāns with the same graphic characteristics would suggest they’re Kairouanese in origin. Andalusian Kufic, which is archaic compared to its Ifryqian equivalent, doesn’t seem to have been employed in works as refined as these. On the other hand, the dearth of Qurʾān leaves written in Kufic from Andalusian Spain makes it difficult to carry out a comparative study.

The choice of colours imbues the holy book with great spirituality. Blue does, in fact, symbolize heaven and the gilded letters symbolize the divine light diffused by God’s word. It seems that this tradition was transmitted to the Muslims by the Byzantines, who used purple manuscripts with gold texts. It appears that blue Qurʾāns also existed in the Abbasid Near East. Historical sources tell us that the Caliph al-Ma'mun possessed such a Qurʾān. This tradition existed during the same period in the Christian West and Byzantium[3].

This technique seems to have continued in the Maghrib until at least the fifteenth century, but on paper. A Qurʾān, which is currently conserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris and is dyed red-brown with gold titles and silver texts, seems to have been stolen by the Spanish during the sacking of the city of Tunis in 1535 [4]. It dates from the reign of the Hafsid king Abū Fāris ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Mutawakil (reigned 1394–1434). Another Qurʾān, which is currently conserved in the Rabat National Library and dates from the same period, is written in cursive Maghrebin script in silver ink on green paper[5].