Two leaves from the Hadinah Qur’an

These two leaves are taken from a Qur’an written in eastern Kufic script copied and illuminated by Ali Ibn Ahmad al Warraq for the nurse (al Hadinah) of the Zirid Emir Badis. The donor made a bequest (habous) of it to the Great Mosque of Kairouan; the deed of gift, dated 1020 and authenticated by the Kairouan qadi (judge) Abdallah ibn Hachim, is mentioned on the colophon of the book.

The Qur’an is bound in a vertical format and written on vellum. This format, which was already used in the seventh and eighth centuries for Qur’ans produced in Sanaa (Yemen), spread throughout the Islamic world from the ninth century, when the majority of Qur’ans were being made in the oblong format

The stroke of the cursive letters is more triangular than curved. There are no diacritical signs in this writing; however, in compliance with the style developed by Al Khalil Ibn Ahmed,[2] orthographic signs abound. Vowels are marked in red, the sukun and shaddah in blue, and the hamza and maddah in green.

The title of the next Sura is indicated by a rectangle framed with interlacing gold patterns. The name of the Sura and the number of verses in it are written inside the rectangle; a stylised gold palmette outlined in blue protrudes from it into the margin. Placing the Sura titles as an epigraph was a constant in illuminated Qur’ans and was maintained by and large over the centuries.

The other leaf has a frontispiece with a very simple decoration consisting of two superimposed rectangles framed with interlacing gold patterns. Protruding on three sides are palmettes very close in style to the motif in the margin. This type of decoration was perpetuated in other Qur’ans produced in Kairouan in the tenth and early eleventh centuries and, together with certain similar decorations like the palmette, already appeared on the frontispieces of Iranian and Egyptian Qur’ans, such as the tenth-century illumination, most likely of Egyptian origin, held in the British Library (inv. Ms 11735).

The writing used here is strikingly similar to eastern Kufic, especially for the lam alif and final letters such as gim, kaf and nun. This writing developed in Iran from the tenth century onward and may be seen, for example, on a Qur’an leaf in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.[3] It spread throughout the East all the way to Egypt; by the late tenth or early eleventh century it reached Ifriqiya and no doubt Morocco, as attested by a Qur’an in the National Library in Rabat.[4] The elegance of eastern Kufic earned it long years of use, if not for the entire Qur’anic text, at least for such elements as the titles of the Suras[5] and the basmala. Certain letters, especially those appearing in the band containing the title of the Sura, have flowery uprights, which bring to mind for example the writing used in Fatimid Egypt on a number of supports, including wood,[6] textile,[7] and paper.[8]

The Kufic script of the Hadinah Qur’an shows a certain lingering nostalgia for classical Kufic, which is discernable mainly in the final ba and ta.

[3] Qur’an, Iran, eleventh–twelfth century, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabic Ms 7263.

[4] Parchment Qur’an, Morocco, early ninth century, Rabat, Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc, inv. GI.TI.GI.TII http://www.bnrm.ma/fr/manuscrits/new%20pic/img001_800.jpg

[5] Page from Qur’an, Iran, 1186, Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, n°1438, f°40a. photo in Ettinghausen and Grabar p.357.

[6] Epigraphic panel from al-‘Umari Mosque in Qus, eleventh century, wood, Cairo Museum of Islamic Art, inv. 3100. Trésors fâtimides du Caire, p.152 n°93.

[7] Fragment of turban with inscription of tiraz, Egypt, reign of al-‘Azîz, 975–996, linen and silk, Peseux, J.-F. Bouvier collection, inv. JFB I 103 and 103 A. Trésors fâtimides du Caire, p.110, n°33.

[8] Drawing with two warriors, Egypt, found in Fustat, eleventh century, ink on paper, Cairo Museum of Islamic Arte, inv. 13703. Trésors fâtimides du Caire, p.102, n°22.