Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) has revealed that it acquired 400 rare copies of the Holy Qur’an from various Islamic eras, especially manuscripts from the 10th to 13th centuries AH.

The collection is a treasure trove embracing the radiance of Arab and Islamic art in calligraphy, engravings, designing, illumination, and creativity.

Notable among these rare copies of the Qur’an is a roll with the Ayatul Qursi (The Throne Verse) and other decorations engraved along its length. It was colored and gilded with plant decorations at the beginning and end. The text was written within two gilded frames. It was copied by Fakhr al-Din al-Suhrawardi in 1284 AH.

Another of the rare Qur'an copies consists of 30 sheets, with two facing pages forming a complete part of the Holy Book. The first page was decorated with wonderful plant motifs in which bright colors and gold water were used. The rest of the pages were arranged and were completely gilded. The side frames contain colored and gilded plant motifs. This was copied in the Naskh script in 1240 AH/1824 AD.

There is also a copy of the whole Qur’an, from Surat Al-Fatiha to Surat An-Nas, written in black ink with diacritical marks inside red and blue tables. It was completed in Makkah in the month of Ramadan 1025 AH (1616 AD) by venerable scholar Mulla Ali Al-Qari.

There is another copy that contains the complete Qur’an, written in black ink with precise diacritics within golden panels. At the beginning of some suras, there are floral and geometric designs decorated with gold leaf and a number of color combinations. It was written in 920 AH, (1514 AD), and is bound in leather.

Among the notable possessions is also a complete copy of the Qur’an, written in black ink with precise diacritics within tables colored in gold, green, red, and blue. It was decorated with plant motifs dyed with gold water. This is considered one of the royal manuscripts, written with great care over a long period of time. It is also bound in waxed leather decorated with gold-colored motifs and flowers with the beauty of Islamic art.

The library owns a distinctive Holy Qur’an written in the 13th century AH. The decorative colors are blue, red, white, and gold, in the form of roses, small circles, and flowers. The Qur’an was written in the Naskh script, known for its extended and clear letters. It was written in black, with punctuation marks also in black.

A Holy Qur’an written in the 13th century AH contains floral and geometric decorations with coloring and gilding and golden clouds between the lines. It was written in a creative style called "mirror", where a letter or word in the first line corresponds to the last line, and so each line corresponds to a line according to the type of correspondence.

The collection of Qur'ans in the King Abdulaziz Public Library is distinguished by several types that can be viewed in different ways — the type of script, the region in which it was written, the date of its copying, or its decoration.

All the Qur'ans in the library have decorative intros and conclusions. In addition, there are early Andalusian and Moroccan Qur'ans written on square parchment, as well as Indian Qur'ans with various plant decorations. There are also examples of beautiful Chinese and Kashmiri Qur'ans, as well as some Mamluk examples.

As for the scripts, they range from the Kufic to the Naskh, Thuluth, Timbuktu, and the late Sudanese, in addition to the scripts of the Levant, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, as well as many Najdi and Hijazi Qur’ans, indicating the richness of Islamic arts. Each Islamic nation added its own artistic visions and color combinations, decorations, and culture in transcribing the Holy Book.