Qur'anic verses (56:77-9) on carpet page

In the Thuluth script, typical of the Mamluk period (14th-15th centuries). As noted in the red rectangular registers located at the top and bottom of this inscribed panel, this folio introduces the 26th part (juz') of the Qur'an (Selim 1979, 161). The central space includes an inscription containing verses 77-79 of Chapter 56 entitled Surat al-Waqi'ah (The Inevitable). These verses typically open the Qur'an as included on a double page illuminated frontispiece (see 1-88-154.8a and 1-89-154.168 R), although they may appear in decorated pages used to separate the parts (ajza') of the Qur'an. The verses here read: Dimensions of Written Surface: Recto: 11.2 (w) x 16.8 (h) cm. Dimensions of Written Surface: Verso: 14 (w) x 21 (h) cm. Other extractive calligraphic techniques include procedures of paper cutting or découpage (Safwat 1996, 194), in which letter forms are cut out from a colored paper and pasted onto a differently-colored ground (see 1-87-154.152). In both procedures, the basic principle consists in letting the background paper create the internal structure of the letters themselves. This demanding and precise work shows the various ways in which calligraphers could show their mastery of calligraphy through extractive, rather than additive, methods. That this is indeed a Glorious Qur'an / In a Well-Guarded Book, / Which none shall touch but those who are clean. The fragment's verso (see 1-87-154.151 V) includes verses 1-3 of Chapter 46 of the Qur'an entitled Surat al-Ahqaf (The Winding Sand Tracts). The script of these pages is thuluth, a cursive script typical of the Mamluk period (14th-15th centuries) in Egypt. The background of spiral scrollwork used on this decorative page is also characteristic of Qur'ans of this period (Lings and Safadi 1976: 52-33, no. 73). The juz' (section) marker forms an artistic break in the Qur'an. The inscriptions at the top and bottom are executed in gold ink into a black calligraphic outline inscribed on the cream-colored page. These are placed on a red background with arabesques of blue and green leaves. The inscription on the center panel also emerges through an extractive technique. The letters are formed by the cream-colored page showing from below the blue background, also decorated with concentric vines and leaves. The revelation of the Book is from God, the Glorious, the Wise. We did not create the heavens and earth, and all between them, but for just ends. The title of the chapter that appears at the top is executed in gold and outlined in black ink. It specifies that this particular surah contains 35 verses, while the fragment's recto (see 1-87-154.151 R) introduces the 26th section (juz'), of which it constitutes the first chapter. Initiated by a bismillah and the mystery letters ha-mim, (h-m) verses 2-3 read: This chapter is the 7th and last of the ha-mim series (chapters 40-46). It argues that all Creation has a divine purpose behind it. For this reason, the righteous must wait with patience, as Truth and Revelation will be vindicated. The letters ha-mim comprise the mystery or abbreviated letters (al-muqatta'at) appearing singly or in combination at the beginning of certain chapters in the Qur'an. Many scholars of mystical inclination have tried to attach various esoteric meanings to these letters, searching in them deeper axiomatic truths about God and the world. Script: thuluth 1-87-154.151