Qur'anic verses

Qur'anic verses 60-63 and 142-144 of the 6th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-An'am (The Cattle), written in the Maghribi script during the 13th-14th Cent. A number of Qur'ans similar to this fragment were produced on the Iberian peninsula ca. 1250-1500. They were made for the Nasrids ruling from Granada, Spain (1232-1492) and the Marinids, who reigned from their capital in Fez, Morrocco (1248-1340). Dimensions of Written Surface: 9.2 (w) x 12 (h) cm In the lower left corner of the right side appears a catchword written diagonally in blue ink. This word presents the continuation of the ayah and is intended to help properly foliate the manuscript. Other folio numbers and accession numbers appear written a posteriori in the upper left corner of the right side of the bi-folio. Surat al-An'am is a Meccan surah containing 165 verses. It discusses the failures of Christianity and Judaism, as well as the nature and unity of God. The oxidized copper contained in the green dots -- which are here used for demarcating the hamzat al-wasl (long initial "a") -- has now eaten through the paper. Blue ink is used for the duplication of a consonant (tashdid) and the silence marks (sukun). Verse markers, three of which are visible on this bi-folio, consist of three interlacing gold circles forming a tripartite knot decorated with colored centers. This calligraphic fragment includes verses 60-63 and 142-144 of the 6th chapter of the Qur'an entitled al-An'am (The Cattle). The right side of the recto holds verses 61-63, which provide a continuation of verses 60-61 on the left side of the fragment's verso (AL-19 V left). The left side of the recto contains verses 142-143, which continue with verses 143-144 on the right side of the fragment's verso (AL-19 V right). Another fragment belonging to the same Qur'an manuscript and containing verses 67-69 of the 5th surah (Surat al-Ma'idah, The Table) also is held in the collections of the Library of Congress (AL-18 R & V). This Qur'an executed in large maghribi script most likely was produced under Marinid patronage ca. 1250-1350. Its script, text layout (7 lines/page), blue and green ink for diacritics, and verse markers are typical of this period (Lings 1976, pls. 97-98; and James 1992a: 218-219, cat. no. 55). Script: Maghribi AL-19