Arabic MS 789 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
- Display:
-
Arabic Manuscripts
Contents
Summary of Contents: A large and square volume of the Qurʾan, written in large Naskh characters. With illuminated headings and ornamental decorations. Copied in 874 AH, that is, 1469 CE.Title: al-QurʾānTitle: القرانScribe: Shahīn an-Nāṣirīشاهين الناصريLanguage(s): ArabicColophon: folio 357a: كتبه العبد الفقير لله تعالي شاهين الناصري الشهير بالانباني الملكي الاشرفي حمداً الله على نعمته ومصليّاً عل نبيه سيدنا محمد واله وصحبه ومسلماً بتاريخ مستهل صفر سنة أربع وسبعين وثمان مائةNumerous marginal notes in red and black ink explaining the difficulties of the text.
130a-137bTitle: Sūrat YusufTitle: سورة يوسفSurah 12.
350bTitle: Sūrat al-DhuḥāTitle: سورة الذحىSurah 93.
Physical Description
Form: codexSupport: Paper codexExtent: 357 folios (ii+357+ii)Dimensions (leaf): 420 × 280 mm.Foliation: Modern foliation in pencil in the top left corner of every recto. 11 numbers were skipped: folio 219 is followed by 230, but there is no lacuna.Condition
Usage stains throughout. Old repairs towards the beginning and end, e.g. on folios 1, 2a, 14a, 18a, 342a. Worm damage on the last few folios. Folio 357b is damaged is partially illegible.Layout
Hand(s)
The majority of the text is written in large Naskh characters. According to the colophon, the manuscript was copied by Shahīn an-Nāṣirī (شاهين الناصري).
The first two pages, which contain Surah al-Fatihah (Surah 1) and the beginning of Surah al-Baqarah (Surah 2), have four lines written in Kufi with the heading of the two Surahs and the usual introductory formula.
Decoration
Folio 2a: shamsa (sunburst medallion) with floral and geometrical motifs.
Folios 2b-3a: Sūrat al-Fatiḥah and the beginning of Sūrat al-Baqarah in full illuminated border.
Illuminated headings in various colours and fine ornamental decorations throughout.
Decorative round medallions in the outer margins marking ḥizb (حزب = half a ‘juz’; e.g. folio 8b) and rubʿ ḥizb (ربع حزب = quarter of a juz; e.g. folio 4b), and almond-shaped medallions marking nisf ḥizb (نسف حزب; = quarter of a juz; e.g. folio 6a).
Additions:Folio 357b: more modern handwriting on how many times each letter of the alphabet is used in the Qurʾān, and how many verses and words are contained in it according to the computation of various commentators. Footnote says that the last owner of the manuscript Ḥaydar Aghā (حيدر اغا) has given it as a waqf to the mosque of المر حوم شيخو العمري (probably the Mosque of Shaykhu in Egypt built by the Grand Emir Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri in 1349 CE).
'Waqf' (وقف) inscribed in the upper margin: on folios 141b, 142a, 145b-146a, 172b-173a, 190b-191a, 203b-204a, 214b-215a, 217b-218a, 252a, 252b, 269b-270a, 291b-292a, 299b-300a, 3222b-323a, 338b-339a, 340b-341a, 345b-346a, 347b-348a, 350b-351a, 351b-352a, 353b-357a. Folio 356b: وقف لله وتعالي ; folio 357a: وقف لله تبارك وتعالي .
Folio 1b: inscription in an illuminated medallion, added in the mid-18th century.
Binding
Red leather binding with flap. Blind-tooled. Printed paper paste-downs.
History
Origin: 874 AH (1469 CE).Provenance and Acquisition
Inscription in a gilt medallion about the manuscript's renovation, dated 28 Rajab AH 1170 (1756 CE) on folio 1b: جدد هذا المصحف الشريف من فضل الله تعالي علي سبيل الصدقة الامير رضوان اغارزار اعانة لواقفه ينتضره في ذلك العفو من الله تعالي والدعا لمن يقرا فيه لامة محمد صلي الله عليه وسلم حرر ذلك في ٢٨ رجب سنة ١١٧٠ .
Formerly in the collection of Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) Crawford, Alexander Crawford Lindsay, 1812-1880. Bookplate of Bibliotheca Lindesiana in back paste-down.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) Rylands, Enriqueta, 1843–1908 in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913) Crawford, James Ludovic Lindsay, Earl of, 1847–1913 .
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1908 to The John Rylands Library.
Record Sources
Description based on A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library Manchester (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1934).Availability
The item is available for consultation by any accredited reader.
For information on eligibility and admissions procedures, see Using Special Collections at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.
For further information on the availability of the item, please contact the Special Collections Reader Services.
Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile)
Funding of Cataloguing
Subjects
TO TOP
See the Availability section of this record for information on viewing the item in a reading room.