Facsimile Editions of Early Qur’an Manuscripts: A Survey

by Ahmed Shaker*

There are numerous Qur’an manuscripts, complete and partial, dating from the first century A.H. onward. Although there is no official count of Qur’an manuscripts in existence today, Muhammad Mustafa Al-A‘zami (2003) estimates the number at about 250,000. They may be found in mosques, museums, libraries, and institutions all over the world. In the past century, several early manuscripts have been published in facsimile editions, which reproduce as closely as possible the texts in their original manuscript forms, and may be purchased from specialized centers like IRCICA or borrowed from university libraries. Facsimile editions offer researchers in Qur’anic studies and Arabic paleography easy—if indirect—access to early Qur’an manuscripts.

The following is a concise chronological survey of select facsimile editions of early Qur’an manuscripts, including original title, date of publication, and—when possible—an estimated percentage of the total text of the Qur’an represented in the manuscript/facsimile.

1- Coran coufique de Samarcand: écrit d’après la tradition de la propre main du troisième calife Osman (644-656) qui se trouve dans la Bibliothèque Impériale Publique de St. Petersbourg. Ed. S. Pissaref. St. Petersberg, 1905.

Pissaref edition (1905)

Pissaref’s facsimile edition (1905) of the “Samarqand Qur’an.”

In 1905, the Russian orientalist S. Pissaref published a facsimile edition of the famous Samarkand Qur’an (now Tashkent) attributed to the third caliph ‘Uthman. Many Muslims today, in Central Asia and elsewhere, believe that the Tashkent manuscript was ‘Uthman’s personal copy of the Qur’an, from which he was reading when he was attacked and killed in 35 A.H./656 C.E. It is estimated that the manuscript originally consisted of about 950 folios, but over the years individual folios were removed. Pissaref’s facsimile edition includes 353 folios. In 1992, fifteen of the original folios were stolen and sold in auctions, so today only 338 folios of the manuscript remain.

2- The Unique Ibn al-Bawwab Manuscript: Complete Facsimile Edition of the Earliest Surviving Naskhi Qu’ran, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Manuscript K. 16. Ed. D. S. Rice. Graz, 1983.

This is a complete facsimile edition of the famous naskhi Qur’an manuscript of Ibn al-Bawwab written in 391 A.H. and preserved in the Chester Beatty Library (No. K.16).

3- Sources de la transmission manuscrite du texte coranique. Eds. François Déroche and Sergio Noga Noseda. Lesa, 1998-.

The first volume (1998) is a facsimile edition of a Hijazi manuscript from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Arabe 328a), consisting of 56 folios representing about 25% of the total text of the Qur’an. The second volume (2001) is a facsimile edition of the oldest Qur’an manuscript from the British Library (Or. 2165). The original manuscript consisted of 121 folios representing 53% of the total text of the Qur’an, but the 2001 facsimile edition includes only the first 61 folios, with the remaining scheduled for future publication.

5- Koran ‘Usmana: Sankt-Peterburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent. Ed. Efim Rezvan. St. Petersburg, 2004.

This is a facsimile edition of the “Qur’an of ‘Uthman” (St. Petersburg, Katta-Langar, Bukhara, Tashkent), containing about 40% of the total text of the Qur’an.

6- Al-Muṣḥaf al-sharīf: Attributed to ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān (The Copy at the Topkapı Palace Museum). Ed. Tayyar Altıkulaç. Istanbul, 2007.

Al-Muṣḥaf al-sharīf al-mansūb ilā ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān: Nuskhat matḥaf al-āthār al-turkīyah wa’l-islāmīyah bi-Istānbūl. Ed. Tayyar Altıkulaç. Istanbul, 2007.

Al-Muṣḥaf al-sharīf al-mansūb ilā ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān: Nuskhat al-Mashhad al-Ḥusaynī bi’l-Qāhirah. Ed. Tayyar Altıkulaç. Istanbul, 2009.

In 2007, Tayyar Altıkulaç published facsimile editions of two Qur’an manuscripts attributed to the third caliph ‘Uthman. The first, at the Topkapı Palace Museum (No. 44/32), is an almost complete manuscript, with only two folios missing and representing over 99% of the total text of the Qur’an. The second, at the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum (No. 457), is also almost complete. In 2009, Altıkulaç published a facsmile edition of another manuscript attributed to ‘Uthman at the Central Library of Islamic Manuscripts in Cairo, which has more than 99% of the total text of the Qur’an and only 4 folios missing (while some other folios were rewritten in a later hand).

7- Al-Muṣḥaf al-sharīf al-mansūb ilā ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib: Nuskhat Ṣanʿāʾ. Ed. Tayyar Altıkulaç. Istanbul, 2011.

This is a facsimile edition of the manuscript attributed to the fourth caliphs ‘Ali at the Great Mosque in Sana‘a. It contains about 86% of the total text of the Qur’an.

More facsimile editions are expected to be published in the coming years by scholars like Tayyar Altıkulaç, François Déroche, Efim Rezvan, Alba Fedeli, and others. It is also worthwhile to note that Qur’an manuscripts are not only being published as facsimile editions but also in digital format. The Corpus Coranicum project has been working on digitizing ancient Hijazi and Kufic manuscripts since its launch in 2007.

* Ahmed Shaker is an independent researcher on Qur’an manuscripts.

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

Plan your Trip to Atlanta! IQSA Annual Meeting Program Highlights

cropped-header3.jpgThe IQSA Annual Meeting in Atlanta is just a few weeks away! As you plan your trip, please note the following special events on the program, which starts Friday 20 November:

Presidential Address – Free and Open to the Public!

Reuven Firestone, Hebrew Union College: The Problematic of Prophecy
Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame, Respondent

Friday 20 November
4:00-5:15 p.m.
Room: M104 (Marquis Level) – Marriott


IQSA Reception – Free and Open to the Public!

Friday 20 November
5:15-6:30 p.m.
Room: M105 (Marquis Level) – Marriott


IQSA Business Meeting – All IQSA members should attend!

Sunday 22 November
11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Room: 
M105 (Marquis Level) – Marriott


IQSA Graduate Student Reception – New day and time!

Sunday 22 November
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Room: L504-L505 (Lobby Level) – Marriott

All students in Qur’anic and Islamic Studies attending the IQSA sessions are welcome to join. Food/drink will be served. A number of senior professors in Qur’anic Studies will be in attendance for informal conversation/mentorship. You can RSVP to contact@iqsaweb.org.


We hope to see you at these important events! Thank you!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

Read, Write, and Share Commentaries on Qur’an 4:1-28

Photo by Habib M'henniThe  Qurʾan Seminar  invites you to add your own commentaries on a new selected passage of the Qur’an: Q. 4:1-28. The  Qurʾan Seminar, organized by IQSA, is dedicated to collaborative study of selected passages that are significant for understanding major themes and structures of the Qur’anic text. Contributors are encouraged to address the Qur’an directly and to not rely on classical exegesis as a lens through which to view the text. Of particular interest to the discussion are the following questions:

  • The structure of the Qur’an (its logical, rhetorical, and literary qualities, or naẓm)
  • The Qur’an’s intertextual relationships (with both Biblical and other literary traditions)
  • The Qur’an’s historical context in Late Antiquity

Access to Qur’an Seminar is open to IQSA members only. To become a member, click HERE. Once you are a member, you can access the Qur’an Seminar website:

  1. Go to http://www.iqsa-quranseminar.org/home.html
  1. Click on Log in / Sign up
  1. As a member of IQSA, fulfill the required field under Have an account? Sign in and then, click on Login.
  1. Click on “All passages selected”
  1. Click on al nisāˈ 4, 1-28

The Qur’an Seminar website has two principal elements. First, the website includes a database of passages of the Qur’an with commentaries from a range of scholars. This database is meant to be a resource for students and specialists of the Qur’an alike. The commentaries may be quoted and referenced by citing the corresponding URL.

Second, the website includes an active forum in which additional Qur’anic passages are discussed. At regular intervals the material on the forum will be saved and moved to the database, and new passages will be presented for discussion on the forum. As a rule, the passages selected for discussion are meant to be long enough to raise a variety of questions for discussion, but short enough to lend that discussion coherence.

If you have any questions, please write to mehdi.azaiez@theo.kuleuven.be

We hope you will enjoy the content and consider contributing!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.

A Special Welcome for Students at Annual Meeting in Atlanta

An Abbasid-era illustration of students studying with a faqih; image from Wikimedia Commons.

An Abbasid-era illustration of students studying with a faqih; image from Wikimedia Commons.

NOTE: TIME & DATE CHANGED

As we gear up for our Annual Meeting in Atlanta next month, IQSA is especially excited to welcome students and emerging scholars to our growing community. We warmly encourage all students who are planning to attend the Annual Meeting to RSVP for our Student Reception:

Sunday 22 November
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Room: L504-L505 (Lobby Level) – Marriott

There will be plenty of food and refreshments, and plenty of friendly conversation with established scholars of Qur’anic studies, including Farid Esack, Reuven Firestone, Daniel Madigan, Gabriel Said Reynolds, Vanessa De Gifis, and Nicolai Sinai.

IQSA is committed to fostering community in Qur’anic studies by supporting students on their path to professional success and encouraging collaboration across generations, all of which are vital to the advancement of knowledge in our field.

If you are interested in attending the Student Reception, please simply RSVP to IQSA at contact@iqsaweb.org.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

© International Qur’anic Studies Association, 2015. All rights reserved.