Handwritten Illuminated 19th Century Qur’an by Habib al-`Abidin Husayn · McKay Library Special Collections

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Handwritten Illuminated 19th Century Qur’an by Habib al-`Abidin Husayn

Identifier	BOK.MDE.AD19C.2
Title	Handwritten Illuminated 19th Century Qur’an by Habib al-`Abidin Husayn
Alternative Title	Blue Qur'an
Description	Holding true to the belief that only Allah can create anthropomorphic images, Muslim calligraphers and illuminators turned handwritten Qur’an’s such as this into its own work of art. The artistic embellishments served as a devotion to deity, as the written words from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) were considered the presence of Allah. This Qur’an is written in naskh script, which translates to “to copy,” as it was the primary script used to copy the Qur’an. There are two parts of a Qur’an which are usually illuminated more than the rest: the opening and closing Sūrah’s. The opening frontispieces “are sometimes referred to as ‘carpet’ pages since their appearance resembles oriental carpets. In architectural terms, opening a Qur’an volume might be compared to entering a sacred building, with the carpet page as the gateway or portal to the holy text itself” (Baker). This “Ottoman Turkish [Qur’an,]... written by Habib al-`Abidin Husayn” boasts blue, purple, and gold illuminations for these two Sūrah’s (“A Nice”). * * * “A Nice, Highly Illuminated, Islamic Arabic Koran.” LiveAuctioneers. Palmyra Heritage Gallery in NY, June 21, 2020. https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/85932076_a-nice-highly-illuminated-islamic-arabic-koran. Baker, Colin F. “Illumination of the Qur'an.” The British Library, December 3, 2018. https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/illumination-of-the-quran.
Date Created	1864 AD 1281 AH
Creator	Habib al-`Abidin Husayn
Audience	Religion of Islam Muslims
Geographical Coverage	Middle East
Temporal Coverage	19th Century
Format	Handwritten manuscript
Collecting Areas	English History of Writing Collection See all items with this value English Illumination See all items with this value English Manuscript See all items with this value English Religious Text See all items with this value English Qur'ans See all items with this value
Language	Arabic
Subject	Islamic literature, Arabic See all items with this value Islam See all items with this value
Type	Qur'an
Bibliographic Citation	Habib al-`Abidin Husayn. Handwritten Qur'an "Blue Qur'an." 19th Century.

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History of Writing