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Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
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Bihari Qur'an
AUTHOR/CREATOR
Calligrapher: unknown
CREATED/PUBLISHED
c. 1400-1525 AD
NOTES
Script: Bihari
This folio contains, on the right side, verses 2-8 of Surat al-Kahf (The Cave), and, on the left side, verses 67-70 of Chapter 17 of the Qur'an, entitled Surat Bani Isra'il (The Children of Israel), also known as Surat al-Isra' (The Night Journey). With the folio's verso, this fragment includes parts of Chapter 17 and the beginning of Chapter 18 of the Qur'an.
The borders of the text include a commentary in Persian on a particular verse of the Qur'an. This commentary typically is written in black ink and laid out diagonally in the margin. On the rightmost margin of the verso appears a note cross-referenced with the number 1 to the sixth ayah (verse) of Surat al-Kahf. The commentary elaborates on the meaning of this verse (18:6), in which it is stated: "You would only perchance fret yourself to death, following them in grief if they do not believe in your message." This particular verse's ambiguity seems to have necessitated explanation. Typically, it is explained here that the Prophet Muhammad is met with opposition and persecution at the beginning of his preaching of the Islamic faith, but he must not worry as he will be successful in his mission (Qur'an: 708, fn 2331). In this particular fragment, only a commentary is given in the margin. Other bihari Qur'ans bear double margins, containing both a commentary and alternative readings of certain words appearing in the Qur'anic text (James 1992b: 103, cat. no. 27).
The right side of the folio contains a small catchword written diagonally in black in the lower left corner in order to organize and bind the folios in the correct sequence. The ayah markers here, as on the recto of the folio, consist of eight-petal rosettes outlined in black, with a square gold-leaf center and eight blue dots on their outer edges.
The fragment is written in a script known as bihari, a variant of naskh (cursive) typical of northern India aster Timur's conquest and prior to the establishment of the Mughal Dynasty (ca. 1400-1525 A.D.). Bihari script is reconizable by its emphasis on the sublinear elements of the Arabic letter forms, thickened at their centers and chiseled like swords at their ends (James 1992b, 102). The term bihari derives from the province Bihar in eastern India, but it seems like its alternative spelling bahari describes the size (bahar) of the paper used for writing Qur'ans (ibid; and Rahman 1979, pls. 3-15).
Most Qur'ans written in bihari script make us of strong orange or red and blue colors for illuminated motifs, as well as for the main body of the text. This particular fragment repeats lines of script in the following manner: one line of gold, two lines of black, one line of blue, two lines of black, one line of gold. Other bihari Qur'ans may simply alternate black and gold ink for the main text, prefering to keep blue (and red) ink for ornamental designs (Beit Al Qur'an 1996, 105). Also typical appears the picking out in gold of significant words such as "allah" or his various names and epithets (the so-called Asma' Allah al-Husna, or the Beautiful Names of God), which occurs here, most notably, in the first two lines after the sura heading on the left folio. Other bihari Qur'ans also highlight the name of God, sometimes prefering red over gold ink (James 1992b; 104, cat. nos. 27-8).
This fragment includes interlinear Persian translation in red ink, as well as marginal commentary (tasfir) on the text written in black ink, appearing in diagonal in the text's border and cross-referenced to the Qur'anic text in a numerical fashion not too dissimilar from today's footnote system. Bihari Qur'ans tend to include a note next to each chapter heading explaining its value and how many times it should be read (james 1992b: 104, cat. no. 28). However, this particular fragment also specifies the total number of words (kalamatuha) and letters (hurufuha) contained in each chapter.
SUBJECT
Arabic calligraphy
Arabic script calligraphy
Islamic manuscripts
Islamic calligraphy
Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
Bihari
MEDIUM
55.5 (w) x 36.6 (h) cm
CALL NUMBER
1-84-154.21
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress, African and Middle Eastern Division, Washington, D.C. 20540
DIGITAL ID
ascs 070
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.070
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