Middle-East - Quran - 1540

A single large form folio from a Middle-East Safaivid Koran C1540. The leaf is from chapter 58, Surah Al-Mujadilah (The Pleading Woman), v.1-6. These lay down the Islamic legal framework to abolish the unfair, pre-Islamic practice of zihar (where a husband equates his wife to his mother to effectively abandon her), outlines the penalty for making this vow, and establishes that Allah is All-Knowing and fully aware of all deeds.

The folio is a fine example of a Safvid court production: elegant naskh script in black ink, gold verse-markers, a lapis blue chapter heading with gold script (thuluth) and a delicate floral finial medallion marking the start of the hizb. The marginal inscription reads "al-hizb al=thamin wa-thalathun", the 58th hizb. The scripture is framed with 5 lines in red, gold and a final blue frame line.

This is a fine example of a Middle-East Koran manuscript folio that dates back to the English Tudors.

The Safavid dynasty, (1501–1736), was the ruling dynasty of Iran whose establishment of Twelver Shiʿism as the state religion of Iran was a major factor in the emergence of a unified national consciousness among the various ethnic and linguistic elements of the country. The pages show some age staining but are in very good condition overall for their age.

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