Unknown - Quran 'fragment' manuscript - 1720

A very unusual fragmented Quranic manuscript from Northern India in the early C18th. The manuscript consists of 14 folios (7 pages), scribed within the gold framed and burnished gold panels, with extensive commentary in the margins of folios 1-2. This indicates that the fragmented manuscript may well have been used in a teaching environment and passed down over the years.

The fragments contain the scripture from Surah An-Naml (The Ants), v.4-23, and then 'jump' on the final page to Surah At-Tur (Mount Tur), header and v.1-2, "By the Mount, and by the written Book...". This could indicate that that the manuscript is not constructed in the trasitonal way of the Qur'an from a single codex, rather it may have been arranged by the calligrapher as 'selected readings' or liturgical sections to suit the particular readership.

V.4-23 contrast the spiritual blindness of those who reject the Hereafter with the miraculous, divinely granted wisdom of Prophets Moses (Musa) and Solomon (Sulayman), establishing fundamental themes of divine accountability, power paired with humility, and nature testifying to God's oneness. it is the chapter in which the Prophet is told that he is receiving the Quran from the One who is "All-Wise, All-knowing".

It is written in clear Naskh calligraphy, with verses indicators (red dots) and diacritical markings in red offering devotional guidance to the reader.

Notes in the margins are later scholarly additions resembling Persian of Ottoman Turkish nasta'liq rther than the fomal Arabic hand used for the Qur'an. They appear to be a mixture of brief glosses explaining difficult words, exegetical (Tafsir) comments, cross-references and personal study notes.

The general condition is fair, with wormhole damage to the margins, but not affecting the burnished gold scriptures. This is a most interesting historical fragment of an almost complete chapter of the Qur'an, and would grace any collection.

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