Unknown - Qur'an - Herat - 1460

Qur'an - Herat - Timurid - AD1460. This Quranic manuscript folio was scribed shortly after Shah Rukh’s reign at a time of great political turmoil. It is an unusual folio in that if contains 3 marginal medallions on the same page and thus is quite rare. The folio contains scripture from Surah Qaf (Chapter 50) v.21-35, with 50:34 providing a beautiful ending to the folio, translated as: "Enter it in peace. This is the Day of Eternity".

The folio is written in a refined Timurid naskh calligraphy. The blue and gold medallions marking 5th verse divisions (in this case 25, 30 and 35) are characteristic of the luxury Qur'ans produced in the eastern Persianate world. Freehand 'aya' in a simple gold spiral mark out the verses. The folios is fully framed in gold and blue lines. There is clear devotional use through page turning lower left, but otherwise this is a good clean copy and very well preserved for its age.

The passage itself is one of the most dramatic eschatological (meaning relating to the final fate of humanity) sections of the Qur'an, describing the Day of Judgement, the recording angels, the sinners companion (Qarin) - a spiritual companion or double from the unseen world of the jinn, which according to Islamic tradition and theology, God assigns to every human being at birth to accompany them through life - the sentence of Hell and finally the welcoming of the righteous into Paradise.

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