The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour
elongating characters vertically or horizontally.’167 We may say that the development in Arabic writing style has been due to developments in writing the Qur’an. This means that the desire to improve the writing of the Qur’an, which has always been strong, was behind the great refinement experienced in Arabic calligraphy, one of the finest Arabic and Islamic cultural arts.
The writing of the Qur’an in muṣḥaf after the period of its collation and first copying, which we have discussed, started by writing on parchments in the Makkan or Madinan style, which was characterised by an angular slant. It came to be known as the Hijazi script. Towards the end of the first century of the Islamic, or Hijri, calendar, copies of the Qur’an, or muṣḥafs, were written in the Kufi script. This type of handwriting branched into different styles that multiplied into more than fifty types, the best known of which are al-muḥarrar, al-mushajjar, al-murabba‘ and al-mudawwar. Nevertheless, the Kufi script continued to be predominant in writing the muṣḥaf until the time of Muhammad ibn Muqlah, who was a minister and a calligrapher, and his brother ‘Abdullāh al-Ḥasan (died 328 & 338 AH/940 & 950 CE respectively). These two calligraphers invented the script known as naskh, perfecting it, as well as the jalīl script,168 and their variants which are still used today. The naskh has since become the one most used in the writing of the Qur’an,169 particularly after the improvement introduced by Ibn al-Bawwāb ‘Alī ibn Hilāl (died 391 AH/1001 CE), who also invented the thuluth script.
Perhaps ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Alī al-‘Uthmānī was at the forefront of all calligraphers who wrote the Qur’an in this beautiful script. He wrote twenty-five complete muṣḥafs which remained the best known and most used in his own time, and continued to be used later in the age of printing, and up till recent times. He was the one who taught calligraphy to the two Caliphs, Sultan Ahmad Khan II (1691–1695 CE) and Sultan Mustafa Khan II (1695–1703 CE).170 Compared with other types of Qur’anic writing, his calligraphy in the Qur’an is characterised by flexibility and liveliness.171
‘Muslims in the Andalus and North-West Africa did not follow Ibn Muqlah’s style. They continue, until now, to write in the Hijazi script, with some modifications. Within its framework, they have made some artistic innovations... Their writing differs from eastern writing in the dots added to the letters “f” and “q”, writing the first with one dot underneath it and the “q” with a dot above it.’ Eastern Arabic writing puts the dots above both letters, with one dot above the ‘f’ and two above the ‘q’.172
Calligraphers of the Qur’an also decoratively adorned their muṣḥafs with geometric patterns coloured in blue and gold, and with a background of plant leaves that give it a musical air.
Ottoman Sultans in particular paid much attention to the Qur’an’s calligraphy and the decoration of their muṣḥafs seeking to outdo what had prevailed under the Mamluks. Many national libraries throughout the world have copies of such artistically decorated Ottoman muṣḥafs reflecting the great contribution of their calligraphers. Notably, with these copies, the decorative aspects moved away from geometric patterns to concentrate on meticulously drawn greenery and foliage.
8. The Printing of the Qur’an in Modern Times
The first printed copy of the Qur’an was made in Venice in 1530, but the Pope ordered all copies to be burnt for fear that the Qur’an might influence Christians’ beliefs.173 Thereafter, it was printed in Hamburg in 1694, and in Padua in 1698. Its first printing by Muslims took place in St Petersburg in Russia in 1787, under the authority of Mawlāy ‘Uthmān. Iran then produced two lithographic prints of the Qur’an, the first in Tehran in 1828 and the second in Tabriz in 1833. Several prints were subsequently produced in India. Then the printing of the Qur’an was undertaken in Istanbul, the main city in the Muslim world, from 1877 onwards; it was printed by the Astana Press, which had started to print literary and scientific books in 1728.
The muṣḥaf printed under the supervision of al-Azhar in Egypt, by order of King Fuad in 1342 AH/1923,174 in the Hafs reading, is considered the most famous, as it became the standard bearer for all calligraphers who wrote the Qur’an in eastern Muslim countries. It used to be called the King’s muṣḥaf, but was later termed the muṣḥaf of the national library (Dār al-Kutub).
In North Africa, the muṣḥaf printed by order of King Hasan II, written in Andalusian Maghribī fine script, in the Warsh reading, is the most famous there. Meticulous care was taken to produce a perfectly accurate muṣḥaf with fine decoration, as was also the case with King Fuad’s muṣḥaf. May God bestow His mercy on them all.
Finally, we need to mention King Fahd’s Academy for the Printing of the Muṣḥaf in Madinah, which is the most important institution undertaking the printing of the Qur’an in our modern times. The Academy takes meticulous care of the calligraphy, accuracy and printing of the muṣḥaf. The Academy has distributed millions of copies throughout the world.175
79.Jeffery is among those Orientalists who are prone to misconceptions, and his understanding of religious texts is very poor. The mistakes in his editing of Muqaddimatān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’an indicate that his knowledge of Arabic is poor, and he is prone to distort meanings. He published Al-Maṣāḥif by Abū Dāwūd (230–316 AH, 845–938 CE).
80.Muqaddimatān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’an, edited by Arthur Jeffery, p. 27.
81.Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmi‘ al-Bayān, vol. 1, p. 63.
82.Muslim, vol. 8, p. 159. Al-Nawawī says: ‘That it “cannot be washed out with water” means that it is kept in people’s hearts and minds, and as such cannot be lost. It remains intact for all times. That the Prophet recited it “when awake or asleep” means that it is preserved in both these situations. Some scholars say that it means that it is recited with ease and comfort.’ Al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, p. 1666.
83.Ibn al-Jazarī, Al-Nashr fī al-Qirā’at al-‘Ashr, vol. 1, p. 6. This Hadith is related by al-Ṭabarānī in Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr, on the authority of ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, but scholars of Hadith grade it as lacking in authenticity.
84.Al-Muḥarrar al-Wajīz, vol. 11, p. 148.
85.Al-Bukhārī, vol. 6, pp. 101–102.
86.Ibid, p. 101. Hadith no. 3624.
87.Ibid, p. 102. Hadith no. 4998.
88.Al-Bukhārī, vol. 6, p. 114. A longer version of this Hadith is also included in the same volume, p. 113. Also, reference may be made to Ibn al-Athīr, Jāmi‘ al-Uṣūl, vol. 2, pp. 471–473.
89.Abū al-Qāsim al-Hudhalī, Al-Kāmil fī al-Qirā’at, vol. 2, pp. 8–9.
90.Al-Bukhārī, vol. 6, p. 102. This Hadith includes what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said about specific Qur’an teachers: ‘Learn the Qur’an from four people: ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, Sālim, Mu‘ādh and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b.’ Refer also to Ibn al-Athīr, Jāmi‘ al-Uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 507.
91.Al-Bukhārī vol. 6, pp. 113–114.
92.The Prophet (peace be upon him) had scribes who wrote down for him his revelations, letters and the treaties he made with various parties. Sources give different numbers of these scribes, some putting them at 23 while others giving a higher figure. Some make the number as high as 43. For more details, ref: S.A. al-‘Alī, Dirāsāt fī Taṭawwur al-Ḥarakah al-fikriyyah fī Ṣadr al-Islām, p. 76.
93.Ibn Qudāmah, Al-Tabyīn fī Ansāb al-Qurashiyyīn, p. 74. It should be noted that when ‘Umar wanted to organise who would succeed him, he named six of the best qualified men in the Muslim community so that they themselves could nominate one of them as his successor. He did not want to nominate any one specifically so as not to bear responsibility for the nation after his death. He then said: ‘I do not think the people would prefer anyone to ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī. Both used to write the revelation as dictated by the Prophet when Gabriel brought new revelations to him.’ He, thus, pointed out an extra advantage for these two, because