Author
Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Barsbay (r. AH 825–41 / AD 1422–37).
Publication Date
825 - 841 / 1422- 1437
Publication Place
Probably Damascus, Syria. -
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Subject
The Qur’an is made of paper, written on it with colored ink, decorated and gilded, and the cover is made of leather.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
الطول: 110سم؛ العرض: 85 سم؛ السمك: 13سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
م/ ش/1
Record ID
object;ISL;pa;Mus01;28;ar
Library Location
Islamic Museum, Al-Haram Al-Sharif
Date
825 - 841 / 1422- 1437
Notes
The piece is a copy of the second half of the Holy Qur’an, which was placed on display at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by Sultan Al-Ashraf Barsbay. This Qur’an was given to him as a gift in the city of Damascus during his stop there during his travel for the year 836 / 1432. He sent it to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the sheikh of the Salihiyya school looked over it. He appointed Sheikh Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Qutlubugha al-Ramli, who was a famous reciter in Jerusalem, to read in the Qur’an. The Qur’an was subjected to re-binding and restoration, during which some of its torn pages were removed and replaced with others. This process led to the loss of the front and end of the Qur’an, which were usually It bears the name of the calligrapher and theologian and the date of the copying of the Qur’an. The pages of the Qur’an were cut from three sides when it was restored, as the original dimensions of the Qur’an were approximately 120 x 95 cm. At the end of the Qur’an, a text was written stating that it had been restored, and it reads, “It was repaired by the poor Ibrahim Ahmad al-Salafiti al-Abbasi at the end of the month of Jumada al-Akhir in the year 1292 [1875].” The text of the Qur’an begins with Surat al-Kahf (No. 18), and the text is written in thick, dark black ink in perfect thuluth script. The stop signs took the form of hexagonal flowers with gilded leaves. The name of the Majesty, “Allah,” and the name of the Messenger, “Muhammad,” were written in gold wherever they appeared in the text. The name of the surah, the number of its verses, and the place of its revelation were written in white, and surrounded by floral decorations within the rectangular frame above each surah. It is noted that the calligrapher distinguished the extra letters in some words by writing them in red. He also extended the letters “Nun” and “T” and letters similar to them in shape when they came at the end of the line to the end of the margin. Some parts of the frames at the top of the surah were deliberately cut out of their place, and their place was covered with white paper at a later period on which the name of the surah was written. This indicates that the paper of the Qur’an is thick and may consist of more than one layer.
Sample Text
Khader Salameh “The Qur’an Barsbay” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;pa;Mus01;28;ar
Bu sayfanın künyesi
Prepared by:Khader SALAMEHKhader Salameh has been the Director of the Islamic Museum and Al-Aqsa Library in Jerusalem for more than two decades. He was previously employed in the Hebrew University Library and worked as a librarian in Saudi Arabia and as a teacher in Libya. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Ottoman History. He received a Certificate of Librarianship in 1986 from the Hebrew University. He obtained his BA degree from Beirut University in 1980. He catalogued the Manuscripts Collections of the Haram al-Sharif, which was published in six parts in several countries. His publications include many articles on different subjects and a recent publication in English and Arabic on the Qur'an manuscripts in the Islamic Museum.
Seçili bibliyografya
Al-Hanbali, Mujir al-Din, (d. 927 / 1520),Al-Uns al-Jalil fi Tarikh al-Quds wa al-Khalil [The Significant Ambiance in the History of Jerusalem and Hebron], Amman, 1973.Salameh, K.,The Qur'anic Manuscripts in al-Haram al-Sharif Islamic Museum, Paris, 2001.
