Surah 18:31

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 328 (c)
This manuscript is believed to originate from the same codex as the famous Birmingham Quran manuscript (Mingana 1572a), which was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 AD. This makes it part of one of the oldest surviving Quranic manuscripts in the world and an early descendant of the Uthmanic codex.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 1)
This codex is one of the earliest surviving Quranic manuscripts, with combined radiocarbon dating of its parchment placing its production between 605 and 651 AD. The seven folios in Berlin were once part of a larger codex that is now split, with 33 additional folios currently held in the Egyptian National Library. The Berlin leaves were acquired in 1939 from the estate of Bernhard Moritz, the former director of the Khedivial Library.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 2)
This codex is one of the earliest surviving Quranic manuscripts, with combined radiocarbon dating of its parchment placing its production between 605 and 651 AD. The seven folios in Berlin were once part of a larger codex that is now split, with 33 additional folios currently held in the Egyptian National Library. The Berlin leaves were acquired in 1939 from the estate of Bernhard Moritz, the former director of the Khedivial Library.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 3)
This codex is one of the earliest surviving Quranic manuscripts, with combined radiocarbon dating of its parchment placing its production between 605 and 651 AD. The seven folios in Berlin were once part of a larger codex that is now split, with 33 additional folios currently held in the Egyptian National Library. The Berlin leaves were acquired in 1939 from the estate of Bernhard Moritz, the former director of the Khedivial Library.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 4)
This codex is one of the earliest surviving Quranic manuscripts, with combined radiocarbon dating of its parchment placing its production between 605 and 651 AD. The seven folios in Berlin were once part of a larger codex that is now split, with 33 additional folios currently held in the Egyptian National Library. The Berlin leaves were acquired in 1939 from the estate of Bernhard Moritz, the former director of the Khedivial Library.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 5)
This codex is one of the earliest surviving Quranic manuscripts, with combined radiocarbon dating of its parchment placing its production between 605 and 651 AD. The seven folios in Berlin were once part of a larger codex that is now split, with 33 additional folios currently held in the Egyptian National Library. The Berlin leaves were acquired in 1939 from the estate of Bernhard Moritz, the former director of the Khedivial Library.

London, The British Library, Or. 2165
Considered by Gotthelf Bergsträßer to be the most important representative of the ḥiǧāzī script style due to its extensive size. It features a bold hand with tall, right-leaning hastae that sets it apart from more conventional early Kufic Qurans. Two folios from this same codex are currently preserved at the Dār al-Āṯār al-Islāmiyya in Kuwait.

Vat. ar. 1785
This 9-folio parchment fragment is an important early witness to the Quranic text, exhibiting a transitional script that blends elements of Hijazi IV and early Kufic B.Ia styles. It completely lacks vocalization and uses simple dashes for diacritics, which supports its early production date.

Muṣḥaf of Najaf Ashraf (Codex 1 of Imām ʿAlī Library)
This codex contains a colophon attributing it to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and dating it to 40 AH (660 AD), though scholars believe this colophon was added later. It also features a waqf (endowment) deed written on the first page in 1775 AD.

Meknes, Private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, no call number (Scan 1)
This nearly complete early Kufic Quran was photographed by Otto Pretzl during a research trip to Morocco in 1934. While the main body belonged to the private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, fragments of this codex have since been dispersed to the Royal Library in Rabat, the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait, and sold through auction houses like Christie's.

Meknes, Private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, no call number (Scan 2)
This nearly complete early Kufic Quran was photographed by Otto Pretzl during a research trip to Morocco in 1934. While the main body belonged to the private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, fragments of this codex have since been dispersed to the Royal Library in Rabat, the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait, and sold through auction houses like Christie's.

Meknes, Private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, no call number (Scan 3)
This nearly complete early Kufic Quran was photographed by Otto Pretzl during a research trip to Morocco in 1934. While the main body belonged to the private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, fragments of this codex have since been dispersed to the Royal Library in Rabat, the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait, and sold through auction houses like Christie's.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 324 (c) (Scan 1)
Carbon dating of fragments from Arabe 324 (c) places its origin between 660-780 AD. The manuscript is part of a composite codex, where Arabe 324 (c) and Gotha Ms. orient. A 462 are original leaves, while other sections such as Arabe 324 (a) and (d) were added centuries later to replace damaged or missing pages.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 324 (c) (Scan 2)
Carbon dating of fragments from Arabe 324 (c) places its origin between 660-780 AD. The manuscript is part of a composite codex, where Arabe 324 (c) and Gotha Ms. orient. A 462 are original leaves, while other sections such as Arabe 324 (a) and (d) were added centuries later to replace damaged or missing pages.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 324 (c) (Scan 3)
Carbon dating of fragments from Arabe 324 (c) places its origin between 660-780 AD. The manuscript is part of a composite codex, where Arabe 324 (c) and Gotha Ms. orient. A 462 are original leaves, while other sections such as Arabe 324 (a) and (d) were added centuries later to replace damaged or missing pages.

Saray Medina 1a (Karatay 3)
This almost complete codex is notable for being written by at least six different scribes in Kufic script. Originally documented in Gotthelf Bergsträßer's archives as 'Medina 1a', its folios were later repaired with paper edges, and a few missing pages were completed in Naskh script.

Topkapı Palace Museum, "Saray Medina 1b" (M. 3)
This manuscript was documented by Gotthelf Bergsträßer as 'Saray Medina 1b', and its photographs became part of his famous archive in Munich. Notably, it still retains a dark olive-coloured leather binding with a traditional flap (miklep) and mandorla (şemse), as well as multi-colored geometric sura headings.

Samarkand Kufic Quran
This monumental manuscript is one of the oldest surviving Qurans, traditionally believed to be the personal copy of Caliph Uthman stained with his blood. After being taken by Russian imperial forces in 1868 to Saint Petersburg, it was repatriated to Tashkent in 1923.

Cairo, Khedivial Library, Moritz 1905, table 31-36
The physical manuscript is currently lost and its origin is unknown; it survives today only through six photographs published in Bernhard Moritz's monumental 1905 album 'Arabic Palaeography'.

Moritz 1905, Tables 39-40 (Scan 1)
This codex fragment was documented in Bernhard Moritz's 1905 'Arabic Palaeography' album and was reportedly discovered in the ancient Egyptian city of Bahnasa (Oxyrynchos). Scholars suggest it may originally belong to the same large codex as other early Quranic fragments currently held in the Vatican, Paris, and the Khalili Collections.

Moritz 1905, Tables 39-40 (Scan 2)
This codex fragment was documented in Bernhard Moritz's 1905 'Arabic Palaeography' album and was reportedly discovered in the ancient Egyptian city of Bahnasa (Oxyrynchos). Scholars suggest it may originally belong to the same large codex as other early Quranic fragments currently held in the Vatican, Paris, and the Khalili Collections.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 334 (c) (Scan 1)
This manuscript is notable for its early use of colored ornamentation. The surahs are separated by decorative bands composed of pearls, lozenges, and elongated hexagons painted in yellow, green, and red, often accompanied by a palmette projecting into the outer margin. Furthermore, verses are marked by distinct groups of oblique strokes.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 334 (c) (Scan 2)
This manuscript is notable for its early use of colored ornamentation. The surahs are separated by decorative bands composed of pearls, lozenges, and elongated hexagons painted in yellow, green, and red, often accompanied by a palmette projecting into the outer margin. Furthermore, verses are marked by distinct groups of oblique strokes.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 370 (a) (Scan 1)
A notable feature of this manuscript is its use of violet ink. It employs violet-colored alifs to mark groups of five verses and circles of the same color for groups of ten, and also features surah headings written in violet ink that include a unique introductory formula alongside the verse count.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 370 (a) (Scan 2)
A notable feature of this manuscript is its use of violet ink. It employs violet-colored alifs to mark groups of five verses and circles of the same color for groups of ten, and also features surah headings written in violet ink that include a unique introductory formula alongside the verse count.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 5122
This nearly complete 8th-century Quranic manuscript is notable for its extensive preservation, containing text from the very beginning of the Quran to its final Surah. Curiously, folio 134 has been reported missing from the French National Library since approximately 2000, and no microfilm image of it survives.

Rampur Raza Library No. 1 (Scan 1)
This manuscript is a highly prized copy traditionally ascribed to the penmanship of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph. It features modern gold and colored borders on the paper margins.

Rampur Raza Library No. 1 (Scan 2)
This manuscript is a highly prized copy traditionally ascribed to the penmanship of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph. It features modern gold and colored borders on the paper margins.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, "Saray 50386" (Karatay 42) (Scan 1)
This near-complete Kufic Quran is bound in brown leather over wood with arabesque interlacing and iron rings. It bears the foundation seal of Sultan Osman III, and its first three leaves as well as sura headings are illuminated.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, "Saray 50386" (Karatay 42) (Scan 2)
This near-complete Kufic Quran is bound in brown leather over wood with arabesque interlacing and iron rings. It bears the foundation seal of Sultan Osman III, and its first three leaves as well as sura headings are illuminated.

Topkapı Palace Museum, Saray 50395
This nearly complete codex is an exceptional document, as complete codices in Kūfī D script style are extremely rare. The manuscript features illuminated pages for the first three and last six folios, as well as at surah beginnings.

Arabe 399
This manuscript features a forged colophon claiming it was copied in 798 AD by order of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. An old legend also suggested it was a diplomatic gift sent to Charlemagne, though scholars have proven both the attribution and the legend to be false.

BNF Arabe 351
BNF Arabe 351 is an early Quranic manuscript written in the Kufic D.III script with 5 lines per page. It belongs to the same original codex as several dispersed fragments, notably those from the Jean-Joseph Marcel collection currently held in Russia.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 367 (d) (Scan 1)
The manuscript features rare oval diacritics and red dots for vocalization. Golden Kufic letters (hāʾ) are used to mark groups of five verses, while ten-verse groups are marked with decorative medallions. Notably, the beginning of Surah 19 includes the surah's title and verse count inscribed in golden ink.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 367 (d) (Scan 2)
The manuscript features rare oval diacritics and red dots for vocalization. Golden Kufic letters (hāʾ) are used to mark groups of five verses, while ten-verse groups are marked with decorative medallions. Notably, the beginning of Surah 19 includes the surah's title and verse count inscribed in golden ink.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 6140 (d) (Scan 1)
This manuscript fragment consists of two parchment folios from an anonymous and undated copy. Written in black-brown ink in the early Kūfī D.I script, it features oblique strokes for diacritics, red dots for vocalization, and uniquely uses golden Kufic 'hāʾ' characters to elegantly mark groups of five verses.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 6140 (d) (Scan 2)
This manuscript fragment consists of two parchment folios from an anonymous and undated copy. Written in black-brown ink in the early Kūfī D.I script, it features oblique strokes for diacritics, red dots for vocalization, and uniquely uses golden Kufic 'hāʾ' characters to elegantly mark groups of five verses.

Qāf 233 (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives)
This manuscript is documented through black-and-white photographs from the Gotthelf Bergsträßer Archive taken around 1930. While originally kept at the Khedivial Library in Cairo, the actual modern shelf number of the original fragments is presently unknown.

MS Brunensis-Birminghamiensis (BrB)
This codex is reconstructed from 74 scattered leaves across multiple collections, including the Mingana Collection in Birmingham and the Minassian Collection at Brown University. Described by Alba Fedeli, it provides insight into the dispersal of early Qur'anic manuscripts in modern antiquarian markets.

Ms. Yah. Ar. 966 (Scan 1)
This manuscript features a rare, dated colophon from 292 AH (904-905 AD) by Ahmad al-Khayqani, who updated the vowelling and diacritical marks. Written in Persian, this colophon is considered one of the oldest known testimonies of the New Persian language written in the Arabic script.

Ms. Yah. Ar. 966 (Scan 2)
This manuscript features a rare, dated colophon from 292 AH (904-905 AD) by Ahmad al-Khayqani, who updated the vowelling and diacritical marks. Written in Persian, this colophon is considered one of the oldest known testimonies of the New Persian language written in the Arabic script.

Diez A oct 172
This codex is largely complete, containing the entire Quran, though the first folio and a few other leaves were supplied by a later hand. Written on parchment, the manuscript represents an important transitional stage in the evolution of the Arabic script toward the Maghrebi style. While generally well-preserved, some of the early and late folios exhibit water damage and have been repaired.

BNF Arabe 6430
This 10th-century Quranic manuscript is notable for being written on Oriental paper rather than parchment. It features complete diacritics and vocalization, with distinctive colorful verse markers including yellow Kufic 'hāʾ' letters to signal groups of five verses.

Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1134 (Scan 1)
The manuscript fragment was acquired by Edward H. Palmer and E.E. Tyrwhitt Drake during a research trip to the Sinai Peninsula in 1878. It represents a rare and important example of early Western Islamic calligraphy.

Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1134 (Scan 2)
The manuscript fragment was acquired by Edward H. Palmer and E.E. Tyrwhitt Drake during a research trip to the Sinai Peninsula in 1878. It represents a rare and important example of early Western Islamic calligraphy.

Cambridge MS Or.476
This fragment of an Abbasid-era Quran is notable for its 'New Style I' script, representing a stylized evolutionary phase in early Arabic calligraphy. The manuscript preserves an elegant and compact layout of 7 lines per page on parchment.

Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, Is 1431
This complete Quran was produced in Baghdad by the renowned calligrapher ʿAlī b. Hilāl, also known as Ibn al-Bawwāb, around 1000-1001 AD. He is a significant figure in Islamic art, closely associated with the adoption of the round Naskh script to transcribe the Quran.

Doha, Qatar National Library, HC.MS.00715
This codex is closely related to two other Andalusian manuscripts held in Istanbul, which were written in Cordoba (1143-1144 AD) and Valencia (1182-1183 AD), suggesting a similar provenance. It features distinctive Maġribī micrography for the main text and angular chrysography for the Surah headings.