Surah 2:5

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.

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.

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.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 324 (c) (Scan 4)
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.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, Saray 50385
This codex is known primarily through photographs in the Gotthelf Bergsträßer archive, taken in the early 1930s. Although the original manuscript is no longer identifiable in the current museum catalogue, these rare photographs survived World War II and provide a crucial record of this early text.

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.
![Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387] (Scan 1), in kūfī type C script, showing Surah 2:5 from 8th Century AD found in Egypt, currently housed at Egyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo](https://mss.readyapologia.com/quran/codex_01335/1_manuscript-1335-page-42756-image-28455.jpg)
Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387] (Scan 1)
This extensive 8th-century manuscript is well-known today through a collection of 471 photographs taken by Gotthelf Bergsträßer around 1930, preserving its contents in his archive.
![Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387] (Scan 2), in kūfī type C script, showing Surah 2:5 from 8th Century AD found in Egypt, currently housed at Egyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo](https://mss.readyapologia.com/quran/codex_01335/2_manuscript-1335-page-42752-image-28451.jpg)
Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387] (Scan 2)
This extensive 8th-century manuscript is well-known today through a collection of 471 photographs taken by Gotthelf Bergsträßer around 1930, preserving its contents in his archive.

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.
Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, Karatay 23 (Scan 1)
This manuscript was extensively photographed as part of the Gotthelf Bergsträßer Archive before World War II. The original first folio was lost and replaced with a paper leaf in thuluth script, while the original ancient parchment continues from the fourth word of Q 2:5.
Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, Karatay 23 (Scan 2)
This manuscript was extensively photographed as part of the Gotthelf Bergsträßer Archive before World War II. The original first folio was lost and replaced with a paper leaf in thuluth script, while the original ancient parchment continues from the fourth word of Q 2:5.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, Karatay 23 (Scan 3)
This manuscript was extensively photographed as part of the Gotthelf Bergsträßer Archive before World War II. The original first folio was lost and replaced with a paper leaf in thuluth script, while the original ancient parchment continues from the fourth word of Q 2:5.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, Karatay 23 (Scan 4)
This manuscript was extensively photographed as part of the Gotthelf Bergsträßer Archive before World War II. The original first folio was lost and replaced with a paper leaf in thuluth script, while the original ancient parchment continues from the fourth word of Q 2:5.

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.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 353 (a) (Scan 1)
This manuscript is notable for its elaborate geometric and vegetal full-page illuminations on the first and last folios, utilizing golden loops and stylized motifs. It also includes early diacritics and vocalization indicators in the form of partial red dots.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 353 (a) (Scan 2)
This manuscript is notable for its elaborate geometric and vegetal full-page illuminations on the first and last folios, utilizing golden loops and stylized motifs. It also includes early diacritics and vocalization indicators in the form of partial red dots.

Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1111 (Scan 1)
This Abbasid-era manuscript features verses inscribed in a gilded frame, with several folios decorated with rectangular gilded panels. It was acquired by Edward H. Palmer during an 1878 research trip to the Sinai Peninsula.

Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1111 (Scan 2)
This Abbasid-era manuscript features verses inscribed in a gilded frame, with several folios decorated with rectangular gilded panels. It was acquired by Edward H. Palmer during an 1878 research trip to the Sinai Peninsula.

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.

London, The Khalili Collections, QUR 430 (Scan 1)
This miniature single-volume manuscript features extremely small folios measuring just 7.3 x 6 cm. It is written in a miniature form of the New Style script, and currently has later lacquer covers with floral decoration and a black leather spine.

London, The Khalili Collections, QUR 430 (Scan 2)
This miniature single-volume manuscript features extremely small folios measuring just 7.3 x 6 cm. It is written in a miniature form of the New Style script, and currently has later lacquer covers with floral decoration and a black leather spine.

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.

Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.746
This double-page illuminated frontispiece was produced during the Safavid period, likely in Herat. The elegant naskhi script is written on a gold ground with florets identifying verse ends, and features a tiny, though illegible, signature of the illuminator hidden in the white border.