Surah 32:9

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.

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.

Chester Beatty Library Is 1615I
This manuscript features an unusual version of the Hijazi script and contains illumination of horizontal chevron bands between Surahs. It belongs to a larger dispersed codex that includes manuscripts MS.68, MS.69, MS.70, and MS.699 in the Museum of Islamic Art (Doha), as well as a fragment in a private collection.

Meknes, Private library of Sherif ʿAbdarraḥmān b. Zīdān, no call number
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.

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.

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) (Scan 1)
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.

Topkapı Palace Museum, "Saray Medina 1b" (M. 3) (Scan 2)
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.

Cairo, Khedivial Library, Moritz 1905, table 31-36 (Scan 1)
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'.

Cairo, Khedivial Library, Moritz 1905, table 31-36 (Scan 2)
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
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.

Arabe 340 (b)
This fragmentary manuscript on parchment features an unclassified script with analogies to Early Abbasid groups A and B. A later reader notably added marginal indications in green ink to show a seven-part division of the text, placed within a circle.

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.

Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Ar. 1605 (72) (Scan 1)
This single parchment folio is part of a larger dispersed codex and is notable for its gold illuminated verse dividers, including a stylised hāʾ for five verses and a rosette for ten verses.

Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Ar. 1605 (72) (Scan 2)
This single parchment folio is part of a larger dispersed codex and is notable for its gold illuminated verse dividers, including a stylised hāʾ for five verses and a rosette for ten verses.
![Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387], in kūfī type C script, showing Surah 32:9 from 8th Century AD found in Egypt, currently housed at Egyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo](https://mss.readyapologia.com/quran/codex_01335/280_manuscript-1335-page-43029-image-28738.jpg)
Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387]
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.

Istanbul, Topkapı Palace Museum, "Saray 50386" (Karatay 42)
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 (Scan 1)
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.

Topkapı Palace Museum, Saray 50395 (Scan 2)
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.

Codex Petermann I 38
This manuscript, comprising 213 parchment folios, contains the entire second half of the Quran starting from Surah Maryam (19). It was documented by Wilhelm Ahlwardt in his 1887 catalogue of Arabic manuscripts at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and is notable for its robust Early Kufic script (D.Vb) with characteristic letterforms, such as the initial and medial 'kāf' often resembling 'dāl'.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 343
The manuscript uses decorative medallions and bands to mark every ten verses, rather than separating individual verses. A marginal note in cursive script reveals it was once owned by Aḥmad Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Huwaydī, with later readers adding pious notes in the margins.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 355 (a)
This early manuscript features notable illuminations, including surah titles and verse counts written in gold ink accompanied by lanceolate vignettes. It uses sophisticated markers for verse groupings, employing specific rosette and circle designs to delineate groups of five and ten verses.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 359 (a) (Scan 1)
This manuscript features ornate decorations, including gold dots or rosettes separating individual verses and gold Kufic letters marking groups of five verses. Furthermore, the titles of the surahs are beautifully written in gold ink, adding to the visual richness of this Kufic text.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 359 (a) (Scan 2)
This manuscript features ornate decorations, including gold dots or rosettes separating individual verses and gold Kufic letters marking groups of five verses. Furthermore, the titles of the surahs are beautifully written in gold ink, adding to the visual richness of this Kufic text.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 362 (a) (Scan 1)
This early Abbasid-era manuscript is notable for its sparse use of diacritics and its decorative elements, including golden Kufic hāʾ letters and medallions to mark every five and ten verses, as well as golden ink for Surah titles and verse counts.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 362 (a) (Scan 2)
This early Abbasid-era manuscript is notable for its sparse use of diacritics and its decorative elements, including golden Kufic hāʾ letters and medallions to mark every five and ten verses, as well as golden ink for Surah titles and verse counts.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 367 (e) (Scan 1)
This manuscript features golden Kufic 'hāʾ' letters to mark groups of five verses and circular markers for groups of ten, though individual verses are left unseparated. Notably, the heading for Surah 32 and its verse count are inscribed in gold ink, and a 'saǧda' (prostration) instruction is placed inside an ornate medallion.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 367 (e) (Scan 2)
This manuscript features golden Kufic 'hāʾ' letters to mark groups of five verses and circular markers for groups of ten, though individual verses are left unseparated. Notably, the heading for Surah 32 and its verse count are inscribed in gold ink, and a 'saǧda' (prostration) instruction is placed inside an ornate medallion.

Istanbul, Süleymaniye Library, Ayasofya 23
The manuscript's photographic record relies on 114 black-and-white prints sent to Gotthelf Bergsträsser in Munich around 1930, as no original negatives survive today. It has also been digitized as part of Keith Small's 'Digital Muṣḥaf' project.

Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1145
This fragment of an Abbasid Qur'an was acquired by the University of Cambridge in 1878 from Edward H. Palmer, who obtained it during a research expedition to the Sinai Peninsula. The text is written in a version of the Abbasid Kūfī B.II 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.

Walters W.554 (Scan 1)
The codex features an illuminated frontispiece of geometric design and a similarly decorated finispiece. Its blind-tooled black goatskin binding is attributable to Egypt and represents an important example of early Islamic bookbinding.

Walters W.554 (Scan 2)
The codex features an illuminated frontispiece of geometric design and a similarly decorated finispiece. Its blind-tooled black goatskin binding is attributable to Egypt and represents an important example of early Islamic bookbinding.

HC.MS.03159
Held at the Qatar National Library, this Abbasid-era manuscript is written on parchment and serves as an example of Kūfī type E.I script. The codex is currently missing a folio between 6v and 7r, which presumably contained verses 27:32-46.

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.

Pennsylvania University Museum E 16266
This manuscript features tiny and minute Maghribī script, with vowels and orthographic signs written in red. It also includes verse dividers shaped as circles filled with alternating red and yellow dots, and the title of Surah 11 is distinctively written in yellow Kufic letters.

Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add.1141
This Kufic fragment was acquired by the University of Cambridge in 1878 from Edward H. Palmer and E.E. Tyrwhitt Drake. Palmer collected this and several other early Quran manuscripts during a research trip to the Sinai Peninsula.

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.

Baltimore, Maryland, The Walters Art Museum, W.556 (Scan 1)
This manuscript is written in the distinctive maġribī script on parchment (150 x 160mm) and contains 7 lines per page. It is held at The Walters Art Museum.

Baltimore, Maryland, The Walters Art Museum, W.556 (Scan 2)
This manuscript is written in the distinctive maġribī script on parchment (150 x 160mm) and contains 7 lines per page. It is held at The Walters Art Museum.

Brown University Library, 6640
Particularly notable is that the text box on the verso is sprinkled with gold flecks on top of the text, a decorative technique known as zarafshan. The manuscript also features gilded blue and red star verse markers, and gilded diamond floral marginal illuminations in multiple colors.