Surah 42:33

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 (Scan 1)
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.

London, The British Library, Or. 2165 (Scan 2)
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.

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)
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.

Codex Amrensis 1
This manuscript is part of 'Codex Amrensis 1', a composite codex reconstructed from fragments scattered across libraries in Paris, St. Petersburg, Doha, and London. It was originally kept in the historic Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As in Fustat, making it an important artifact of early Islamic presence in Egypt.

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.

Samarkand Kufic Quran (Scan 1)
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.

Samarkand Kufic Quran (Scan 2)
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.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 328 (d) (Scan 1)
This manuscript fragment likely belongs to the same original Quranic codex as the St. Petersburg fragment Marcel 18. The text is written in an early Kufic script with no vocalization marks, and its verses are separated by groups of five dots.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 328 (d) (Scan 2)
This manuscript fragment likely belongs to the same original Quranic codex as the St. Petersburg fragment Marcel 18. The text is written in an early Kufic script with no vocalization marks, and its verses are separated by groups of five dots.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 328 (d) (Scan 3)
This manuscript fragment likely belongs to the same original Quranic codex as the St. Petersburg fragment Marcel 18. The text is written in an early Kufic script with no vocalization marks, and its verses are separated by groups of five dots.

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
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 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.

Chicago, Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, A 6993 & A 6961
This early Quranic manuscript features early use of colored diacritics, including a red dot and red semicircle for hamzah. Verse divisions are indicated by strokes, and a small green rosette reflects a different regional verse counting system, marking what is verse 22 in modern printed texts as verse 20.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 334 (b) (Scan 1)
This manuscript features elaborate verse separators, using groups of oblique strokes for individual verses, black ink alifs for groups of five, and red circles for groups of ten. The spaces between surahs are decorated with ornamental bands displaying the surah titles and verse counts in red ink. Diacritics are indicated by rare oblique strokes, while vocalization is marked with red dots.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 334 (b) (Scan 2)
This manuscript features elaborate verse separators, using groups of oblique strokes for individual verses, black ink alifs for groups of five, and red circles for groups of ten. The spaces between surahs are decorated with ornamental bands displaying the surah titles and verse counts in red ink. Diacritics are indicated by rare oblique strokes, while vocalization is marked with red dots.

Rampur Raza Library No. 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.
![Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387], in kūfī type C script, showing Surah 42:33 from 8th Century AD found in Egypt, currently housed at Egyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo](https://mss.readyapologia.com/quran/codex_01335/383_manuscript-1335-page-51261-image-38710.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.

Houston, Texas, Private collection Vahid Kooros, TR:865-2006
This early Islamic manuscript fragment is inscribed in Kūfī B.II script, a style typical of the 8th century AD, and is preserved in a private collection in Houston.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 336
An endowment (waqf) note on folio 7r, added by a later hand, states that the volume was donated to the mosque of Fustat by 'Amran b. al-Talab on November 10, 940 AD (6 Safar 329 AH). The manuscript also features unique decorations for verse groupings, including outlined alifs for groups of five and specific medallions for tens, fifties, and hundreds.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 341 (a)
This codex is notable for its early Kufic D.III script and rich illuminations. It features golden circular vignettes for Surah headings and a highly ornate full-page decorative band with interlaced geometric patterns, leaf motifs, and red and green accents marking the beginning of the 23rd Juz'.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 350 (a) (Scan 1)
This codex is highly decorated for its time. It features rosettes to separate individual verses, golden letter 'hāʾ' to indicate groups of five verses, and intricately illuminated medallions that write out the names of ten-verse groupings in full. Sura titles are also indicated in gold letters within decorated bands.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 350 (a) (Scan 2)
This codex is highly decorated for its time. It features rosettes to separate individual verses, golden letter 'hāʾ' to indicate groups of five verses, and intricately illuminated medallions that write out the names of ten-verse groupings in full. Sura titles are also indicated in gold letters within decorated bands.

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 352 (e)
Originating from Fustat (Old Cairo), this fragment is notable for its marginal markings that indicate the division of the Quran into sevenths, fifths, and tenths to facilitate systematic recitation. The manuscript features a Kufic D.I script with oblique stroke diacritics, red dot vocalization, and golden letters indicating verse groupings.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 370 (c)
This early Quranic fragment is notable for its illuminated Surah titles, where the title and verse counts are written with words in alternating red and green ink. The manuscript also employs rare oblique strokes for diacritical marks and red dots for vocalization, alongside red Kufic 'hāʾ' letters to mark groups of five verses.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 5103 (b)
Originating from the collection of A. Renaud, this fragment exhibits Early Abbasid 'Kufic B II' script. It is notable for its use of red dots for vocalization while completely omitting diacritical marks, and employs C.C.I style decorations to signal groups of ten verses.

Wetzstein II 1937 (Ahlwardt 353)
This manuscript was part of the collection acquired in Damascus by Johann Gottfried Wetzstein in the 19th century, which significantly enriched the Oriental holdings of the Prussian State Library.

BnF Arabe 5123
The manuscript originates from the collection of J. Richard and its text is written without diacritical marks, using red dots for vocalization. It features a unique binding with 16th or 17th-century brown leather boards, possibly of Indian origin, decorated with a central plaque and stamped fleurons.

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.

Providence, Rhode Island, Brown University Library, 6724
Part of the Minassian Collection at Brown University, this leaf is written in New Style I script on paper, demonstrating the transition to paper as a writing material for Qurans in the Islamic world.

Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, Is 1431 (Scan 1)
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.

Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, Is 1431 (Scan 2)
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.