Surah 42:5

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.

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.

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Ms. or. fol. 4313 (Scan 6)
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 7)
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 8)
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 (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.

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.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 338 (a)
This anonymous and undated parchment copy features surah titles and verse counts written in gold characters. It also uses a gold letter hāʾ to mark groups of five verses, with red dots partially applied for vocalization.

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) (Scan 1)
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.

Saray Medina 1a (Karatay 3) (Scan 2)
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.

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.

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 (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.
![Cairo, Khedivial Library, "qāf 3" (Gotthelf Bergsträßer archives) [maṣāḥif 387], in kūfī type C script, showing Surah 42:5 from 8th Century AD found in Egypt, currently housed at Egyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo](https://mss.readyapologia.com/quran/codex_01335/378_manuscript-1335-page-51266-image-38715.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) (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 (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 (Scan 1)
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'.

Codex Petermann I 38 (Scan 2)
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 357
This manuscript features early developments in reading aids, utilizing partial oblique diacritical marks and red dots for vocalization. Golden rosettes and Kufic 'hāʾ' letters are used to mark divisions of verses, illustrating an evolving aesthetic in early Quranic manuscript production.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 358 (b) (Scan 1)
The manuscript features a remarkable waqf (endowment) note stating it was dedicated to the Great Mosque of Tarsus in 913-914 AD. A later inscription reveals that it was moved from Asia Minor (Balad al-Rum) in 1329-1330 AD, providing a detailed record of its historical journey.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 358 (b) (Scan 2)
The manuscript features a remarkable waqf (endowment) note stating it was dedicated to the Great Mosque of Tarsus in 913-914 AD. A later inscription reveals that it was moved from Asia Minor (Balad al-Rum) in 1329-1330 AD, providing a detailed record of its historical journey.

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) (Scan 1)
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.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 5103 (b) (Scan 2)
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.

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 373 (c)
The manuscript features golden Kufic 'hā'' letters to indicate groups of five verses, and medallions with the decade's name written out in full in the margins to mark groups of ten. The title of Surah 42 and its verse count are written in gold ink alongside a composite vignette.

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.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.