Page from a Qur'an manuscript

The elegant and highly stylized Arabic script seen on this page represents one of the various calligraphic styles that were employed throughout the Muslim world in making copies of the Koran. Because the Koran contains the word of God (Allah) received as revelations by the prophet Muhammad, copying of the text has always been considered an act of great sanctity. As the writing itself had to be worthy of the sacred words that were being articulated, calligraphy developed into a highly esteemed art form in Islam.

The script seen here, known as Kufic, was one of the earliest calligraphic scripts developed for the writing of Arabic. Named after the south central Iraqi city of Kufa, where it was believed to have originated in the late seventh century, Kufic was the most popular script for the writing of Korans until the ninth century, when other, more cursive scripts began to be favored.