Page from a Qur'an manuscript

The gold pigment and elegant Arabic script on this page are representative of the high quality of materials and artisanship that were brought to bear throughout the Muslim world in producing copies of the Koran. Because the Koran contains the word of God (Allah) received as revelations by the Prophet Muhammad, the very copying of the text has always been considered an act of great sanctity. The opening and closing pages of Korans were often elaborately decorated, as can be seen in intact examples. Inner pages typically bore decoration primarily in chapter headings and in regularly placed marginal designs that marked further divisions of the Koranic text. On the inner page shown here, the text divisions are indicated by marginal script. The blue panel decorated with light scroll designs contains the heading for Chapter 17 of the Koran ("Children of Israel"), the text of which begins directly below it. As in all but one chapter of the Koran, the first line of this one begins with the invocatory verse "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate."Chapter 17, only the first four verses of which appear on this page, deals with various subjects, including the glory of God, the performance of daily prayers, and the importance of the Koran and its divine revelations.