al-Masahif al-Makhtuta fi al-Qarn al-Hadi Ashar al-Hijri
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al-Masahif al-Makhtuta fi al-Qarn al-Hadi Ashar al-Hijri (Manuscript Qurans in the Eleventh Century AH) is a bibliometric and descriptive study by Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman al-Muzayni examining 11th-century AH Quranic manuscripts preserved in the Holy Quran Library within King Abdulaziz Library in Medina .
Background and Scope
The study was prepared as part of the Symposium on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Care for the Holy Quran and its Sciences (Nadwat Inayat al-Mamlaka al-Arabiyya al-Sa'udiyya bi-al-Quran al-Karim wa-Ulumih), addressing the theme of Muslim care for the Quran across history . It focuses exclusively on handwritten manuscripts rather than printed editions, limiting its geographic and institutional scope to the holding of the Holy Quran Library (Maktabat al-Mushaf al-Sharif) in King Abdulaziz Library in Medina . The corpus comprises 70 items copied or endowed during the eleventh century AH (1001–1100 AH / 1592/3–1688/9 CE), consisting of 64 mushafs copied in that century and 6 mushafs endowed then without a specified copying date . In physical format, the collection contains 69 complete single-volume mushafs and one 30-part multi-volume set (rab'ah) .
Structure and Contents
The work employs an analytical and descriptive bibliometric methodology combining statistical measurement with codicological analysis . It is divided into six main chapters (mabahith) followed by supplementary appendices :
- Section One (Introduction): Outlines the research problem, objectives, questions, thematic limitations, and prior scholarship .
- Section Two (Overview of the Holy Quran Library): Introduces King Abdulaziz Library—established in Medina in 1393 AH / 1973 CE and inaugurated in 1403 AH / 1982 CE—and details its dedicated Quran hall, which houses over 1,800 manuscript mushafs and 84 rab'ah sets dating from the 5th to the 15th centuries AH .
- Section Three (Numerical and Qualitative Trends): Details the quantitative distribution of the items, paper types, physical dimensions, script styles, illumination, binding, recorded reading variants (qira'at), marginal exegesis (tafsir), and interlinear translations of meanings .
- Section Four (Scribes and Their Contributions): Examines the chronological distribution of copying decade by decade from 1001 AH to 1100 AH and provides an alphabetical and chronological register of named calligraphers .
- Section Five (Endowers and Their Contributions): Investigates the individuals who endowed (waqf) the mushafs, categorizing them by social status, gender, and date of endowment .
- Section Six (Findings and Recommendations): Synthesizes the statistical results of the survey and offers recommendations for cataloging and preserving Quranic manuscripts .
- Appendices: A bibliography of primary and secondary sources and photographic plates displaying selected manuscript pages .
Key Findings
The study identifies five Arabic scripts employed across the surveyed 11th-century copies: Naskh, Maghribi, Ruq'ah, Thuluth, and Kufic . The manuscript dimensions vary widely, ranging from the largest at 80 × 50 cm to the smallest at 11 × 7 cm, copied in 1018 AH .
More than 75% of the mushafs featured gold illumination (tadhhib) and decorative ornamentation, alongside ornate leather bindings . Textually, 11 mushafs incorporated recorded variant readings, 6 included translations of Quranic meanings into other languages, 5 included exegetical material, and 14 concluded with the formal supplication upon completing the Quran (du'a khatm al-Quran) .
Chronologically, scribal output peaked in the final three decades of the century (1071–1100 AH), during which 43 mushafs were produced . Two scribes demonstrated particularly high productivity: Darwish Mustafa al-Mawlawi al-Sara'i and Darwish Ali . Endowments of these manuscripts spanned four centuries (from the 11th through the 14th century AH) and involved diverse segments of society, including sultans, governors, state officials, commoners, 41 men, and 15 women . Three donors each endowed two mushafs: Ahmad Tal'at, Asma Khatun, and Abbas Agha Dar al-Sa'adah .
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