A Precious Quran Manuscript from 299 Years Ago Was Donated to the Astan Quds Razavi Library

A precious manuscript of the Holy Quran, penned 299 years ago during the late Safavid era, has been donated to the library of Astan Quds Razavi.

According to the Astan Quds News Agency (AQR), Mohammad Hadi Zahedi, the head of the Organization of Libraries, Museums, and Documents Center of Astan Quds Razavi, announced this news. He stated that this exquisite copy of the Holy Quran was transcribed in the Naskh script in 1137 AH by Muhammad Shafi’ bin Muhammad Ali Isfahani, a scribe from the late Safavid period.

He described the features of this manuscript, noting that the first two pages are fully illuminated and adorned with lapis lazuli and gold leaf. The chapter headings are written in Raqā’ script with vermilion ink on a gold-leafed background, and the interlinear spaces are gilded. The page margins have been meticulously restored.

Zahedi added that the manuscript measures 15 by 25 centimeters, with the text block measuring 8 by 17 centimeters. It features a lacquer binding with floral and bird motifs on the outer covers and narcissus flower imagery on the inner covers.

He mentioned that this manuscript was part of the personal collection of Haj Hossein Agha Malek, the founder of the National Library and Museum of Malek, which was donated to Astan Quds Razavi in 1348 (solar year).

The head of the AQR Organization of Libraries, Museums, and Documents Center emphasized that the Treasury of Manuscripts of the Astan Quds Razavi Central Library is one of the world’s most significant centers for preserving Islamic manuscripts. It currently houses over 25,000 handwritten copies of the Quran, Quranic sections (juz’), and select chapters (surahs), some of which are attributed to the handwriting of the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them).