Codex B. L. Or. 2165 – A Qur'ānic Manuscript From 1st Century Hijra

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First Composed: 27th August 2005

Last Updated: 24th January 2017

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B. L. Or. 2165, f. 32r		B. L. Or. 2165, f. 33r

Arabe 328e, f. 90v		Arabe 328e, f. 94r

LNS 19 CA^ab (bifolio), recto (top) and verso (bottom).

Folios of Codex B. L. Or. 2165.

Date

Second half of the 1st century of hijra.

The dating of B. L. Or. 2165 has an interesting history.^[1] William Wright was perhaps the first scholar to publish this manuscript and he dated it to the 8th century CE.^[2] This date was accepted by Josef von Karabacek who dated the manuscript to the early 8th century CE, i.e., the end of the 1st century of hijra or the beginning of the 2nd century.^[3] On the other hand, based on a careful evaluation of the palaeographic considerations, Adolf Grohmann dated this manuscript to the 1st century of hijra.^[4] Furthermore, Noseda places this manuscript in the 1st century of hijra.^[5]

For reasons which remain unelaborated, Martin Lings and Yasin Safadi dated B. L. Or. 2165 to the late 2nd century of hijra (i.e., 8th century CE).^[6] However, a study by Dutton has shown that this manuscript is remarkably similar to the 1st century Qur'anic manuscript Arabe 328a in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, suggesting that it was written in the qira'at of Ibn ʿAmir.^[7] This manuscript was recently studied by Intisar A. Rabb, who corrected Dutton's initial suggestion showing that it has the non–canonical Ḥimṣī reading.^[8] Based on the similarity between Arabe 328a and B. L. Or. 2165, Dutton suggests re–dating this manuscript to the time just before the Umayyad Caliph Walid (r. 86–96 AH), i.e., within the period 30–85 AH with the latter end of this time scale being safer. The last part of first century hijra dating for this manuscript was also suggested by Rabb.^[9] Thus, these studies confirm the earlier datings of Karabacek and Grohmann.

History Of The Manuscript

A note appears on a fly leaf at the end of the manuscript "Bt of the Rev. Greville J. Chester, 29 Apr. 1879". Reverend Greville J. Chester was one of the most active helpers in purchasing objects abroad for the British Museum and several other institutions. Almost every winter he would travel abroad, and Egypt was a favourite destination. Most likely this manuscript was purchased by Rev. Chester in Egypt.

Another clue about the provenance of this manuscript comes from the history of Arabe 328 of which Arabe 328e is a part. Arabe 328 was acquired by Jean–Louis Asselin de Cherville (d. 1822), consular agent of France in Egypt. Subsequently in 1833 the whole collection was sold to the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. The ultimate provenance of all these folios is the ʿAmr b. al–ʿĀṣ mosque, Fusṭāṭ. Thus it is highly likely that both B. L. Or. 2165 and Arabe 328e came from Egypt. However, the actual provenance of the manuscript could be Syria as gathered from the readings discussed above. As for the bifolio LNS 19 CA^ab, it was acquired by Dār al–Athar al–Islāmiyyah, Kuwait, in an auction conducted by Sotheby's in 1979.^[10]

Size & Folios

Parchment area: 31.5 cm x 21.5 cm. Writing area: 28.8 cm x 20.0 cm.

Total number of folios are 128 = 121 (B. L. Or. 2165, British Library, London)^[11] + 6 (Arabe 328e, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)^[12] + 1 (LNS 19 CA^ab (bifolio), Dār al–Athar al–Islāmiyyah, Kuwait).^[13] These 128 folios contain about 57% of the total text of the Qur'an.

A volume of the facsimile edition of B. L. Or. 2165 published by Déroche and Noseda only includes the first 61 folios of the total of 121.^[14] In 2016, the British Library digitized the entire manuscript and it is now available online for public viewing.

Script & Ornamentation

Ḥijāzī.

Manuscript on vellum. The muṣḥaf is not vocalised. The consonants are frequently differentiated by dashes. Six oval dots ranked in three pairs punctuate the verses. Every tenth verse is marked by a red hollow circle surrounded by dots.

Contents

The contents of the manuscript are tabulated below. The folio numbering is according to the one given by their respective collection.

Location

British Library, London (United Kingdom); Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (France); Dār al–Athar al–Islāmiyyah, Kuwait (Kuwait).

References & Notes

[1] The dating of MS. Or. 2165 has also taken some interesting twists on the internet as well – on a website no less prestigious than that of the British Library. In early 2005, the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures Of The British Library: Sacred Texts stated MS. Or. 2165 was a "Qur'an in Ma'il script, probably Mecca or Medina, late 7th century." However, later in the same year the date was unexpectedly changed to the 8th century.

[2] W. Wright, Facsimiles Of Manuscripts And Inscriptions (Oriental Series), 1875–1883, The Palæographical Society, William Clowes and Sons, Ltd.: London, Plate LIX.

[3] J. von Karabacek, "Julius Euting's Sinaïtische Inschriften", Vienna Oriental Journal (Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes), 1891, Volume 5, p. 324; idem., "Arabic Palaeography", Vienna Oriental Journal (Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes), 1906, Volume 20, p. 137. For a similar dating of bifolio LNS 19 CA^ab that is part of this codex, see B. Gruendler, The Development Of The Arabic Scripts: From The Nabatean Era To The First Islamic Century According To Dated Texts, 1993, Harvard Semitic Series No. 43, Scholars Press: Atlanta (GA), p. 135.

[4] A. Grohmann, "Zum Problem Der Datierung Der Ältesten Koran–Handschriften" in H. Franke (Ed.), Akten Des Vierundzwanzigsten Internationalen Orientalisten–Kongresses München, 28. August Bis 4. September 1957, 1959, Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft e.V.: Weisbaden, p. 272.

[5] S. Noja Noseda, "Note Esterne In Margin Al 1° Volume Dei ‘Materiali Per Un'edizione Critica Del Corano’", Rendiconti: Classe Di Lettere E Scienze Morali E Storiche, 2000, Vol. 134, Fasc. 1, pp. 19–25.

[6] M. Lings & Y. H. Safadi, The Qur'an: Catalogue Of An Exhibition Of Qur'anic Manuscripts At The British Library 3 April – 15 August 1976, 1976, Published for the British Library by the World of Islam Publishing Company, p. 20. Official British Library publications also record an 8th century date. For instance, see C. F. Baker (Ed.), Subject Guide To The Arabic Manuscripts In The British Library, 2001, The British Library: London, p. 1.

[7] Y. Dutton, "Some Notes On The British Library's 'Oldest Qur'an Manuscript' (Or. 2165)", Journal Of Qur'anic Studies, 2004, Volume 6, No. 1, pp. 43–71.

[8] I. A. Rabb, "A Non–Canonical Reading Of The Qur'ān: Recognition & Authenticity (The Ḥimṣī Reading)" Journal Of Qur'anic Studies, 2006, Volume 8, No. 2, pp. 84–126.

[9] ibid., p. 108.

[10] Oriental Manuscripts And Miniatures: The Property Of The Hagop Kevorkian Fund, 23rd April 1979, 1979, Sotheby's: London, Lot 13.

[11] Y. Dutton, "Some Notes On The British Library's 'Oldest Qur'an Manuscript' (Or. 2165)", Journal Of Qur'anic Studies, 2004, op. cit., p. 44.

[12] F. Déroche, Catalogue Des Manuscrits Arabes: Deuxième Partie: Manuscrits Musulmans – Tome I, 1: Les Manuscrits Du Coran: Aux Origines De La Calligraphie Coranique, 1983, Bibliothèque Nationale: Paris, p. 62.

[13] M. Jenkins (Ed.), The Al–Sabah Collection: Islamic Art In The Kuwait National Museum, 1983, Sotheby, p. 18.

[14] F. Déroche and S. N. Noseda (Eds.), Sources de la transmission manuscrite du texte coranique. I. Les manuscrits de style hijazi. Volume 2. Tome I. Le manuscrit Or. 2165 (f. 1 à 61) de la British Library, 2001, Fondazione Ferni Noja Noseda, Leda, and British Library: London.

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