The Qur’an was first revealed during the month of Ramadan. This blessed month is also known by Muslims as the month of Fasting

To celebrate the arrival of #Ramadan here are 24 beautiful Qur’anic manuscripts found in museum collections across the world #RamadanMubarak

A thread…

1/ Folio from a Manuscript of the Qur'an
Iran, Shiraz, 1550-1575
Ink, colors and gold on paper

@LACMA #Ramadan

2/ Double Folio from a Qur'an
c. 1330-1350, Central Asian or Turkish

Early Muslim settlers from central and western Asia carried Islamic book traditions into India, especially in the form of Qur'ans, such as the one from which these pages come

@philamuseum #Ramadan

3/ Closing Prayer in the Jerrāḥ Pasha Qur˒an
Persia, Iran, Shiraz
ca. 1580

1st of 2 pairs of ornamental facing pages that appear at the end of the Jerrāḥ Pasha Qur˒an, made in Shiraz about 1580. It enshrines a prayer written in 12 lines

@MorganLibrary #Ramadan

4/ Qur'an Manuscript, late 18th–early 19th century
India, Kashmir

Illumination found at the opening to 9 of the suras of this Qur'an (al-Fatiha, al-Ma'ida, Yunus, Bani Isra'il, al-Shu'ara, Qaf, al- Falaq, and al-Nas) is in a palette characteristic of Kashmir

@metmuseum #Ramadan

5/ Qur'an, 15th century, India
　
Made for a Muslim ruler in or near Delhi, this copy is one of the oldest surviving Qur’ans from India. The scribe used a distinctive script called Bihari with letters ending in long, swooping lines

@philamuseum #Ramadan

6/ This exuberant folio (Qur’an, 18:77-80) originally marked the beginning of the 16th part of a 30-part Qur’an

Although heavily repaired, the page exemplifies the vibrancy of book illumination in Iran during the second half of the 15th century.

@AshmoleanMuseum #Ramadan

7/ Leaf from a Koran, mounted, illuminated in gold and colours, in Arabic. Mamluk, Egypt

@V_and_A #Ramadan

8/ Qur’an, Safavid period, 1598 (1006 A.H.)

Calligrapher: Ahmad Sayri. Qur’an with selection of prayers and a falname; Arabic in black naskh script with white headings in illuminated cartouches in thuluth, muhaqqaq, and nasta’liq script

@NatAsianArt #Ramadan

9/ Leaf from a Qur'an, 1100s
Seljuk, Iran
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper

This Qur'an page is considered one of the most splendid examples of Arabic calligraphy.

@ClevelandArt #Ramadan

10/ Bifolium from the Pink Qur’an
13th century

Produced for a noble patron from either Granada or Valencia, this 13th century Spanish manuscript of the Qur’an, the sacred text of Muslims, is known as the Pink Qur’an, due to its distinctive tinted paper

@GettyMuseum #Ramadan

11/ Qur'an Manuscript Folio,
Afghanistan, Herat, Safavid period (1501–1722)

Calligraphers who specialized in beautiful writing often dedicated their lives to copying the Qur’an to grow closer to Allah and receive his blessings.

@ClevelandArt #Ramadan

12/ Leaf from Qur'an, Iranian

Verses of chapter 1 (Surat al-fatihah) written in Naskh script in black ink with reading marks in red & interlinear gold decoration. Chapter headings & verses are written in Riqa" script in red ink

@walters_museum #Ramadan

13/ This exquisite illuminated Qur’an manuscript probably comes from the northeast coast of the Malay peninsula, either from Kelantan in present-day Malaysia, or from Patani in southern Thailand.

@britishlibrary #Ramadan

14/ Single-volume Qur’an

This Qur’an was copied in Shiraz, by Muhammad Shafi‘, the most accomplished Persian calligrapher of the 19th century. It is the largest 19th-century Persian Qur’an known.

@KhaliliOnline #Ramadan

15/ Quran Manuscript, Dagestan 19th c.

Dagestan is a republic located in the Russian Federation, &  home to a rich manuscript culture. A striking feature of Daghistani manuscript illumination is the vibrant palette of red, yellow, green, purple & brown.

@britishlibrary #Ramadan

16/ Qur’an leaf in Muhaqqaq script
Mamluk period, c. A.H. 728 / A.D. 1327
Egypt

@artinstitutechi #Ramadan

17/ Last folio of Qur’an
mid 16th century, Iran

@DallasMuseumArt #Ramadan

18/ This 17th-century Chinese Qur’an shows how Islamic styles of calligraphy and illumination were combined with local styles, symbols and aesthetics that came from a very different culture.

@britishlibrary #Ramadan

19/ Right-Hand Page from the Qur’an
Safavid dynasty (1501–1722)، 16th century
Iran

@artinstitutechi #Ramadan

20/ Quran Manuscript, India, 11 July 1399

Rare copy of the Qur’an produced during Tughluq dynasty (1320–1413) India. After the invasion of Timur in 1398–1399, it was taken to Gwalior Fort in southern Agra, where its colophon was completed

@AgaKhanMuseum #Ramadan

21/ The Holy Qur’an, written in Konstantiniyye (Istanbul)
1157/1744-45

Materials: Paper with ahar and zerefsan, black ink, colored paints, gold

A leaf with a rose painted recto with prayers and verso separate the opening page image @CellardEleonore

@SSabanciMuze #Ramadan

22/ The Ruzbihan Qur'an, Ruzbihan Muhammad al-Tab'i al-Shirazi, Shiraz, 16th century

This Qur’an is an extraordinary example of the arts of the book in 16th-century Iran. The sacred text was written by master-calligrapher Ruzbihan.

@CBL_Dublin #Ramadan

23/ Single-volume Qur’an

The scribe was a pupil of Hüseyin Vehbi, who lived at Shumen in Bulgaria on the borders of the Dobruja. During the late Ottoman period, Shumen was an important provincial centre for the copying, illumination & binding of Qur’ans

@KhaliliOnline #Ramadan

24/ Qur'an, Iran, 1450 - 1460

The Timurids ruled most of Iran & Central Asia for much of the 15th c. As patrons of the arts they established kitabkhanas (royal library-workshops) in Samarkand & Herat, producing luxurious Qur’ans

@DIADetroit #Ramadan