Hidden Verses Found Behind Layer of Gold on Famous Blue Qur’an
Researchers from Zayed National Museum have found something hidden in the Blue Qur’an, a world famous manuscript and stunning example of Islamic calligraphy dating from 800-900 AD. Hidden behind a layer of gold leaf were hidden lines of verse, words from the Surah An-Nisa, the fourth chapter of the Qur’an.
According to the press release, the team used multispectral imaging techniques to analyze the pages of the Blue Qur’an and penetrate beneath the surface layers. The techniques can also highlight faded text and images which might be missed by the human eye.
The Blue Qur’an was originally made up of some 600 sheets of sheepskin, all dyed a vivid deep indigo blue and with letters of silver and gold. The text is written in Kufic, a style of Arabic script favored in early Qur’ans but considered difficult to read today.
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The verses discovered are not particularly controversial as they are from the Qur’an themselves: all that is odd is their repetition. However a clue may be found in the location of the hidden text.
The verses were all concealed behind a decorative layer of gold leaf worked into an intricate design, for all the world as if they had been covered up. This makes a lot of sense when you consider what the Blue Qur’an actually is, and how much expense must have gone into its production.
Purple dye, sheepskin vellum and gold didn’t come that easily to hand 1,200 years ago, and the most likely explanation is that the original calligrapher made an error, of duplication or something of that nature, and rather than throw out the entire sheet they opted to decorate over the mistake and move on.
Sadly this discovery does not solve perhaps the greatest mystery about the Blue Qur’an, which is where it was made. It is one of the largest manuscripts that exist, and one of the oldest, and one of the most expensive, but as to who created it we have no idea.
Was it made in the Umayyad Caliphate, or the Abbasid or the Fatimid? Was it made by the Aghlabid or Kalbid dynasties of Sicily and north Africa, or in Iran, or Tunisia, or Spain?
The inventory of the Great Mosque of Kairoun places it in Tunisia in 1300 AD, and some argue that such an expensive treasure would never likely move far from where it was created. On the other hand we have claims of pages of the Blue Qur’an coming on the market in Istanbul and one even has a Persian customs stamp on it.
The blue dye makes it look like a Spanish manuscript, particularly the similarly colored Bible of Cava. But it’s sheer value as an artifact is clear, wherever its place of origin.
Even if it gave up one of its secrets today, it seems the Blue Qur’an still has a few more left.
Header Image: The pages of the Blue Qur’an are dyed a deep indigo. Source: Unknown Author / Public Domain.
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