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Source Description
The sacred book of Islam, the Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be a literal transcription of the word of God, spoken in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad (died 632). In order to convey the importance of the divine word, Arabic calligraphy—sometimes highly elaborate and embellished with gold—was used to create copies of the Qur'an.<br><br>This folio was written in the oldest style of Arabic calligraphy, called Kufic script, used in earliest surviving copies of the Qur'an. The wide format of the page is well suited to this style of Kufic that has elongated, horizontal strokes. Vowels are indicated by red dots, and the triangles of gold dots mark the end of each verse.<br><br>The text on the recto recounts an argument between God and Lucifer. Proud Lucifer declares himself superior to humans because he was formed from fire, while humans were molded from clay. In the verses on the verso, God casts Lucifer out of heaven as punishment for his pride.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
114266
label
Folio from a Qur'an (verso)
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
114266
contentType
drawing
title
Folio from a Qur'an (verso)
description
The sacred book of Islam, the Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be a literal transcription of the word of God, spoken in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad (died 632). In order to convey the importance of the divine word, Arabic calligraphy—sometimes highly elaborate and embellished with gold—was used to create copies of the Qur'an.<br><br>This folio was written in the oldest style of Arabic calligraphy, called Kufic script, used in earliest surviving copies of the Qur'an. The wide format of the page is well suited to this style of Kufic that has elongated, horizontal strokes. Vowels are indicated by red dots, and the triangles of gold dots mark the end of each verse.<br><br>The text on the recto recounts an argument between God and Lucifer. Proud Lucifer declares himself superior to humans because he was formed from fire, while humans were molded from clay. In the verses on the verso, God casts Lucifer out of heaven as punishment for his pride.
date
800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756960
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 23.7 x 33.7 cm (9 5/16 x 13 1/4 in.); Text area: 18.5 x 25 cm (7 5/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
cul
Probably Egypt, Abbasid period (750–1258)
accession
1933.493.b
Source extras
tec
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on parchment
tombstone
Folio from a Qur'an (verso), 800s. Probably Egypt, Abbasid period (750–1258). Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on parchment; sheet: 23.7 x 33.7 cm (9 5/16 x 13 1/4 in.); text area: 18.5 x 25 cm (7 5/16 x 9 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1933.493.b
collection
Islamic Art
inscriptions
inscription
Sura al-Saad (38: part 77-80).
Script: Kufi (seven lines to a page)
creditline
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:00:23.950000
sourceId
114266
dept
Islamic Art
coll
Islamic Art
med
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on parchment
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
75ae50ea3e8b8ee7