RIYADH — King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) revealed that it had acquired 400 rare copies of the Holy Qur'an from various Islamic eras, especially between the 10th and 13th centuries AH, which a treasury embracing the radiance of Arab Islamic art in writing, engraving, formation, decoration, and aesthetic creativity that is linked to the spirituality and the majesty of Allah. Among the copies of the Qur'an: A Holy Qur'an in the form of a roll, 642.5 x 17.7 m long, with the Throne Verse and some decoration in it in an openwork form along the length of the roll. It was decorated with colored and gilded plant decoration at the beginning and end, and the text was written inside two gilded frames. It was copied by Fakhr al-Din al-Suhrawardi in 1284 AH. In addition to a copy, which consists of (30) pages, each two facing pages forming a complete part of the Holy Qur'an. The first page was decorated with wonderful plant motifs in which bright colors and gold water were used, and the rest of the pages were arranged and completely gilded. The side frames contain colored and gilded plant motifs and copies in the Naskh script in the year 1240 AH/1824 AD. There is also a full copy of the Qur'an, from Surat Al-Fatihah to Surat An-Nas, written in black ink with diacritical marks inside red and blue tables. It was written in the month of Ramadan 1025 AH 1616 AD in Makkah, opposite the Holy Kaaba. It was copied by the divine scholar Mulla Ali Al-Qari, who died in 1014 AH. There is another copy which contains a complete Qur'an, from Surat Al-Fatihah to Surat An-Nas, written in black ink with precise diacritics within golden panels. At the beginning of some surahs there are ornaments and floral and geometric designs decorated with gold leaf and a number of coordinating colors. It was written in 920 AH, corresponding to 1514 AD, and is bound in leather decorated with compressed shapes. Among the notable possessions is also a complete copy of the Qur'an, from Surat Al-Fatihah to Surat An-Nas, written in black ink with precise diacritics within tables colored in gold, green, red, and blue, decorated with plant motifs dyed with gold water. This is considered one of the royal manuscripts, written with great care over a long period of time. It is also bound in waxed leather decorated with gold-colored motifs and flowers with the beauty of Islamic decoration. The library owns a distinctive Holy Qur'an written in the 13th century AH, in appreciation. The decorative colors are blue, red, white, and gold, in the form of roses, small circles, and flowers. The Qur'an was written in the Naskh script, known for its extended and clear letters. It was written in black, with punctuation marks also in black. Among the copies of the Qur'an is a Holy Qur'an written in the 13th century AH, which contains floral and geometric decorations with coloring and gilding, and golden clouds between the lines. It was written in a creative way called (mirror), where a letter or word or words in the first line correspond to the last line, and so each line corresponds to a line according to the type of correspondence. The collection of Qur'ans in the King Abdulaziz Public Library is distinguished by a number of types that can be viewed in several ways, whether by the type of script, the region in which it was written, date of its copying, or its decoration. All the Qur'ans in the library have decorative intros and conclusions. In addition, there are early Andalusian and Moroccan Qur'ans written on square parchment, as well as Indian Qur'ans with various plant decorations. There are also examples of beautiful Chinese and Kashmiri Qur'ans, as well as some Mamluk examples. As for the scripts, they range from the Kufic script, to the Naskh, Thuluth, Timbuktu, and late Sudanese, in addition to the scripts of the Levant, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, and many Najdi and Hijazi Qur'ans, which indicates the richness of Islamic arts, and the addition of each of the Islamic nations with its own artistic and color visions, decorations, and culture in receiving and transcribing the Holy Qur'an.
