Encyclopedia of Islam

Quran

  

573  J

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the Quran is also quoted in Friday sermons, 

and quranic phrases have even entered everyday 

speech, especially in countries where Arabic is the 

native language.

Complementing the art of recitation is that of 

calligraphy

. Great care was taken in rendering the 

sacred text of the Quran in writing. The cursive 

Arabic script lends itself to a wide variety of forms 

and styles, from the simplest to the most complex, 

as is evident in the countless Quran manuscripts 

that have been produced through the centuries. 

Prior to the modern period the most magnificent 

manuscripts were created by professional calligra-

phers at the behest of rulers and wealthy patrons. 

Although today most people have printed editions 

of the Quran, small numbers of handwritten copies 

of the Quran continue to be produced. During the 

Middle Ages the calligraphic rendering of verses 

and chapters from the Quran was carried from the 

medium of paper to that of 

architectUre

. Beauti-

ful quranic inscriptions can still be seen on great 

Islamic monuments in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, 

Iran, Central Asia, and India. Examples are the 

mosques of al-a

zhar

 and Sultan Hasan in Cairo, 

the  d

ome

 

oF

 

the

  r

ock

 in Jerusalem, the Sultan 

Ahmad and Suleymaniye mosques of i

stanbUl

, the 

Shaykh Lutfallah Mosque of Isfahan, the Tilakari 

madrasa of Samarkand, the Qutb Minar of Delhi, 

and Agra’s Taj Mahal. Quranic calligraphy contin-

ues to be an important part of modern mosque 

design, too. Muslims also place artfully rendered 

verses from the Quran in the form of posters and 

wall hangings in their homes, schools, places of 

work, and even cars and trucks. Copies of the 

entire  mushaf can be found displayed in these 

locations, although sometimes it is kept in a color-

ful box for protection from the elements.

See also 

almsgiving

; 

amUlets

 

and

 

talismans

; 

a

rabian

 

religions

, 

pre

-i

slamic

;  a

rabic

 

langUage

and

 

literatUre

; 

books

 

and

 

bookmaking

; 

kafir

; 

prophets

 

and

 

prophecy

.