HUSSAIN IBN AHAD AL-RAMUZ IBN SADI AL-DIN

Levant, 1655. MS 046

The Koran (alt. Spelling Qur’an) is the Holy Book for the religion of Islam. Muslims believe the Koran to contain the actual word of God, since the text was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel from 610-632 CE. There are 114 suras (chapters) that are not only the source of Islamic belief, but also serve as the laws of the Muslim community. There will never be figural decorations in an illuminated Koran since it is considered heretical to illustrate the Prophet Muhammad. What is especially unique about the Koran is that the words written in Arabic have not changed since the Prophet Muhammad first recorded them.

This version of the Koran is written by a scribe by the name of Hussain ibn Ahad al-Ramuz ibn Sadi al-Din (حسين بن أحد الرموز بن سعدي الدين). According to the writing on the back flyleaves of the manuscript, he was the son of the Shiekh Abdu-ar-remez, and it was written in the year 1066 (1655 CE). The manuscript features a beautiful double-carpet page illumination at the beginning (figure 1). Following, each page has an outer border with red and gold floral motifs and curvilinear forms against a blue background with gold trefoil edges. This Koran has a particularly long ownership history, with the earliest holder being Sir John Barker (1771-1849), a diplomat, horticulturist, and antiquities collector. The text then was given to a friend of the Barkers, the Swiss explorer and geographer Jean Louis Buckhardt (1784-1817). Before finally arriving in the Burgess’ Collection, the text was then in possession of Dr. John Lee (1783-1866), an English philanthropist, astronomer, mathematician, antiquarian, and barrister.

Bibliography

Hussain ibn Ahad al-Ramuz ibn Said al-Din. Al-Koran. University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives, MS 046. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/3uoa1r/CP71269067920001451