Codex, Siyu (?), undated, Naskh with Thuluth elements · CallFront

Eastern Africa & Indian Ocean – Items

Codex, Siyu (?), undated, Naskh with Thuluth elements

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Item descriptor

Copyrights Holder: CallFront
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Entry ID: Kenya_ZH_07
Author: Zulfikar Hirji
Contributor(s): Nuria Garcia Masip
Date: 1163 – 1267 H.; 1749 – 1850
Localization Exactitude Degree: Exact
Place of Production: Kenya, Lamu Archipelago, Pate Island, Siyu (?)
Present Location: Private Collection of the Al-Hinawy Family, Muscat (Oman) on permanent loan to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat (Oman).
Language: Arabic
Type of text: Quran
Color of the Script: black; red; white
Signature: Khatīb b.
Abd al-Rahmān al-Siwī
Signature Role: copyist
Remarks (General Identification): Volume one of a two-volume Quran: (Q. 1-18)
Type of Object: manuscript\codex
Size (of the object): 21.99 x 16.00 cm
Ruling (Manuscript): 13 lines
Technique: written
Remarks (Support): Restored.
Bibliography: Hirji, Zulfikar. “The Siyu Qur’ans: Three Illuminated Qur’an Manuscripts from Coastal East Africa.” In Approaches to the Qur’an in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Zulfikar Hirji. Qur’anic Studies Series 19. Oxford University Press ; The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2019.; Hirji, Zulfikar. “A Corpus of Illuminated Qurʾāns from Coastal East Africa.” Journal of Islamic Manuscripts 14, nos. 2–4 (2023): 356–95.

Script descriptor

See the lexicon

General Script Characteristics

Groups of Characters Baseline: partial stacking of characters
Character Spacing: regular spaces between characters
Presence of Elongation: occasional
Elongated Letters: nūn, sīn/shīn, sād/ḍād, yā’, lām and qāf bowl
Length of Elongation: varied length of elongations
Ligature: Abusive - wāw and hā' / tāʾ marbūṭa; Conventional - curvilinear
Shading / Contrast: medium contrast

Letter Morphology

Point: inclined square; inclined partial square

Ascenders

Alif Ascenders: alif - non serifed
Lām Ascenders: lām - inclined to left; lām - non serifed
Kāf Ascenders: initial medial and final elongated (mabsūṭah); top arm short diagonal stroke; vertical shaft with top arm (sarkaj)
ṭā' ẓā' ascenders: rounded body; vertical shaft inclined to left

Descenders

wāw descenders: wāw - short curvilinear tail
rā' zā' descenders: rā'/zā' - short curvilinear tail; rā'/zā' - s-shaped
mīm descenders: mīm - vertical downstroke
nūn sīn shīn sādḍād yā’ lām and qāf descenders: elongated curvilinear deep bowl; deep bowl; nūn, sīn/shīn, sād/ḍād, yā', lām, qāf - crescent bowl
jīm ḥāʾ khā' and ‘ain ghayn descenders: semicircular backward tail; opening horizontal
yā’ al-rāji’ah descenders: backward horizontal stroke below baseline; backward horizontal stroke

horizontals

bāʾ tāʾ thāʾ fāʾ kāf horizontals: short bowl; bāʾ, tāʾ, thāʾ, fāʾ, kāf - curvilinear flattened bowl

denticles

sīn shīn denticles: short pointed denticles
initial and medial bāʾ tāʾthāʾ nūn yāʾ denticles: initial slightly inclined to left; medial short rounded denticles

counters

hā' counters: isolated one-eyed triangular (murabba'ah); initial / medial double eyed (wajh al-hirr); initial / medial double-eyed top and bottom (mulawwazah); medial v-shape with bottom closed loop towards the right; final one-eyed (mardufah) inclined to left
fā' qāf wāw counters: soft triangular head
medial 'ain ghayn counters: asymmetrical inverted triangle open eye
mīm counters: circular head

vocalization and diacritics

ḍamma vocalization and diacritics: oblique tail (10°-35°); open eye
hamza vocalization and diacritics: small ‘ain
sukūn vocalization and diacritics: circle
shadda vocalization and diacritics: short denticles

Other

additional characteristics: Final dāl / dhāl crescent tail; Final dhāl with point inside tail; Angular lām-alif with parallel shafts; The word Allah is consistently written in red ink