Page from a Qur’an manuscript

Many once-complete manuscripts no longer survive or have been dismantled and their pages dispersed in collections throughout the world. Several pages similar to this one, from a very early Koran, survive in such piecemeal fashion. Between the lines of large Arabic script is a translation in Persian. The red letters that form a border around the text contain verses from the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). Finely executed calligraphy is a feature of many Korans from throughout the Islamic world. Because the text contains the word of God, it was considered a form of devotion to copy the Koran in beautiful handwriting and to beautify its pages with decoration.