Red Dots, Green Dots, Yellow Dots and Blue: Some Reflections on the Vocalisation of Early Qur'anic Manuscripts - Part i

Journal of Qur'anic Studies

Volumn 1, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 115-140

  Dutton, Yasin ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 79956857650     PISSN: 14653591     EISSN: 17551730     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3366/jqs.1999.1.1.115     Document Type: Article

References (57)

1. Franfois Deroche, The Abbasid Tradition: Qur'ans of the 8th to the 10th Centuries A.D. (London and Oxford, The Nour Foundation, in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press, 1992).
2. Martin Lings, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination (London, World of Islam Festival Trust, 1976).
3. Giorgio Levi della Vida, Frammenti Coranici in Carattere Cuflco nella Biblioteca Vaticana (Codici Vaticani Arabi 1605, 1606) (Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1947).
4. Nabia Abbott, 77te Rise ofthe North Arabic Script and its Kur'änic Development, with a Full Description of the Kur'än Manuscripts in the Oriental Institute (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1939).
5. A. J. Arberry, The Koran Illuminated: A Handlist ofthe Korans in the Chester Beatty Library (Dublin, Hodges, Figgis and Co., Ltd., 1967).
6. Alphonse Mingana, Catalogue ofManuscripts in the John Rylands Library at Manchester (Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1934).
7. Charles Rieu, Supplement to the Catalogue ofthe Arabic Manuscripts in the British Museum (London, The British Museum, 1894), p. 38 (referring to British Library MS Or. 1396).
8. For the uses of coloured dots in the first of these two manuscripts (British Library MS Or. 1396)
9. Rieu, Supplement, p. 39 (referring to British Library MS Or. 1398B).
10. See Theodor Nöldeke, Geschichte des Qoräns, Band III: Die Geschichte des Qoräntexts, 2nd edn revised by Gotthelf Bergsträsser and Otto Pretzl (Leipzig, Dieterichsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1926-36), pp. 262-3, 266.
11. See Abbott, Rise, p. 40. In this she followed Wright, who noted that in the oldest manuscripts of the Qur'an hamza may be marked by 'a large yellow or green dot' (see W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, 3rd edn (2 vols., Cambridge University Press, 1896-8), 1: 17).
12. See, for example: Bernhard Moritz, article 'Arabia, d. Arabic writing', Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1st edn (4 vols., Leiden, E.J.Brill and London, Luzac and Co., 1913-34), 1: 384;
13. Mingana, Catalogue, Nos. 11 and 16 (MSS 688 and 791), pp. 17 and 20;
14. Derek Hopwood (ed.), Catalogue of the Mingana Collection ofManuscripts (Selly Oak, Birmingham). Woodbrooke Catalogues. Vol. IV: Islamic Arabic Manuscripts (Birmingham, The Selly Oak Colleges Library, 1963), No. 1 (MS 1563), p. 1;
15. Arberry, The Koran Illuminated, Nos. 1-22 (MSS 1401-16, 1421-3, 1616-18, 1432), pp. 3-9.
16. Mingana, Catalogue, No. 10 (MS 703), p. 15.
17. Estelle Whelan, 'Writing the Word of God: Some Early Qur'än Manuscripts and Their Milieux, Part 1', Ars Orientalis, 10 (1989), p. 121. Cf. Deroche, No. 76, where we are told that 'green dots appear to be corrections'.
18. For Ibn Abi Däwüd, see Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Band 1: Qur'änwissenschaften, Hadith, Geschichte, Fiqh, Dogmatik, Mystik bis ca. 430 H. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1967) [hereinafter GAS], 1: 174-5.
19. For al-Däni, see Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, 2nd edn (2 vols., Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1943-49;
20. Supplement vols., Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1937-42) [hereinafter GAL], 1: 407 and Supplement 1: 719-20.
21. Ibn Abi Däwud, Kitäb al-masähifva Arthur Jeffrey, Materiedsfor the History ofthe Text of the Qur'an (Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1937), pp. 144-7 [Arabic text].
22. Al-Däni, Abu 'Amr, Kitäb al-muqnf ft rasm masähif al-amsär maca Kitäb al-naqt (Orthographie und Punktierung des Koran), ed. Otto Pretzl (Leipzig, F. A. Brockhaus and Istanbul, Devlet Matbaasi, 1932), pp. 134, 142, 145;
23. Ibid., ed. Muhammad al-Sädiq Qamhäwl (Cairo, Maktabat al-Kulliyyät al-Azhariyya, n.d.), pp. 130, 137, 140.
24. For al-GhäzI ibn Qays, see, for example, Ibn al-Jazarl, Kitäb ghäyat al-nihäyaft tabaqät alqurrä' (Das Biographische Lexikon der Koranlehrer), ed. Gottheit Bergsträsser and Otto Pretzl (2 vols., Leipzig, F. A. Brockhaus and Cairo, Matba'at al-Sacäda, 1933-5), 2: 3.
25. al-Däni, Abu 'Amr, Kitäb al-muhkamft naqt al-masähif, ed. Tzzat Hasan, 2nd edn (Damascus, Dar al-Fikr, 1407/1986), pp. 19-20.
26. al-Däni, Muhkam, p. 87.
27. i.e., Ibn al-Jazarl, al-Nashr fi'l-qirä'ät al-ashr, ed. 'All Muhammad al-Dabbä' (2 vols., Beirut, Dar al-Fikr, n.d.;originally Damascus, 1927).
28. For al-Acmash, see, for example, al-Dhahabl, Tadhkirat al-huffai, 3rd edn (4 vols., Hyderabad, Dä'iratal-Macärif al-TJthmäniyya, 1375-77/1955-8), 1: 154.
29. Abd al-Mutacäl Mansur cArafa, Kitäb al-rayähln al-catira, sharh Mukhtasar al-fäwä'id al-miftabarafi'l-qirä'ät al-shädhdha li'l-arba'a bafl al- 'ashara (Sidon and Beirut, al-Maktaba al-cAsriyya, 1408/1987), pp. 13-18;
30. also W. Montgomery Watt, [Bell's] Introduction to the Qur'än (Edinburgh University Press, 1970), p. 50.
31. also Ibn al-Jazari, al-Nashr, 1:91.
32. Read by Ibn "Abbäs, al-Hasan [ibn cAli], al-Dahhäk and Ibn Abzä (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar fi shawädhdh al-Qur'än min Kitäb al-badf (Sammlung Nichtkanonischer Koranlesarten), ed. G. Bergsträsser (Leipzig, F. A. Brockhaus and Cairo, al-Matbaca al- Rahmäniyya, 1934), p. 8;
33. Ibn cAtiyya, al-Muharrar al-waßzfl tafslr al-kitäb al-'aziz (16 vols., Mohammedia, Matäbic Fadäla, 1395-1411/1975-1991), 1: 307).
34. Read by Qatäda and others (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 8;
35. Read by al-Hasan, Ibn Muhaysin, and others (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 9;
36. Ibn cAtiyya, Muharrar, 1: 313;
37. Mansür, Rayähin, p. 40).
38. Read by al-Hasan (see Mansür, Rayähin, p. 35;
39. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Bannä' al-Dimyäti, Ithäffudalä' al-basharfi'l-qirä'ät al-arba'a cashar (sie) (Beirut, Dar al-Nadwa al-Jadida, n.d.; originally Cairo, Matbacat cAbd al-Hamld Ahmad Hanafi, 1359/1940), p. 13
40. Read by Talha al-Hadrami, Talha ibn Musarrif and Ibn Waththäb (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 62;
41. Read by Ibn 'Abbäs, Tkrima and 'Amr ibn Fä'id (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 65; Ibn cAtiyya, Muharrar, 9: 386).
42. Read by Ibn Muhaysin and al-Ashhab al-TJqayl! (see Ibn cAtiyya, Muharrar, 3: 253). Ibn cAtiyya notes a fourth possibility, wa-ka'in, also read by Ibn Muhaysin (see Ibid., 3: 253;
43. also Mansür, Rayähtn, p. 51
44. al-Bannä', Ithäf, p. 180;
45. Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 22).
46. See Ibn cAtiyya, Muharrar, 10:319.
47. Read by Tkrima and Qatäda (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 77; Ibn cAtiyya, Muharrar, 10: 319).
48. The equivalent ishtarawi l-dalälata (Q.2:16) was read by Yahyä ibn Yacmur and Abi TSammäl (?) (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 2).
49. cf. Whelan, 'Writing the Word of God', p. 121
50. Recorded from al-Acmash (see Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 25).
51. cf. Whelan, 'Writing the Word of God', p. 121.
52. Although this feature occurs frequently in similar manuscripts (e.g., British Library MS Or. 1398, f. 10a: fa-li-yatawakkal [Q.5:11 ];
53. British Library MS Or. 1399, f.37b: fa-li-yatawakkal [Q.9:51] and f. 40b: wa-li-yabku [Q.9:82];
54. British Library MS Or. 1562, f. 37b: fa-li-yastajif and fa-li-ya'kul [both Q.4:6] and f. 38b: fa-li-yattaqu lläha wa-li-yaqülü [Q.4:9];
55. Deroche, Abbasid Tradition, Nos. 47: fa-li-ya'ti [Q.52:38] and 48: fa-H-yadhi [Q.96:17])
56. Ibn Khälawayh, Mukhtasar, p. 2;
57. Mansur, Räyähin, p. 33;