Bifolio of a Qur'an manuscript

This bifolio most probably belonged to the same manuscript from which the three MIA folios of MS.68.2007 originate. The vertical format of the folio and the script, an unclassified type very close to hijazi examples, are clear indicators of the early date of this manuscript. The scribe wrote the text in a neat script devoid of the usual rightward sloping present in the majority of early Qur’an copies in hijazi script. The straight stroke of the vertical letters gives an elegant visual rhythm to the page, which is filled with text in its entirety as typical for early Qur’an manuscripts. Small clusters of dots and dashes occasionally indicate verse divisions, while the use of diacritical marks is kept to the bare minimum. Due to the unusual features of its script, this manuscript represents a unique and rare example in the early history of Qur’an manuscripts and is an important testimony for the study of the early developments of Arabic as a written language.