ePub The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America (Oxford Handbooks) by From imusti in History

Description

This volume provides a new annotated edition of the two layers of the 'Sanaa palimpsest'; one of the oldest Qur'an manuscripts yet discovered; together with a critical introduction that offers new hypotheses concerning the transmission of the Qur'an during the first centuries of Islam. The palimpsest contains two superimposed Qur'anic texts within two layers of writing; on thirty-eight leaves of parchment collectively numbered MS 01-27.1 in the Dar al-Makhtutat (lit. 'the House of Manuscripts') in Sanaa; Yemen. The palimpsest's lower text; which has been dated to the first century of Islam (seventh century CE); was subsequently erased and the parchment was later reused for writing another Qur'anic text; which remains visible in natural light. This upper text is thought to date from the second century of Islam (eighth century CE). The two layers were imaged in 2007 by a French-Italian mission. Both Qur'anic texts are fragmented and present aspects of work in progress. In its lower layer; the manuscript offers the oldest witness of a reading instruction in a Qur'an text and perhaps even in any Arabic text. Such peculiarities offer rare evidence as to how the Qur'an was transmitted; taught and written down in the first centuries of Islam. In this book; Asma Hilali presents an annotated edition of the texts; together with a critical introduction. These contextualise the volume within the field of Qur'an manuscript studies; and engage with the historical and institutional contexts of transmission of the Qur'anic passages. The volume also makes systematic reference to previous studies and partial editions of the same manuscript.