The Qur'an of Johann Zechendorff

This article focuses on features and peculiarities of the Arabic text of Sūrat al-Kahf in Zechendorff's newly discovered Qur'an manuscript. Zechendorff's work is the result of his efforts to produce a faithful copy of a Muslim Qur'an manuscript, including the text and all the signs such as vocalisation and aids for recitation. On the whole, the sample analysed shows that he carried his work out with care, although some problems with the Qur'an's orthography led to some oversights and mistakes. Some of these are typical lapses in writing but a number of them can also be attributed to limits in knowledge. This is also evident in the case of the aids for recitation added above the line and of the verse divisions, the rules of which were a constant problem for European scholars who had no relevant literature at their disposal. Notwithstanding, Zechendorff's Arabic Qur'an is a significant scholarly achievement the defects of which are mainly due to the lack of sources

Arabic · Art · Linguistics · Literature · Orthography · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Families in Therapy and Culture · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology