of copies of the scripture and donated them to mosques and shrines to be kept for reading .by visitors.

And-if we take into account the age-old Iranian custom of reading the Qur'an in majalis-e khatm where copies of it - usually in thirty, sixty or hundred and-twenty parts, each separately bound - are kept to be read by those attending, the total number of printed and hand-written copies reaches an amazingly large number. If to these is added the number of copies written by young pupils in the traditional schools (maktab khanah) in the course of their Qur'anic instruction, the-number would be a truly stupendous one.

The tradition of writing the Qur'an commenced from the time of the Noble Prophet (S) himself, who had assigned certain persons to write down and record the Qur'anic revelation as and when it came and was recited by him. They are known as kuttab al-wahy, Scribes of the Revelation. These were different from the secretaries who wrote letters, pacts and treaties for the Prophet (S) or wrote agreements and contracts between parties in his presence. (1)11

In another narration he mentions the names of Abu al-Darda', Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd in this regard. (1)5

Al-Zarakshi narrates from al-Sha'bi that those who collected the Qur'an during the Prophet's lifetime were these six: Ubayy, Zayd, Mu'adh, Abu al-Darda', Sa'id ibn 'Ubayd and Abu Zayd, and lastly, Mujamma' ibn Jariyah, who had collected all the Qur'an except for two surahs. (2)6

Ibn al-Nadim describes the order of the surahs in the compilation of 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, which shows that Ibn Mas'ud too had compiled the Qur'an; (3)or perhaps he did so after the Prophet's demise.

In al-Tamhid, Abu Musa al-'Ash'ari and Miqdad ibn al-'Aswad are mentioned among the compilers of the Qur'an. It adds that before the standardization of the codices by the order of 'Uthman, the people of Kufah recited according to the compilation of Ibn Masud, the people of Basrah according to the codex of Abu Musa, the people of Damascus according to the codex of Miqdad, while the rest of Syrians recited according to the codex of Ubayy ibn Ka'b. (4)8

Ibn al-Nad'im, al-Ya'qubi and many Shi'i traditionists have mentioned the episode of the compilation of the Qur'an by 'Ali (A) after the Prophet's demise. The arrangement of the surahs in 'Ali's mushaf, as mentioned by al-Ya'qubi in his history, (5) is different from those of Ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, which have been described by Ibn al Nadim. (6) There are minor differences also in the names of

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the surahs from the well-known and presently popular names. (1)

There is also a difference of sequence in the above-mentioned masahif. For instance, in Ibn Mas'ud's mushaf the Surat al-'Anfal is the twenty-fifth surah, while it is the ninth one in Ubayy ibn Ka'b's arrangement and the eighth one in the present compilation. And as we know, the present compilation is the one made by Zayd ibn Thabit at the order of Abu Bakr, the first caliph.

Zayd says, "Abu Bakr sent for me after the Battle of Yamamah, in which a large number of the Prophet's Companions and qurra' (reciters) of the Qur'an were killed. He told me, "'Umar, who is now here, says that qurra' of the Qur'an have been martyred at Yamamah. If a similar incident should recur, it is feared that a part of the Qur'an retained by them in their memories would be lost. Since you are an intelligent man and happen to be one of the scribes of the revelation and are trustworthy as well, I ask you to collect the Qur'an.' Accordingly, I collected the Qur'an from original recordings, and from the memories of men." (2)12

According to al-Ya'qubi twenty-five men from among the Quraysh and fifty from among the Ansar helped Zayd in this task, (3) among whom 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham were permanent members of the committee.

According to al-Tamhid, the work was started by Zayd ibn Thabit along with some other;, but later Ubayy ibn Ka'b

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assumed responsibility for reading and Zayd for writing down. In any case, the Qur'an was compiled in this manner and the compiled text was deposited first with Abu Bakr and after him with 'Umar and was a source of reference for the people. After the death of 'Umar, this compilation remained in the possession of Hafsah until the year 22/642, when differences of reading appeared during the reign. of 'Uthman.

Thereupon, on the Caliph's order, the mushaf was taken from Hafsah for transcription, and from it Zayd ibn Thabit (who was the main scribe) prepared several copies with the help of 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hisham (both members of the original committee that compiled the Qur'an) and Said ibn al-'As. While the original was returned to Hafsah, one of the copies was kept with the Caliph at Madinah and the rest were sent to major Islamic cities. (1) Thereafter, the handwritten compilations of the Qur'an were destroyed on the Caliph's order for the sake of eliminating differences among Muslims. (2)15

The compilation written during Abu Bakr's days remained with Hafsah until the reign of Marwan ibn al-Hakam. Marwan wanted to burn it also, but Hafsah refused to hand it over to him. He waited until her death and thereat destroyed that compilation also. (3)16

Thus the task of ensuring the uniformity of the Qur'an was carried out in the year 22/642, (4) though 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud refused to hand over his compilation to 'Uthman, who wanted to

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destroy it. (1) Similarly, the compilation made by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) was retained by him and later preserved by his family.

author of Masalik al-'absar, also mentions the Damascan codex. Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1372), who had seen it, describes it. (1)

Ibn Battutah (d. 778/1376) has recorded his observations as follows: In the eastern side of the hall of worship, facing the mihrib is a big repository where the Qur'an sent to Syria by Amir al-Mu'minin 'Uthman ibn 'Affan is preserved. This repository is opened to the public after the congregational prayer and the people throng to embrace it. It is at this place that parties to disputes take oath from defendants and debtors? (2)23

According to Kurd 'A1i, (3) this Qur'an existed in the mosque of Damascus until the year 1310/1892, but that year it was destroyed in a fire at the mosque.

However, Dr. Ramyar, without mentioning any source, writes: "It appears that fragments of the verses of the Qur'an attributed to the 'Uthmani script were taken by Amir Taymur Gorkani with him from Syria to Samarqand with the intention of having them placed at his tomb. This manuscript was later transferred to the library of the Imperial Institute of Archeology at Leningrad and in 1905 C.E. fifty copies of it were lithographed, of which twenty-five were gifted eminent figures from Islamic countries." (4)25

Ibn Battutah also mentions having seen in the mosque of Kufah another Qur'an ascribed to 'Uthman which bore traces of his blood. Al Nabulusi (d.1105/1693) has been quoted to the effect that in the mihrab of the ancient mosque in the fort of Hums there existed a copy

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in the Kufic script bearing traces of blood. In the time of al-Nabulusi the people used to approach it during times of drought to pray for rain. (1)26

Several manuscripts pertaining to the 'Uthmani codices have existed in various cities, and as mentioned by some they were as many as sixteen. (2) Even now some copies ascribed to 'Uthman (i.e. the Uthmani codices) exist in Egypt, Turkey and at Tashkand. Their details are as follows:

1. The Egyptian Codex of the Qur'an is kept at the repository at al-Mashhad al-Husayni at Cairo. Written in the old Kufic script,, it is a big and voluminous size.

2. The Turkish Codex is the one which was at Mosul at first and was subsequently plundered by the invading Tatars. Eventually it was returned to Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. At present it is kept at al. 'Amanah collection, with the serial number one. Its microfilm is present at Ma'had al-Makhtutat al.'Arabiyyah, Cairo, under serial number 19.

3. The Tashkand Codex is commonly believed to have been brought from Syria to Uzbekistan by Taymur as part of his booty, and in accordance with his will was kept at his tomb at Samarqand. Later it was transferred to Petrograd (the present Leningrad), the capital of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution it was returned on the orders of Lenin to Tashkand where it still exists. A brief account of this copy's transfer has been mentioned briefly in Dr. Ramyar's Ta'rikh 'al Qur'an, (3) and apparently its source is

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the popular belief. Dr. Subhi a1-Salih states in this regard: "Some researchers opine that this copy, remained for a period of time at the Leningrad Imperial Museum before being transferred to Uzbekistan”. (1)

Then in the footnote he refers the reader, for details to the tenth volume of Chavin's, Bibliographie des ourages Arabes ou relatifs aux Arabes, Liege, p. 45-56. He adds that other researchers believe that this codex remained safe at the grand mosque of Damascus until 1310/1892 when it was destroyed by fire. (2)30

We know that Taymur conquered Damascus in the year 803/1400 and in the same year his army conquered the city pillaging it and setting it on fire. Although Taymur had ordered that the grand mosque should not be touched, its wooden roof caught fire and its eastern minaret was totally destroyed, though the 'Arus minaret (about which the Prophet S had reportedly foretold) remained intact. (3)31

Accordingly, it is probable that before the mosque of Damascus caught fire, Taymur had the Qur'an transferred to his own camp and had later on taken it to his capital Samarqand. If this has not happened, it is unlikely that the codex has survived the devastating, fire that consumed Damascus and its mosque.

As to the story of its existence until 1310 at Damascus, as quoted by Dr. Subhi al-Salih from Khutat al-Sham, it is not improbable that after the end of Taymur's domination and the resumption of Mamluk rule over Syria, the Uthmani Qur'an of Hums, which al-Nabulusi reported to

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exist at the old citadel mosque in, Hums, was transferred to Damascus. Hums had remained un-attacked by Taymur's forces in 803/1400 because it accepted his suzerainty and paid tribute. (1)

As per this probability, the Damascan codex, after many a change of place, has finally come to remain at Tashkand, and the Hums codex, after being transferred to Damascus after the 11th/17th century, was destroyed by fire at the mosque in the year 1310/1892.

However, this writer was told by the Director of the Islamic Centre of Uzbekistan at Tashkand that the aforesaid codex is kept under lock and key by the governor of Tashkand. But a photographic copy of it, of the same size as the original (65x50), is kept at the Islamic Centre for display for visitors.

the Qur'an before the demise of the Prophet (S) and after his (S) demise he retrieved it from his memory and compiled it. Perhaps he had already written parts of it, because even a highly skilled scribe cannot write the entire Qur'an in three days from memory or copy it from another copy.

Since there is no evidence that 'Ali (A) copied the Qur'an from another copy, it follows that he had previously written the Qur'an as and when it was revealed in that order, and since the Prophet (S) was aware of 'Ali's (A) work and his writing of the Qur'an, he (S) instructed him (A) to collect and compile the same, so that it was safeguarded from destruction and tahrif like the revealed scriptures of the past.

Ibn al-Juzzi in at-Tashil and al-Zarakshi in al -Burhan (1) observe That during the time of the Holy Prophet (S) the Qur'an was scattered In the form of suhuf, loose pages and in the memories of the Companions. Some of them, like 'Uthman and 'Ali (A), even used to recite it in presence of the Holy Prophet (S). Al-Shaykh al-Mufid cites the statement in his tract, Ajwibat al-masa'il al-Sarawiyyah. (2)36

From the foregoing account that 'Ali (A) collected and compiled the Qur'anic text in the order of its revelation, it is inferred that the 'short surahs, which are generally Meccan, were placed at the beginning "of the Qur'an, followed by the longer ones revealed at Madinah. Further, the context of revelation of the

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verses was also mentioned and the nasikh and mansukh verses were also specified.

Al-Ya'qubi in his Ta'rikh (Najaf, ii, 113) mentions the order of the surahs as arranged by 'Ali (A). Ibn al-Nadim, while discussing 'Ali's (A) codex in al-Fihrist, (1) had left some empty space but apparently could' not record the order of the surahs from the codex written by 'Ali (A) which he had seen. This is in itself an evidence that the surahs were arranged differently by 'Ali (A).

grand mosque (al-Jami' al-'Atiq) of Egypt when Ma'mun Bata'ihi, a minister of the Fatimid caliph Amir Billah, ordered a golden chest to be made for it. (1)

Presently a Qur'an attributed to 'Ali (A) exists in the collection at the shrine of al-Husayn (A) at Cairo. It is not unlikely that it is the same one which existed at the ancient grand Mosque of Egypt and and was later transfered from there.

the library of Astanah-a Quds-e Radawi, there are useful notes written by a librarian of Nassabah named Husayn, which include a description about the Najaf codex. The relevant note says: "The codex seen by al Sayyid al-Naqib (i.e. Ibn 'Inabah al-Hasani Nassabah, author of 'Umdat al-talib) at Najaf, still exists in the collection at Najaf. However, a considerable part of it was burnt and only one volume remained, and that too without the marginal notes since all the margins along with a part of the text were destroyed in the fire. " (1)43

missing. This Qur'an has been been written on deerskin and has 341 folios comprising the whole Qur'an. It was endowed by Shah 'Abbas in the year 1009/1600 to the shrine. We quote below the endowment deed written in al-Shaykh al-Bahai's hand:

این کلام مجید که به خط شریف حضرت امیر المؤمنین وسید الوصیّین اسد الله الغالب وإمام أهل المشارق والمغارب ، مَظهر العجائب ومُظهر الغرائب ، أمیر المؤمنین علی بن أبی طالب علیه السلام است ، وقف نمود برروضه مقسه منّوره مطهره عرش مرتبه رضیّه رضویه ، علی ساکنها ألف ألف صلوه وسلام وتحیه ، بادشاه اسلام بناه ، ظلل الله خاک استانه خیر البشر ، مروج مذهب حق ائمه اثنی عشر ، غلام باخلاص أمیر المؤمنین حیدر ، شاه عباس الحسینی الموسوی الصفوی ، بهادرخان ، خلّد الله تعالی ملکه وسلطانه ، وافاض علی العالمین برّه وعدله واحسانه ، أمین رب العالمین. حرره تراب عتبه الرضا علیه السلام ، أقل العباد بهاء الدین محمد الخادم سنه 1009.

This Glorious Qur'an written by the Amir al Mu'minin, Sayyid al Wasiyyin, Asad Allah al-Ghalib, Imam ahl al-mashariq wa al-magharib, Mazhar al'aja'ib wa Muzhir al-ghara'ib, Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) has been endowed to the sacred, luminous, immaculate, compeer to the Throne, and blessed shrine of Rida, on whose dweller be thousands and thousands of salutations and benedictions, by the shadow of God, the dust of the threshold of the Best of Mankind (i.e. the Prophet), the disseminator of the righteous faith of the Twelve Imams (A), the sincere slave of Amir

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al-Mu'minin Haydar, Shah 'Abbas al-Husayni al-Musawi al-Safawi Bahidur Khan, may God immortalize his kingdom and authority and bestow his kindness, justice and goodness upon mankind. Amin Rabb al-'Alamin. Written by the dust of the Shrine of al-Rida - peace be upon him - the humblest of creatures, Baha' al-Din Muhammad in the year 1009.

doubts concerning the authenticity of the attribution of the above codices can be answered as follows:

There is no doubt that 'Ali (A) compiled the Qur'an in the chronological order, (1) but it is not unlikely that he might have subsequently written it in the customary order.

As to the numerous preoccupations of 'Ali (A), there is no doubt that after the demise of the Holy Prophet (S) he was one of the central figures of Madinah and an authority on issues confronting the Muslims, especially judicial issues. But since he did not directly intervene in these affairs and did not participate personally in the wars, it is not improbable that during that period in times of leisure he may have applied himself to copying the Qur'an, especially when we consider that at that time there were few copies of the Qur'an and any addition to those available was conducive to its preservation. In such a situation it was a duty for anyone having this ability to apply himself to this task.

As to the beauty and harmony of the, script of these codices, which create an impression of un-likeliness of their belonging to the era of the beginnings of the Kufic script, it can be explained by the fact that 'Ali (A) was one of the masters of calligraphy in his time. 'Ali (A) is reported to have taught calligraphy to his secretary 'Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi. (2) It is reported that an accomplished scribe was writing the Qur'an, 'Ali (A)

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admired his writing as he examined it, though he disapproved of his use of diminutive writing for the Qur'an. (1)

In Ibn al-Nadim's al-Fihrist there is a reference to Khalid ibn Abi al-Hayyaj, a companion of 'Ali (A), as one of master calligraphists of the Qur'an. (2) Khalid was employed after 'Ali's martyrdom by the chamberlain of Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik for making copies of the scripture and for writing poems and traditions for him. It was he who wrote the inscription in gold of the qiblah of the Prophet's Mosque, which runs from Surat al-Shams to the end of the Qur'an. (3) Despite all this, the authenticity of the attribution of each these codices to 'Ali (A) is a matter that requires a separate study.

are written as رحمن ، کتب and اسمعیل.

However, a style of writing other than the Kufic existed in Hijaz at the time of the Prophet (S). This was the Nabataean script from which the Nakshi style evolved later. The Nabataean script being easier, was commonly used except by the people of Arabia. (1)54

Malik al-Shu'ara' Bahar observes in Sabkshinasi that from that which can be gathered from the bulk of traditions is that the Islamic script, from the very beginning, was the Nabataean script, which was called al-Naskhi and al-Darij. The Arab had taken it directly from the late Nabataean script.

The Nabataean script had come to the Hijaz from Huran (an ancient Syrian town), but, as mentioned earlier, the Qur'an was usually written in the Kufic script and the practice lasted for several centuries. Some even claimed that writing the Qur'an in any script other than the Kufic was improper because the Qur'an was written in Kufic script in the times of the Prophet (S) and his companions. They considered any change of script to amount to bid'ah. (2)55

Evidently there is no justification for the aforesaid argument, because the medium of recording in those days was exclusively limited to this script. Further if we extend this logic, the use of paper and print, which did not exist at that time, should also be prohibited. Incidentally, the scholars of the Ottoman Empire had proscribed for a long time the printing of the Qur'an (3) in the vast regions under Ottoman rule

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although the process of printing had become prevalent in its domains. (1)57

by Ustad 'Abd al-Fattah 'Ibadah.

4. AI-Khattat al-Baghdadi by Dr. Suhayl Anwar.

5. Al-Khatt al-'Arabi wa adabuhu by Muhammad Tahir ibn 'Abd al-Qadir al-Makki.

6. Musawwir al-khatt al-'Arabi by Naji Zayn al-Din. (1)59

7. Ahwal wa athar-a khushnawisan by Mahdi Bayani (the section on Naskhi).

A perusal of these works would remove all doubts for the reader. Therefore, Ibn Muqlah only attempted to perfect the six styles (which includes the Naskhi) which were already prevalent two hundred years before him. (2) A study of the aforementioned works and of the Qur'anic manuscripts in libraries and museums mentioned above leads us to conclude that the Naskhi script was derived from the Kufic, not the Nabataean as claimed by some.

deerskin. (1)

In Kufic script, it has inscribed on it the words: "al Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib" with the date 41 H. On the first folio is a dedication (waqfnameh) by Shah 'Abbas Safawi and bearing the signature of al-Shaykh al-Bahai who attributes it to al-'Imam al-Hasan (A), who is mentioned thus:

به امام همام سبط الرسول...ابی محمد الحسن علیه الصلوه والسلام.

The second codex is the one placed upon the sarcophagus at the tomb of 'Ali (A) at Najaf. (2) The third one, written on ten folios of deerskin, was seen by this writer in the library of Ustad Mahmud Farrukh Khurasani. Apparently, it is still in the possession of his family. It starts with the twelfth verse of Sura al Nisa' and ends at the seventh verse of Surat al-Tawbah. It bears the signatures of Hasan ibn 'Abbas, al-Safawi Bahadur Khan and Isma'il al-Musawi al-Hasani Bahadur Khan, indicating that they got the blessed chance to view this manuscript (3)

It is not very unlikely that this third manuscript is a part of either the Qur'an at Astaneh-ye Quds-e Radawi or the one at Imam Ali's tomb, from which it might have been separated. Incidentally, it should be remembered that the Qur'an in the possession of Ustad Farrukh and his family does not contain more than 10 leaves and it cannot comprise nearly six parts (juz') of the Qur'an, i.e. from the fourth to the tenth. Without doubt it consists of scattered leaves of the Qur'an attributed to

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the Imam that were collected and bound without attention to sequence.

Amir 'Aqabah ibn Nafi' al-Fahri. It is kept at the al-'Amariah Library, Istanbul, with the number 44. Its microfilm, numbered 9, is at Ma'had al Makhtutat al 'Arabiyyah, Cairo.

containing 16 lines. On the first page is written:

قد تشرف بزیاره هذا المُصحف الشریف المُبارک...الصَّفوی بهادُرخان.

"bears an, oval seal with the inscriptionجانشین حسن حسین علیست . In addition to the aforementioned codices, there are many other 'ancient codices in the Kufic script some of which even do not have such marks as the madd and shaddah, which came to be used in Qur'anic writing only later. Most of them have red dots in the place of the now usual diacritical marks (i'rab) because that was the mode of indicating 'vowels before the use of i'rab.

Most of them do not contain the name of the scribe and the date of completion, because most of their pages have been lost or have been scattered into several parts. Such manuscripts, which are present in large numbers in museums and libraries around the world, have been - according to the experts who date them - mostly written between the 2nd/8th and 4th/10th centuries when the Naskhi script had not yet replaced the Kufic script. Precious specimens of these manuscripts can be seen at the exquisite collection of the Astaneh-ye Quds-e Radawi, the Iran Bastan Museum, the museum of the shrine at Qumm, the library and museum of Shiraz and Kitabkhanehye Waziri at Yazd, as well as several libraries abroad.

such codex, which is apparently complete, is the one endowed by Shah 'Abbas and bears the number 42 of the library of al 'Imam al-Rida's shrine. Its writing is attributed to the Infallible Imams (A). There is also a codex numbered 31, in the shrine's library. It comprises 545 octavo folios containing apparently the entire Qur'an and was written in the 2nd/8th or 3rd/9th century. Yet another codex written on parchment exists in the museum at Qumm and dates back to the 2nd/8th century. Then there is the Qur'an bearing number 38 in al-'Imam al-Rida's shrine which belongs to the 3rd/9th century. There is also the codex at the National Library of Tunis which was written at Qayrawan in the 3rd/9th century. (1)73

treasury of the Astaneh-ye Quds-e Radawi which has been endowed by Abu al-Qasim Mansur ibn Abi al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Abi Mansur Kathir in the year 393 H. Abu al-Qasim's place of birth is Herat and his grandfather, Ahmad, is from Qa'in. His father Abu al-Husayn Kathir was minister under the Samanids and al'Asma'i has eulogized him. Abu al-Qasim Mansur himself was a minister during the time of Sultan Mahmud al-Ghaznawi. According to a report of al-Bayhaqi, he was minister of defence (diwan-e ard) during the reign of Sultan Mas'ud who used to consult him about military matters. Later he became defence secretary (sahib-a diwan) of Khurasan. (1)75

An incomplete codex written in 410 H. by 'Ali ibn Ahmad al Warraq for Hadinah, the nurse of al-Mu'izz ibn Badis al-Maghribi, is now in the museum at Tunis. (2)76

There is a codex in the collection at Imam 'Ali's shrine at Najaf written by 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Muhaddith in 419 H. at Ray (3) Another codex written in the Maghribi script in gold bears the date 400 H. and is kept at the library of John Wilander, at Manchester, England. (4)78

There is also a codex at the Astaneh-ye Quds-e Radawi which Abu al-Barakat endowed to the shrine of al-Rida (A) in Ramadan 421 H. through Abu 'Ali Hawwulah. This Abu 'Ali Hawwulah, whose biographical accounts have been written by his contemporaries al-Tha'labi in Tatimmat al-Yat'imah and al-Bakharzi in Dumyat al-qasr was a learned Shi'ite minister of the Daylamites and served for a long time

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as the diwan-a rasa'il of Majd al-Dawlah al-Daylami. On taking possession of Ray in the year 420/1029, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi honoured Abu 'Ali and took him along with himself to Ghazni and made him a secretary. During the reign of Sultan Mas'ud he was once again made diwan-a rasa'il. He lived a long life. (1)79

An incomplete codex exists at the British Museum that was written in the Naskhi script by Abu al-Kazim Said ibn Ibrahim in 427H. (2) It was Gilded by Naji lbn 'Abd Allah. There are two incomplete parts of the of the Qur'an in the library of al-'Azhar, Cairo, and at the end of the second state of completion given is 465 H. (3)81

At the collection of Imam Ali's shrine at Najaf there is another gilded codex which was written and gilded in 432 H. by Zayd ibn al Rida ibn Zayd al Alawi. (4)82

Recently, parts of an exquisite codex written and gilded by 'Uthman ibn Husayn al-Warraq and dated 466 H. was dug out in the precincts of the shrine of al-'Imam al-Rida (A). Each of these parts has golden frontispiece. They are kept at the Qur'anic collection of the Astanah-ye Quds-e Radawi.

The foregoing are some of the dated codices pertaining to the early centuries. The undated codices or dated codices of the late 5th century onwards are so numerous that their description would virtually take a voluminous work. If life and leisure provide the opportunity, we shall give a summary of the same in a

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later article with the help of the Almighty, great are His bounties, insha 'Allah ta'ala.

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