Imagine making a mistake while writing something as important as the Quran.
Even the most skilled scribes in history weren’t immune to errors.
A recent study revealed how one of the most famous Qurans in the world, the Blue Quran, contains hidden text covered up due to mistakes made by its calligrapher, writes Historienet.
Researchers from the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi uncovered discarded text under a layer of gold leaf in one of the Blue Quran’s pages.
This text was likely covered up because the calligrapher made a mistake. Producing a new page was expensive, so they simply hid the error instead.
The Blue Quran, created in the 8th century, is famous for its deep blue pages. These pages are made from sheepskin and are decorated with gold leaf and silver designs.
Making the pages and coloring them with indigo blue was a costly process.
There is still debate among scholars about where exactly the Blue Quran was made.
Some believe it was created in Tunisia, others in Córdoba, Andalusia, or another location.
However, most agree that only around 100 of the original 600 pages have survived today.
To discover the hidden text, researchers used multispectral imaging. This technique can reveal text and images that have faded over time. The researchers still don’t know exactly what the hidden text says.
The Blue Quran uses Kufic script, a style of calligraphy that focuses on symmetry and beauty rather than easy readability.
The calligraphy was designed to look beautiful, with some of the marks that separate the individual letters left out to ensure geometric consistency.
Although it’s still unclear what the calligrapher may have messed up, the researchers were able to identify that the hidden text comes from Surah An-Nisa.
This part of the Quran discusses rules about women’s rights, marriage, and inheritance.
