the Quran is also quoted in Friday sermons,
and quranic phrases have even entered everyday
speech, especially in countries where Arabic is the
native language.
Complementing the art of recitation is that of
calligraphy. Great care was taken in rendering the
sacred text of the Quran in writing. The cursive
Arabic script lends itself to a wide variety of forms
and styles, from the simplest to the most complex,
as is evident in the countless Quran manuscripts
that have been produced through the centuries.
Prior to the modern period the most magnificent
manuscripts were created by professional calligra-
phers at the behest of rulers and wealthy patrons.
Although today most people have printed editions
of the Quran, small numbers of handwritten copies
of the Quran continue to be produced. During the
Middle Ages the calligraphic rendering of verses
and chapters from the Quran was carried from the
medium of paper to that of architectUre. Beauti-
ful quranic inscriptions can still be seen on great
Islamic monuments in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey,
Iran, Central Asia, and India. Examples are the
mosques of al-azhar and Sultan Hasan in Cairo,
the dome oF the rock in Jerusalem, the Sultan
Ahmad and Suleymaniye mosques of istanbUl, the
Shaykh Lutfallah Mosque of Isfahan, the Tilakari
madrasa of Samarkand, the Qutb Minar of Delhi,
and Agra’s Taj Mahal. Quranic calligraphy contin-
ues to be an important part of modern mosque
design, too. Muslims also place artfully rendered
verses from the Quran in the form of posters and
wall hangings in their homes, schools, places of
work, and even cars and trucks. Copies of the
entire mushaf can be found displayed in these
locations, although sometimes it is kept in a color-
ful box for protection from the elements.
See also almsgiving; amUlets and talismans;
arabian religions, pre-islamic; arabic langUage
and literatUre; books and bookmaking; kafir;
prophets and prophecy.
Further reading: Farid Esack, The Quran: A User’s Guide
(Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2005); Jane Dam-
men McAuliffe, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the
Quran (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006);
Kristina Nelson, “The Sound of the Divine in Every-
day Life.” In Everyday Life in the Middle East, edited
by Donna Lee Bowen and Evelyn A. Early, 257–261
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002); Abu
Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, An Introduction to the Sciences of
the Quran (Birmingham, England: Al-Hidaayah Pub-
lishing and Distribution, 1999); Fazlur Rahman, Major
Themes of the Quran (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica,
1980); Michael Sells, Approaching the Quran: The Early
Revelations (Ashland, Oreg.: White Cloud Press, 1999);
W. Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell, Introduction to
the Quran (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press,
1970).Quraysh
The tribe that dominated mecca when mUham-
mad (ca. 570–632) was born was the Quraysh.
It was composed of 10 main clans. The Banu
Hashim clan was the one to which Muham-
mad belonged. Another clan, the Abd Shams,
was more wealthy and powerful. Both branches
played very important roles in the first centuries
of Islamic history.
The Quraysh profited from control of the holy
sites in Mecca and the caravans that traveled to
yemen and syria. They were also responsible for
taking care of pilgrims who came to worship at
the kaaba, the leading temple in Mecca. Muslim
historians claimed that the Quraysh were descen-
dants of abraham and Ishmael, the builders of the
Kaaba. According to these accounts, the Quraysh
became dispersed for about seven centuries after
the time of Ishmael. Qusayy, one of Muhammad’s
ancestors, reunited the tribe in Mecca. He claimed
the right to take care of the Kaaba and feed and
water pilgrims. In the history of religions it is very
common for a particular family or clan to be in
charge of operating holy places, and Mecca was
no exception. When Qusayy died, his sons took
control and divided the city into quarters in which
the different tribes and clans were to reside. OneK 574 Quraysh