Written Transmission

According to the classical Muslim tradition, written transcriptions of the Quran began in the 20s/640s, upon the instruction of the caliph Abu Bakr and then Uthman, to guarantee the survival and integrity of the Quran. In fact, copies have been preserved which date from the second half of the first/seventh century. None of these copies is complete and, in many cases, only fragments remain. Some of the features which characterized the Quran manuscripts of the first/seventh century have stood the test of time, but the majority were subject to significant change over the following three to four centuries, their pace being especially quick during the Umayyad period. When letterpress editions are produced in Muslim countries, they will only be accepted if additional efforts are made within this long‐standing tradition of written transmission to respect the traditional layout of the text, including even its catchwords.