So, the way soundness of the body depends on the soundness of the heart, similarly the soundness of the faith (‘Iman) depends on the concern for the Hereafter (Ruh). The fear of the Hereafter makes one ready for good deeds and this is what stops one from indulging in desires that are impermissible and things that are unlawful. Then, out of the principles of faith, there is the belief in the Hereafter, something on which depends the soundness of human deeds. Imam al-Ghazzali said that one reason for calling Surah Ya Sin the heart of the Qur’an could be that, in this Surah, themes relating to the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection have appeared with particular details and eloquent presentation. Original resource at: The British Library.ĭescription based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.Sayyidna Ma’qil Ibn Yasar (رض) narrates that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: یٰسٓ قَلبُ القُرآن (Surah Ya Sin is the heart of the Qur’an) and some words of this Hadith tell us that a person who recites Surah Ya Sin exclusively for the sake of Allah and the ‘Akhirah is forgiven, and that it should be recited over the dead among us (reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and an-Nas’i and Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim and others – as in Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani and al-Mazhari). Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Annabel Gallop, "An illuminated Malay Qurʼan," Southeast Asia Library Group (SEALG) Blog, March 12, 2013. Original resource extent: 307 folios 223 x 165 millimeters.
"British Library manuscript reference number: Or 15227"-Note extracted from World Digital Library. Title devised, in English, by Library staff. The manuscript was displayed in the British Library's sacred texts exhibition in 2007 and also was featured in the accompanying book on Qurʼan manuscripts. This is the first Qurʼan manuscript in the British Library to be digitized in its entirety. Marginalia include juz' marked by beautiful ornaments with the words al-juz' reserved in white against a colored background in a roundel with floral extensions above and below (these markers are found every 10 folios, always situated in the top-right corner of the verso of a folio) maqra' written in red ink in a very small hand and catchwords at the end of every quire. Surah headings are set within rectangular frames, reserved in white against five colored panels, alternating either green and red, or blue and red. Verse markers are yellow (and occasionally green) roundels outlined in black. Text frames are ruled lines of black-thick yellow-black-black-red ink. The illuminated pages have six double decorated frames and one single decorated frame in the "East Coast" style. The hybrid character of this manuscript is emphasized by some other unusual features, including the presence of double decorated frames in the middle of the book marking the start of Surat al-Kahf and Surat Yasin, instead of just at the beginning of Surat al-Isra', as is usual in east coast Qurʼans. And yet the exactitude of the drawing and coloring, and the repetition of ornamental details, is more typical of Qurʼans from the court of Terengganu, just south of Kelantan, the richest center for Islamic manuscript illumination in Southeast Asia. In many ways, the Qurʼan is typical of manuscript production in Patani, with black endpapers of Thai manufacture, a cloth cover with elaborate stitched headbands, and illuminated frames with typical Patani features, such as the interlocking-wave motif.
On the basis of various codicological features, the manuscript can be attributed to the cultural zone encompassing Kelantan, on the northeast coast of Malaysia, and Patani, in southern Thailand. This exquisite illuminated Qurʼan (Or 15227) dating from the 19th century originates from the east coast of the Malay Peninsula.