7. The Codex at al-‘Imam al-Rida’s Shrine

Apart from the Qur’an kept on the sarcophagus (dari’) at the tomb of ‘Ali (A) at Najaf, two more Qur’anic codices exist in the collection at al-‘Imam al-Rida’s shrine at Mashhad that are attributed to Imam ‘Ali (A). The first bears the number 6 and is kept at the library. It is written in Kufic script on deerskin with the note: “Katabahu ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib.” On the first page there is a dedication by Shah ‘Abbas, the Safawid monarch, in the writing of al-Shaykh al-Bahai and with his signature with the date 1008 H. There, al-Shaykh al-Bahai mentions it as having been written by ‘Ali (A). This Qur’an in 68 folios contains a part of the scripture from Surat Hud to the end of Surat al-Kahf. ⁴⁴

The second Qur’an bears the number 1. Parts of its margins are gone and verses are missing from in between. For instance, between Folios 33 and 34 nearly 79 verses are 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:

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 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.