The Koranic manuscript under the Umayyad dynasty

It is virtually impossible, given our current state of knowledge, to identify Qur'anic manuscripts dating from the reign of Caliph 'Uthmān (or his successor 'Alī), even if various copies are traditionally attributed to him. On the other hand, we have an appreciable number of fragments of varying size that can be attributed to Islam's first dynasty, the Umayyads (661-750). Their study gives us access first and foremost to the state of the text at that time, just a few decades after Muḥammad's apostolate and the writing down that Muslim tradition attributes to Abū Bakr, the first caliph, or to 'Uthmān. It also makes it possible to follow the changing status of the written text and its reception among the early communities. Finally, it allows us to trace the beginnings of a Muslim book art, closely associated with the Koran.