KORAN BOX (Morocco)

(November 1997)

KORAN (QUR'AN) BOX. (89K) Bone, silver, and wood. Marrakech, Morocco, ca. 1985.

DESCRIPTION

This box is a container designed specifically to hold the Holy Koran (in Arabic, Qur'an) of the Muslim religion.

This particular box is made in the traditional style of rectangular pieces of stained bone held in place by an open-work silver case with brass studs. The typical Moroccan architectural forms of arched windows and doors are reflected in the open-work. The designs on the bone were hand-grooved and filled with red, green, blue, and black paint. Hand-tooled leaf and floral motifs decorate the front and solid back of the case, and three stones in bezel settings ornament the front. The arched, hinged lid is secured by a pin-lock. The interior of the box is lined in wood. Heavy braided black cords are attached to either side projection for secure and easy over-the-shoulder portability.

As a container designed to hold the Holy Koran, the box is considered sacred in and of itself.

THE HOLY KORAN

The Koran, which in Arabic means "recitation," contains the Word of God. In the Muslim religion, Allah (Arabic for "God") revealed His last word to the Prophet Mohammed (AD 570?-632), who dictated the Divine Messages or revelations to his scribes. The written text was then read out to Mohammed so he might determine that the text was without error and a pure recording of the Word of God. In order to fulfill the obligations of worship, passages were memorized and recited by members of his sizable following.

The Koran is the second most popular book in the world, the Bible being first. The whole Koran was probably written down while Mohammed was still living. But it was not until the demise of the Prophet that the first Caliph, Hadhrat Abu Bakr, convened all the Huffaz (holy men) and the written records of the Holy Koran to arrange the written text in book form. The Koran has been organized into 114 chapters, mainly according to the length of the sections.

Arabic, the language in which the Koran was revealed, is still the mother tongue for about 100 million persons in the Middle East, from Iraq to Morocco, and in other parts of the world. The text which God revealed to Mohammed for the guidance of humankind is still being studied and taught in its original language.

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