Qurʾān · Uthmanic Text Type
Regional rasm variants
In the mid-7th century, tradition holds that ʿUthmān sent master copies to regional centers — traditionally Medina, Syria (likely Ḥimṣ, not Damascus), Basra, and Kufa. Early manuscripts overwhelmingly descend from one Uthmanic Text Type (UT) and are highly uniform. Medieval rasm literature and modern stemmatics record on the order of ~35–40 small consonantal or orthographic differences between those regional exemplars — not ~40 alternate Qurans. See our Hijazi witness timeline for dated leaves; Coverage explains what we do and do not collate.
What the scholarship says
Michael Cook (2004) tallies 16 Syria-unique, 13 Syria+Medina vs Basra+Kufa, and 6 Kufa-unique variants (~35 total) in Graeco-Arabica 9–10. Marijn van Putten (*Quranic Arabic*) summarizes ~40 variants in the consonantal skeleton between regional codices. Hythem Sidky (JIQSA 5, 2020) confirms four ancestral nodes by manuscript phylogeny.
Radiocarbon and palaeography place many of our Hijazi witnesses in or near the mid-7th-century canonization window. “Stable from ~650” means an early Uthmanic Text Type archetype, not zero scribal variation thereafter.
- Michael Cook, “The stemma of the regional codices of the Koran” (Graeco-Arabica 9–10, 2004)
- Hythem Sidky, “On the Regionality of Qurʾānic Codices” (JIQSA 5, 2020)
- Marijn van Putten, *Quranic Arabic* (Cambridge, 2024) — ch. on Uthmanic stemmatics
- Yasin Dutton on Codex Parisino-Petropolitanus & BL Or. 2165 (JQS)
- Corpus Coranicum — manuscript catalog (CC BY 4.0 metadata)
- Alrahawan & Said, correlating early fragments to ʿUthmānic codices (al-Burhān 5:2, 2021)
Stemma (Cook / Sidky)
Uncontaminated stemma implied by Cook’s regional tallies (16 / 13 / 6). Sidky’s phylogeny of early manuscripts recovers the same four ancestral nodes; the Syrian exemplar was likely sent to Ḥimṣ, not Damascus. Sidky identifies a later neo-Basran subgroup — a local orthographic reform on the Basran line, distinct from the original Basran exemplar readings in rasm literature.
SyriaMedinaBasraKufa
Curated examples (33 of ~35–40)
Small consonantal/orthographic differences between the four ʿUthmānic regional exemplars (Syria/Ḥimṣ, Medina, Basra, Kufa) as recorded in medieval rasm literature and tested against early manuscript stemmatics — not alternate Qurans or qirāʾāt.
| Ref | Context | Syria | Medina | Basra | Kufa | Nature | Pattern | Sources | Our witnesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q 2:132 | Abraham’s charge to his sons (wa-ʾawṣā bihā Ibrāhīm…) | وَأَوۡصَىٰ wa-awsa — alif between the two wāws; ṣād not geminated | وَأَوۡصَىٰ Same early Medinan/Syrian orthography as Syria in rasm reports | وَوَصّٰى wa-waṣṣa — no alif; geminate ṣād (two ṣād letters) | وَوَصّٰى Same Iraqi (Basra/Kufa) spelling as Basra in rasm lists | Orthography — alif insertion and consonant doubling | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 6:63 | “If He saves us from this…” (la-ʾin anjā…) | أَنجَيْتَنَا anjaytana — yāʾ, tāʾ, nūn written (2nd-person “Thou savest us”) | أَنجَيْتَنَا Same as Syria/Basra majority reading in Cook’s Kufa-contrast set | أَنجَيْتَنَا anjaytana with y-t-n cluster | أَنجَىٰنَا la-ʾin anjānā — alif after jīm, no y-t-n cluster | Particle / person marking — 2nd vs 1st person verb skeleton | Kufa-unique (Cook ~6) |
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| Q 7:171 | Children of Israel raised above the mountain (min kum) | مِنكُم Syrian rasm for min kum — distinct skeleton in rasm lists | مِنَّكُم Medinan/Basran/Kufan shared form with extra letters | مِنَّكُم Shared with Medina and Kufa against Syria | مِنَّكُم Shared Iraqi/Medinan form | Orthography — pronominal suffix skeleton | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 3:184 | “They came with clear proofs and the Scriptures…” (bi-l-zubur) | وَبِٱلۡزُّبُرِ bi-l-zubur — preposition bi- prefixed to zubur | وَبِٱلۡزُّبُرِ Early Medinan codices share Syrian bi-l-zubur | وَٱلۡزُّبُرِ wa-l-zubur / az-zubur without prefixed bi- | وَٱلۡزُّبُرِ Iraqi codices align with Basra here | Particle — preposition on zubur | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 2:116 | “They said, God has taken a son…” | قَالُواْ qālū without initial wāw | قَالُواْ Early Medinan/Syrian form without wāw | وَقَالُواْ wa-qālū with conjunction wāw | وَقَالُواْ Iraqi codices with initial wāw | Particle — initial wāw presence | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 3:133 | “Race toward forgiveness…” (sāriʿū) | سَارِعُواْ sāriʿū without initial wāw | سَارِعُواْ Shared with Syria in early rasm reports | وَسَارِعُواْ wa-sāriʿū with conjunction | وَسَارِعُواْ Iraqi form with wāw | Particle — initial wāw | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 6:137 | Slaughter of children made fair-seeming to polytheists | ZYYN … QTL … SHRKʾYHM zuyyina (passive), qatlu (nom.), shurakāʾihim (gen. with yāʾ) | ZYN … QTLA … SHRKʾHM Late Medinan/Iraqi active spellings | ZYN … QTLA … SHRKʾHM zayyana… qatla… shurakāʾuhum | ZYN … QTLA … SHRKʾHM Same Iraqi skeleton as Basra | Morphology — passive/active verb and case skeleton | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 7:3 | “…that you may take heed” (tadhakkarūn / yatadhakkarūn) | YTDKRWN yatadhakkarūn — yāʾ + tāʾ (two teeth) for 2nd person | YTDKRWN Early Medinan shares Syrian yāʾ+tāʾ spelling | TDKRWN tadhakkarūn — single tāʾ tooth (Hamza/Kisāʾī reading tradition) | TDKRWN Iraqi single-tāʾ form | Orthography — yāʾ vs tāʾ disambiguation | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 8:67 | “It is not for a prophet…” (li-nabiyy / li-ʾn-nabiyy) | لِنَبِيٍّ li-ʾn-nabiyy — definite article ʾal- marked in rasm | لِنَبِيٍ li-nabiyy without definite-article marking | لِنَبِيٍ Indefinite-form skeleton | لِنَبِيٍ Indefinite-form skeleton | Orthography — definite article in rasm | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
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| Q 9:107 | “Those who took a mosque…” (al-ladhīna l-takhadhū) | LDHYN LTAKHDHW al-ladhīna l-takhadhū — no initial wāw on second clause | WLDHYN LTAKHDHW Late Medinan with wāw | WLDHYN LTAKHDHW wa-l-ladhīna… with conjunction | WLDHYN LTAKHDHW Iraqi form with wāw | Particle — wāw on relative clause | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 5:53 | “Those who believe will say…” | YQWL LDHYN AMNW yaqūlu l-ladhīna — no initial wāw | YQWL LDHYN AMNW Ibn ʿĀmir / early Syrian-Medinan form | WYQWL LDHYN AMNW wa-yaqūlu with conjunction | WYQWL LDHYN AMNW Iraqi conjunction form | Particle — initial wāw | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 5:54 | “Whoever turns back from his religion…” (yartadid / yartadd) | MYRTDD yartadid — two dāl letters (Ibn ʿĀmir tradition) | MYRTDD Shared Syrian-Medinan geminate dāl | MYRTD yartad — single dāl in Iraqi rasm | MYRTD Single dāl form | Orthography — consonant doubling | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 46:15 | “… kindness to his parents” (iḥsānana) | IHSAN iḥsān — without trailing hamza/alif cluster | IHSAN Standard Medinan skeleton | IHSAN Non-Kufan form | IHSANANA iḥsānana — hamza + alif + nūn + alif ending (Kufan) | Morphology — accusative ending skeleton | Kufa-unique (Cook ~6) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 2:125 | “… then purify My House…” (fa-taṭṭahirū / fa-yataṭṭahirū) | طَهِّرَا ṭahhirā — imperative without extra yāʾ on verb | طَهِّرَا Early Syrian/Medinan imperative skeleton | يَطَهَّرَا yaṭahhirā — yāʾ prefixed to verb | يَطَهَّرَا Iraqi prefixed yāʾ form | Orthography — yāʾ prefix on verb | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 9:100 | “… and the Helpers (al-anṣār)…” | ٱلۡأَنصَارِ al-anṣār — nominative rasm | ٱلۡأَنصَارِ Medinan nominative | ٱلۡأَنصَارِى al-anṣārī — oblique skeleton with yāʾ | ٱلۡأَنصَارِى Iraqi oblique-form spelling | Case ending — nominative vs oblique skeleton | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 19:37 | “… at the clear sign / morning…” (al-ṣabāḥ / al-ṣabīḥ) | ALṢBYḤ al-ṣabīḥ — “the clear/right” (ḥāʾ ending) | ALṢBĀḤ al-ṣabāḥ — “the morning” | ALṢBĀḤ Morning reading skeleton | ALṢBĀḤ Morning reading skeleton | Lexical skeleton — ḥāʾ vs hāʾ letter (different lemmas in rasm) | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 7:43 | “… we would never have been guided…” (mā kunnā li-nahtadi) | MKNN LNAHTDY mā kunnā li-nahtadi — no initial wāw (Ibn ʿĀmir) | WMKNN LNAHTDY Late Medinan with wāw | WMKNN LNAHTDY wa-mā kunnā with conjunction | WMKNN LNAHTDY Iraqi conjunction form | Particle — initial wāw | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 33:23 | “Among the believers are men…” (al-nabī / al-nabiyy) | ALNBY al-nabī — shorter skeleton | ALNBYY al-nabiyy — yāʾ suffix | ALNBYY Form with yāʾ | ALNBYY Form with yāʾ | Orthography — yāʾ suffix on nabī | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 6:32 | “The life of this world is play… and the home of the Hereafter is better” | WLDAR LAKHIRATI wa-l-dāru l-ākhirati — single lām + dāl (Ibn ʿĀmir / Syrian muṣḥaf) | WLLDDAR LAKHIRATU wa-l-lad-dāru l-ākhiratu — geminate dāl + second lām (majority rasm) | WLLDDAR LAKHIRATU Iraqi geminate-dāl skeleton | WLLDDAR LAKHIRATU Iraqi geminate-dāl skeleton | Orthography — lām and dāl cluster on dār | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
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| Q 7:75 | “The leaders of his people said…” (qāla l-malaʾu) | WQAL LMALʾ wa-qāla l-malaʾu — initial wāw (Syrian muṣḥaf only in rasm lists) | QAL LMALʾ qāla without conjunction | QAL LMALʾ Iraqi form without initial wāw | QAL LMALʾ Iraqi form without initial wāw | Particle — initial wāw | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
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| Q 7:141 | “And when We saved you…” (wa-idh anjākum / anjaynākum) | WIDH ANJAKM wa-idh anjākum — one tooth between jīm and kāf (yāʾ of alif maqṣūra) | WIDH ANJAYNAKM wa-idh anjaynākum — yāʾ + nūn teeth (late Medinan / Iraqi reports) | WIDH ANJAYNAKM anjaynākum cluster | WIDH ANJAYNAKM anjaynākum cluster | Orthography — verb suffix teeth after jīm | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
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| Q 10:22 | “He spreads you out in the land…” (yanshurukum vs yusayyirukum) | YNSHRKM yanshurukum — shīn letter in Syrian muṣḥaf rasm | YSSYRKM yusayyirukum — sīn (late Medinan / Iraqi majority rasm) | YSSYRKM sīn form | YSSYRKM sīn form | Lexical skeleton — shīn vs sīn (reader traditions differ) | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
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| Q 21:4 | “Say: My Lord knows the speech…” (qul vs qāla) | QUL RBB qul — no alif after qāf | QUL RBB Non-Kufan qul skeleton | QUL RBB qul without alif | QAL RBB qāla — alif after qāf in Kufan muṣḥaf report | Orthography — alif on qāla/qul | Kufa-unique (Cook ~6) |
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| Q 21:112 | “Say: My Lord, judge…” (qul rabbi ḥkum vs qāla) | QUL RBB qul — no alif after qāf | QUL RBB Shared non-Kufan form | QUL RBB qul skeleton | QAL RBB qāla — Kufan muṣḥaf adds alif | Orthography — alif on qāla/qul | Kufa-unique (Cook ~6) |
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| Q 26:217 | “And put your trust in the Mighty, the Merciful” | FTWKL fa-tawakkala — fāʾ at clause start (Medinan + Syrian report) | FTWKL fa- prefix in Medinan + Syrian muṣḥafs | WTWKL wa-tawakkala — wāw conjunction | WTWKL wa- prefix in Iraqi reports | Particle — fāʾ vs wāw | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 36:35 | “…that which their hands have made” (ʿamilat vs ʿamilathu) | AMILATH ʿamilathu — hāʾ suffix on verb | AMILATH hāʾ present in Medinan report | AMILATH hāʾ in Basran muṣḥaf | AMILAT ʿamilat — no hāʾ (Kufan muṣḥaf per al-Dānī) | Orthography — hāʾ pronoun suffix on verb | Kufa-unique (Cook ~6) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 39:64 | “Is it other than God that you order me to worship?” | TAMRWNANY taʾmurūnanī — two nūns (Damascene / Syrian muṣḥaf) | TAMRWNNY taʾmrūnnī — geminate nūn (majority Hijazi + Iraqi rasm) | TAMRWNNY Single geminate-nūn skeleton | TAMRWNNY Single geminate-nūn skeleton | Orthography — nūn count on taʾmurūnī | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 40:21 | “…stronger than you in might” (ashadda minkum vs minhum) | ASHDD MNKM ashadda minkum — kāf in minkum (Syrian muṣḥaf) | ASHDD MNHM ashadda minhum — hāʾ pronoun skeleton | ASHDD MNHM minhum form | ASHDD MNHM minhum form | Orthography — pronominal suffix kāf vs hāʾ | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |
| Q 42:30 | “Whatever misfortune befalls you is from what your hands earned” | BMA KSBT bi-mā kasabat — no leading fāʾ | BMA KSBT Medinan + Syrian bi-mā without fāʾ | FBMA KSBT fa-bi-mā kasabat — fāʾ prefixed (Meccan + Iraqi report) | FBMA KSBT fa-bi-mā with fāʾ | Particle — fāʾ before bi-mā | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 43:68 | “O My servants, no fear upon you today…” | YAIBADY yā ʿibādī — yāʾ after dāl (Medinan + Syrian muṣḥaf) | YAIBADY yā ʿibādī with yāʾ suffix | YAIBAD yā ʿibād — no yāʾ after dāl (Iraqi rasm) | YAIBAD Iraqi yā ʿibād skeleton | Orthography — yāʾ suffix on ʿibād | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 18:36 | “…better than them both” (khayran minhumā vs minhā) | KHAYR MNHMA khayran minhumā — mīm + hāʾ dual suffix | KHAYR MNHMA Medinan report with mīm (dual) | KHAYR MNHA khayran minhā — no mīm (Iraqi + many extant mss) | KHAYR MNHA minhā skeleton without dual mīm | Morphology — dual suffix mīm in rasm | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 28:37 | “And Moses said…” (wa-qāla Mūsā vs qāla) | WQALA MWSA wa-qāla — initial wāw (all muṣḥafs except Meccan in rasm lists) | WQALA MWSA wa-qāla Mūsā | WQALA MWSA wa-qāla with wāw | WQALA MWSA wa-qāla with wāw | Particle — initial wāw (Cook’s Syria+Medina vs Iraq set; Meccan exception in sources) | Syria + Medina vs Basra + Kufa (Cook ~13) |
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| Q 57:10 | “…and each — God has promised the best…” | WKLN WAAD wa-kullan — alif after wāw (Ibn ʿĀmir / Syrian report) | WKLN WAD wa-kullan without extra alif (majority readers) | WKLN WAD No extra alif in Iraqi rasm | WKLN WAD No extra alif in Iraqi rasm | Orthography — alif on wa-kullan | Syria-unique (Cook ~16) |
| Not checked / no cited hit in our seed |