Page of calligraphy, Bismillah and part of the first two suras of the Qu'ran

The Qur’an begins with an introductory invocation known as the basmala. It can be translated as: “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” This phrase appears at the beginning of all but one sura (textual unit) of the Qur’an. This folio is not from a Qur’an manuscript but rather is a stand-alone work of calligraphy, known as a qit'a, or "fragment." The calligrapher, Ahmed Kâmil Akdik (1861–1941), copied out the first lines of the Qur’an beginning with the basmala, continuing through the first and part of the second sura. He used the thuluth style of script for the large lines and naskh for the smaller lines.