Treasures of the Bodleian

The satchel that holds this book, now missing a shoulder strap, allowed this devotional collection of prayers and excerpts from the Qur’an to be worn. In Islam, the Qur’an in Arabic is the word of God, the intersection of the eternal and the temporal. The text has a talismanic force, so a book containing it becomes a protection as well as a comfort to its wearer. Picked out in silver thread on the satchel is the Qur’anic text ‘none but the purified shall touch’.