How did the Muslims use the paper mill they seized in the Battle of Talas during the reign of Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah? Was that the first time the Qur’an was written in its modern script? How was the Qur’an written during the Ottoman era, and was it on paper similar to ours or different?

The paper industry developed in Islamic civilization after the Battle of Talas in 751 CE, which led to the transfer of Chinese papermaking to the Muslims. Muslims produced paper in Samarkand, then Baghdad, the Maghreb, and Egypt, from where it spread to Europe.

The Holy Quran has been of great interest to Muslims throughout the ages. It was compiled during the time of Abu Bakr and Uthman, and Arabic writing and calligraphy were developed to care for it and disseminate it. Linguists contributed to the development of diacritical marks and dotting to protect it from errors and distortions.

Turkey excelled in perfecting Arabic calligraphy, established schools to teach it, and developed new types of scripts. The first masahef (copies of the Quran) were written on deer parchment or paper (al-kaghad), and the interest in writing and printing the Mushaf continued, adhering to the rules of Uthmani script.