Plate I

The page shows light spotting and signs of aging. There is a very faint pencil note above the main image.

This illustration features a large square calligraphic composition in the Square Kufic style, also known as Banna'i. This is a geometric arrangement of Arabic letters where the dark strokes and the light background spaces form a balanced, maze-like grid.

The text is the Islamic declaration of faith, known as the Shahada: "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." The phrase is arranged symmetrically. The first part, "There is no god but Allah," runs along the top and bottom borders. The text at the bottom is inverted. The second part, "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," runs along the left and right borders and is rotated. The design spirals toward the center with repeating geometric patterns derived from the shapes of the letters.

original Arabic: لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله

Square Kufic (Banna'i): A highly stylized and geometric form of Arabic calligraphy often used in brickwork and architectural decoration.
Shahada: The basic statement of belief in Islam, testifying to the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad.
Islamic art: A tradition of visual arts created by people living within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations, often featuring calligraphic and geometric patterns.