A Paratextual Reading of Qur’anic Ornaments Based on Gérard Genette’s Theory of Paratextuality

Paratextuality, as a branch of Gérard Genette’s broader theory of transtextuality, is a contemporary approach for examining the influence of a text on its surrounding elements and especially on its readers. Initially developed for analyzing the book as a text, this theory provides a framework for exploring the reciprocal relationship between a work and its paratextual environment. The presence of Qur’anic verses in diverse works produced across the Islamic world has been one of the earliest and most distinctive features separating “Islamic art” from the arts that preceded it. Manuscripts of the Qur’an reflect a wide range of information about the art, culture, and civilization of their era. The ornaments that frame this most significant historical text and the miracle of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have undergone substantial transformations over time. This study investigates the evolution of these ornaments, their types, and their mutual interaction with the Qur’anic text from a paratextual perspective, employing a descriptive-analytical method and situating the discussion historically within the framework of the Persianate world. The findings reveal that ornaments, as paratexts, create a communicative network that mediates between the divine word and its readers, inviting engagement with the text. Furthermore, the study examines their grammar as a medium, categorizes the functional, symbolic, and decorative conventions present in this network, and traces their historical transformations.