Hijriy uchinchi asrda (miloddan avvalgi 9-asrda) xattotlar Qur’oni Karimni bezashda bir-biri bilan raqobatlasha boshladilar. Bir qancha bezakli xatlar paydo bo‘ldi va turli xil farqlovchi belgilar vujudga keldi. Aynan shu davrda undosh harfning ikkilanganini bildiruvchi “ ّ ” belgisi (tashdid) birinchi marta qo‘llanila boshlandi.

In the third century after the Hijrah (9th century C.E.), calligraphers began competing with each other in the beautification of the Qur’aan. A number of flowery scripts evolved and a variety of distinguishing marks appeared. It was during this period that the sign “ ّ ”, indicating a doubled consonant (tashdeed), first came into use.

Shundan so'ng, xattotlar har bir sura boshida suraning nomini va unda nechta oyat borligini yozish odatini boshladilar. Payg'ambar (ﷺ) suralarning faqat bir qismini nomi bilan atagani uchun, sahobalar odatda suralarni boshlanish iboralariga ko'ra nomlagan (masalan, Sura Ara'aytani hozir Sura Ma'undeb atashadi), shuning uchun bir xil surani turli nomlar bilan atash keng tarqalgan. Shu davrda matnga oyatlarning boshlanishi va tugashini bildiruvchi belgilar, Qur'onning juz' (30 qismdan biri), hizb (juzning yarmi) yoki ruku' bo'yicha bo'linishini ko'rsatuvchi belgilar, shuningdek turli xil tinish belgilari qo'shildi.18

Following that, calligraphers began the practice of writing the name of the soorah and the number of verses in it at the beginning of each soorah. Since the Prophet (ﷺ) only mentioned a few of the soorahs by name and it was the practice among the sahaabah to entitle the soorahs according to the introductory phrases (e.g. Soorah Ara’ayta is now known as Soorah Maa‘oon), a variety of names for the same soorah became common. Signs indicating the beginning and ending of verses, signs showing the division of the Qur’aan according to juz’ (one of 30 parts), hizb (half a juz’) or rukoo‘, as well as a variety of punctuation marks, were added to the text during this period.18

Vaqtning olimlari bu qo'shimchalarga qarshi chiqdilar, chunki ular asosiy matnga kiritmalar (qo'shib yuborilgan so'zlar) bo'lib qolishidan xavotirda edilar. Ularning e'tirozlari sahobiy Ibn Mas'udning quyidagi so'zlariga ham asoslangan edi: "Qur'onni qo'shimchalardan xoli saqlang va unga hech narsani aralashtirmang." 19 Biroq ko'pchilik olimlar harakatlar va unli tovushlarni ko'rsatish hamda o'xshash harflarni ajratish uchun nuqta va chiziqchalarga qarshi emas edilar, chunki bular Qur'on matnini to'g'ri o'qish va buzilishdan himoya qilish uchun haqiqiy zaruratga aylangan edi. Al-Hasan al-Basriy, Ibn Sirin va Rabi'a (sahobalarning shogirdlari orasidagi olimlar) nuqta (o'xshash harflarni ajratuvchi nuqtalar) va tashkil (unli belgilari)ni maqbul deb aytganlari rivoyat qilinadi. 20 Vaqt o'tishi bilan xattotlarning keng tarqalgan qo'shimchalari va bezaklari shu qadar odatiy holga keldiki, olimlarning dastlabki e'tirozlari unutildi. Bugungi Qur'on nusxalari olimlarning e'tirozlari e'tiborsiz qoldirilganining aniq dalilidir, ammo bezak qo'shimchalari orqali kiritmalar yuz berishi xavfi asosan Qur'onning butun matnini asl holicha yodlash bo'yicha musulmonlar orasida davom etayotgan an'ana tufayli sodir bo'lmadi.

The scholars of the time were opposed to these additions, fearing interpolations (additions to the main text). They based their opposition also on the statement of the sahaabee Ibn Mas‘ood, “Keep the Qur’aan free from additions and do not mix anything with it.” 19 Most scholars, however, were not against the dots and dashes to indicate vowelling and differentiate between lookalike letters, as these had become a real necessity for correct recitation and protection of the Qur’aanic text from distortion. Al-Hasan al-Basree, Ibn Seereen, and Rabee‘ah (scholars among the students of the sahaabah) were all reported to have said that the nuqtah (dots for distinguishing look-alike letters) and tashkeel (vowel markings) were acceptable.20 In time, the widespread additions and decorations of calligraphers became so commonplace that the early objections of the scholars were forgotten. The Qur’aanic texts of today are clear evidence that the opposition of the scholars was ignored, but the feared interpolation of decorative additions has not occurred, due mainly to the continuing tradition among Muslims of memorizing the whole text of the Qur’aan in its original purity.