World's oldest Quran found in UK
LONDON: The world's oldest Quran has been found at the University of Birmingham.
Radiocarbon analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford have said with 95% accuracy that the holy manuscript with the British university dates between AD 568 and 645 - meaning it belonged very close to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, who is generally thought to have lived between AD 570 and 632.
Researchers have concluded that the parchment on which the text is written is among the earliest written textual evidence of the Islamic holy book known to survive.
Consisting of two parchment leaves, the manuscript contains parts of Suras (chapters) 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi.
For many years, the manuscript had been misbound with leaves of a similar Quran manuscript, which is datable to the late 17th century.
It was Caliph Abu Bakr, the first leader of the Muslim community after Muhammad, who ordered the collection of all Quranic material in the form of a book. The final, authoritative written form was completed and fixed under the direction of the third leader, Caliph Uthman, in about AD 650.
Muslims believe that the Quran they read today is the same text that was standardized under Uthman and regard it as the exact record of the revelations that were delivered to Muhammad.
The Quran manuscript will be on public display at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, from October 2-25.
Susan Worrall from the University of Birmingham said, "The radiocarbon dating has delivered an exciting result, which contributes significantly to our understanding of the earliest written copies of the Quran. We are thrilled that such an important historical document is here in Birmingham, the most culturally diverse city in the UK."
The Quran manuscript is part of the University's Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held in the Cadbury Research Library. Funded by Quaker philanthropist Edward Cadbury, the collection was acquired to raise the status of Birmingham as an intellectual centre for religious studies and attract prominent theological scholars.
Worrall added, "By separating the two leaves and analysing the parchment, we have brought to light an amazing find within the Mingana Collection. The two leaves, which were radiocarbon dated to the early part of the seventh century, come from the same codex as a manuscript kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris."
Explaining the context, Professor David Thomas, professor of Islam said, "According to Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad received the revelations that form the Quran, the scripture of Islam, between the years AD 610 and 632, the year of his death. At this time, the divine message was not compiled into the book form in which it appears today. Instead, the revelations were preserved in the memories of men. Parts of it had also been written down on parchment, stone, palm leaves and the shoulder blades of camels."
"The tests carried out on the parchment of the Birmingham folios yield the strong probability that the animal from which it was taken was alive during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad or shortly afterwards. This means that the parts of the Quran that are written on this parchment can, with a degree of confidence, be dated to less than two decades after Muhammad's death."
"These portions must have been in a form that is very close to the form of the Quran read today, supporting the view that the text has undergone little or no alteration and that it can be dated to a point very close to the time it was believed to be revealed."
Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, lead curator for Persian and Turkish manuscripts at the British Library, said, "This is indeed an exciting discovery. We know now that these two folios, in a beautiful and surprisingly legible Hijazi hand, almost certainly date from the time of the first three Caliphs. According to the classic accounts, it was under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan that the Quranic text was compiled and edited in the order of Suras familiar today, chiefly on the basis of the text as compiled by Zayd ibn Thabit under the first Caliph, Abu Bakr. Copies of the definitive edition were then distributed to the main cities under Muslim rule."
Radiocarbon analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford have said with 95% accuracy that the holy manuscript with the British university dates between AD 568 and 645 - meaning it belonged very close to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, who is generally thought to have lived between AD 570 and 632.
Researchers have concluded that the parchment on which the text is written is among the earliest written textual evidence of the Islamic holy book known to survive.
Consisting of two parchment leaves, the manuscript contains parts of Suras (chapters) 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi.
For many years, the manuscript had been misbound with leaves of a similar Quran manuscript, which is datable to the late 17th century.
It was Caliph Abu Bakr, the first leader of the Muslim community after Muhammad, who ordered the collection of all Quranic material in the form of a book. The final, authoritative written form was completed and fixed under the direction of the third leader, Caliph Uthman, in about AD 650.
Muslims believe that the Quran they read today is the same text that was standardized under Uthman and regard it as the exact record of the revelations that were delivered to Muhammad.
The Quran manuscript will be on public display at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, from October 2-25.
Susan Worrall from the University of Birmingham said, "The radiocarbon dating has delivered an exciting result, which contributes significantly to our understanding of the earliest written copies of the Quran. We are thrilled that such an important historical document is here in Birmingham, the most culturally diverse city in the UK."
The Quran manuscript is part of the University's Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held in the Cadbury Research Library. Funded by Quaker philanthropist Edward Cadbury, the collection was acquired to raise the status of Birmingham as an intellectual centre for religious studies and attract prominent theological scholars.
Worrall added, "By separating the two leaves and analysing the parchment, we have brought to light an amazing find within the Mingana Collection. The two leaves, which were radiocarbon dated to the early part of the seventh century, come from the same codex as a manuscript kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris."
Explaining the context, Professor David Thomas, professor of Islam said, "According to Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad received the revelations that form the Quran, the scripture of Islam, between the years AD 610 and 632, the year of his death. At this time, the divine message was not compiled into the book form in which it appears today. Instead, the revelations were preserved in the memories of men. Parts of it had also been written down on parchment, stone, palm leaves and the shoulder blades of camels."
"The tests carried out on the parchment of the Birmingham folios yield the strong probability that the animal from which it was taken was alive during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad or shortly afterwards. This means that the parts of the Quran that are written on this parchment can, with a degree of confidence, be dated to less than two decades after Muhammad's death."
"These portions must have been in a form that is very close to the form of the Quran read today, supporting the view that the text has undergone little or no alteration and that it can be dated to a point very close to the time it was believed to be revealed."
Dr Muhammad Isa Waley, lead curator for Persian and Turkish manuscripts at the British Library, said, "This is indeed an exciting discovery. We know now that these two folios, in a beautiful and surprisingly legible Hijazi hand, almost certainly date from the time of the first three Caliphs. According to the classic accounts, it was under the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan that the Quranic text was compiled and edited in the order of Suras familiar today, chiefly on the basis of the text as compiled by Zayd ibn Thabit under the first Caliph, Abu Bakr. Copies of the definitive edition were then distributed to the main cities under Muslim rule."