World’s oldest Quran manuscript to go on display

World’s  oldest  Quran  manuscript  to  go on  display

 

LONDON: A Quran manuscript believed to be among the oldest in the world, dating back to at least 1,370 years, ( placing it close to the time of Prophet Muhammad) will be put on display in the UK from from October 2 till October 25.

 

The Quran manuscript, held by the University of Birmingham, has been placed among the oldest in the world thanks to modern scientific methods.

 

Radiocarbon analysis has dated the parchment on which the text is written to the period between AD 568 and 645 with 95.4 per cent accuracy.

 

The test was carried out in a laboratory at the University of Oxford. The result places the parchment close to the time of Prophet Muhammad, who is generally thought to have lived between AD 570 and 632.

 

Researchers conclude that the Quran manuscript is among the earliest written textual evidence of the Islamic holy book known to survive.

 

The Quran manuscript is part of the University's Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held in the Cadbury Research Library.

 

Consisting of two parchment leaves, the Quran manuscript contains parts of Suras ( chapters) 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi.

 

Source | Mid Day | 23 September 2015