The campus is set to become the largest dedicated hub for AI and technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa
uae6 hours ago
A Quran manuscript has been carbon dated to close to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), making it one of the oldest in the world, a British university said on Wednesday.
The two leaves of parchment, filled with "surprisingly legible" text from the holy book, have been dated to around the early seventh century, the University of Birmingham said.
"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 (PBUH) or shortly afterwards," said David Thomas, professor of Christianity and Islam.
Describing it as a "startling result", he added that the text is "very similar indeed to the Holy Quran as have it today".
"This tends to support the view that the Holy Quran that we now have is... very close indeed to the Quran as it was brought together in the early years of Islam," he said.
The leaves, held in the university's Mingana Collection, contain parts of chapters 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi.
"This is indeed an exciting discovery," said Mohammed Isa Waley, lead curator for Persian and Turkish manuscripts at the British Library in London.
"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 text was compiled and edited in the order of Suras (chapters) familiar today."
For many years the leaves were misbound with similar manuscripts dating from the late seventh century.
They were spotted by an Italian academic, Alba Fedeli, while conducting research for her PhD.
Fedeli said the leaves are from the same codex as a manuscript kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris, although that is currently dated a little later, to within 50 years of the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Radiocarbon analysis of the Birmingham documents dates them to between 568 AD and 645 AD, with 95.4 per cent accuracy.
Muhammad Afzal, chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque, said he was "honoured" to read the text, adding: "All the Muslims of the world would love to see this manuscript."
The Quran manuscript will be placed on public display at the university between October 2 and October 25.
The campus is set to become the largest dedicated hub for AI and technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa
uae6 hours ago
Dravid's tenure comes to an end after the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies
sports6 hours ago
Stand-in skipper Jitesh believes the absence of key England players will not affect his side's morale on Sunday
sports7 hours ago
Netanyahu came under personal attack from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for failing to rule out an Israeli government in Gaza after the war
world7 hours ago
The fund is designed to finance the production of artistic and creative works in film, music, performances, and video games
uae7 hours ago
Fico has been in hospital since Wednesday when a lone gunman shot him four times, including in the abdomen
world8 hours ago
The country was one of the donor states to freeze around $450 million in funds after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas-led attack
world8 hours ago
This inclusive community service is available daily on Al Hamriya Beach from 6.00am to sunset
uae9 hours ago