Palaeographical Aspects of Qur'anic Manuscripts and the Qur'anic Fragments of the University of Birmingham (Lectures)

Qasim Al-Samarrai

ISBN 10: 1788146891 / ISBN 13: 9781788146890

Published by London : Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 2017

About this Item

71 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm. In English with some Arabic. This lecture took place in London, on 23rd November 2015, and resonated with the news that materialised earlier that year about the discovery of some fragments of Qur an kept at the Mingana Collection in the Birmingham University Library. The assertion that the document - kept at Birmingham University - is part of one of the world s oldest copies of the Qur an, was strongly disputed by many scholars in the field of codicology and palaeography, who pointed out that the science of carbon dating is contradicted by other evidence. Among these scholars was Professor Qasim Al-Samarrai, Professor Emeritus of Palaeography and Codicology. Professor Al-Samarrai s immediate reaction - after the news spread about the Birmingham fragments - was: The fragments of the Qur an folios that were found at Birmingham are not at all what they are claimed to be. They in fact belong to the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century AH (after Hijrah), if not later. All the features in them: the script, dotting, use of gold and red ink, as well as the separation of verses (Ayat) and chapters (Suwar).etc., indicate that they might have been written on parchments older than the script. Therefore, they are not as early as thought. Surprisingly enough, Berlin and Tubingen claim the same with their own fragments." In this lecture, Professor Al-Samarrai gives a detailed insight on the Birmingham folios, with a special focus on Qur anic manuscripts palaeographical aspects in general, the accuracy of carbon dating tests, the Uthman copies of the Qur an, as well as other aspects related to this topic.

Seller Inventory # PGalfurq156

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Palaeographical Aspects of Qur'anic Manuscripts and the Qur'anic Fragments of the University of Birmingham (Lectures)
• Publisher: London : Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1788146891
• ISBN 13: 9781788146890
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Islam
  • Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation