Researchers Debate World's Oldest Qur'an

IRCICA General Director asserted that they have been working on a project since 2005 to identify the world's oldest Qur'an.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

advertisements

ISTANBUL – The University of Birmingham's announcement of discovering the world's oldest Qur'an has sparked debates amid Muslim researchers in different parts of the world, with Turkish archeologists claiming that Topkapı palace's copy is the most complete, if not the oldest.

"We called the university and requested the transcript be delivered to us. However, there is a lingering question: How many pages is the transcript? There is no information on this question," Halit Eren, General Director of the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), told Anadolu Agency on Monday, July 27.

"On the Internet, it seems that there are two folios. If that is the case, the Qur'an in Topkapı Palace is the most complete one. This means that carbon dating should be applied to the transcript in Topkapı Palace as well."

Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign.

The palace operates now as a key museum that shows rare items related to the early ages of Islam.

Eren's questions were triggered by the announcement made by experts at the University of Birmingham regarding discovering what is thought to be the world's oldest Qur'an.

The announcement followed radiocarbon analysis which proved that they was written in the period between 568CE and 645CE, with 95.4% accuracy.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is believed to have lived between 570CE and 632CE, meaning the text found at the university was written during the Prophet's life.

The manuscripts consist of parts of Suras [chapters] 18 to 20 of the holy book, written in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijaz.

The claims were refuted by Saudi scholars and archaeologists who asserted that the red ink used to separate between chapters was not used during the era of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Therefore, they suggested that the manuscript might possibly be from the time of Othman Bin Affan who became Caliph many years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Hard Effort

IRCICA General Director asserted that they have been working on a project since 2005 to identify the world's oldest Qur'an.

"We published the Quran in Topkapı Palace, which is said to have been written during the Osman Caliphate era. We scrutinized and published the exact transcript," Eren said.

"Furthermore, we released the publication of a transcript from Yemen, which is said to be by Caliph Ali, another one from Cairo by Caliph Osman and others from Paris. We have examined and prepared a transcript for publication in Germany, at the University of Tübingen library.

"If the Qur'an in Birmingham is two folios as it appears on the Internet, the transcript in Topkapı Palace will be the most complete example at hand, as it only has two pages missing," he added. Former Minister of Religious Affairs Tayyar Altıkulaç, who conducted detailed examinations of transcripts that were published by the IRCICA, shared similar opinion.

"I have seen the pages of that transcript online, and I have evaluated the dictation, punctuation and ornamentation used on the pages. It does not seem to be the case that the transcript belongs from the time of Prophet Muhammad," he told AA.

"However, I believe that it might have been written during the caliphate of Uthman, a sahabah, or companion of Prophet Muhammad. The sahabah wrote collections involving certain sections of the Quran. Though, when Prophet Muhammad was alive, no one thought about gathering the verses, as the revelations continued to come," he said.

The Qur’an is a revelation from God, the creator of the worlds, so He is the original author.

There is only one Qur’an which is in Arabic, with many of its translations in several languages.

There could be multiple translations by different authors in the same language such as English.

The Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) through the archangel Gabriel who helped the Prophet memorize the Qur’an, as reported in several authentic Hadith narrations.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online