Since last year, part of the world's oldest handwritten Quran has been carefully preserved at a museum in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. According to experts, this handwritten Quran was written during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). With its discovery, researchers and thinkers have gained another living record of the rise of Islam.

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is now an important place for Muslims around the world. This oldest Quran is displayed in the Islamic arts section of the museum's Cadbury Research Library. This priceless treasure of Muslims had lain almost like a discarded item among old documents and gifts bought at auction in 1924.

Last July, during renovation work at the museum, officials noticed part of a handwritten holy Quran. Once it reached researchers, it caused a stir around the world.

People come every day from far and wide for a glimpse of this handwritten part of the Quran. One visitor said he had rushed there as soon as he heard, just to see it for a moment.

The skin, or parchment, has turned reddish with age. The script, without dots or vowel marks (zabar, zer and pesh), is an ancient form of Arabic. Radiocarbon testing has shown that the parchment dates from between 568 and 645. Experts say the findings of the research rest on a quite credible basis.

International Islamic thinker Dr Shabir Ali said that if researchers' views and Islamic history are analysed, 95 per cent points to this being part of the world's oldest Quran. In particular, the parchment and the writing date to within 645, matching the period of Caliph Hazrat Uthman, only a dozen years after the Prophet (PBUH) was alive. Another important point, he said, is that the manuscript is written in the ancient Arabic alphabet, which clearly indicates that period.

Researchers believe this Quran may have been written by one of the first six scribes of revelation, who were close companions of the Prophet (PBUH).

Source: Shykh Seraj. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.