Birmingham Quran manuscript
| Birmingham Quran manuscript | |
|---|---|
| Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham | |
folio 1 verso (right) and folio 2 recto | |
| Date | Between c. 568 and 645 |
| Language(s) | Arabic |
| Scribe(s) | Unknown |
| Material | |
| Format | Vertical |
| Script | Hijazi |
| Contents | Parts of Surahs 19 to 20 |
| Accession | 1572a |
| Quran |
|---|
|
The Birmingham Quran manuscript comprises two leaves of parchment from an early Quranic manuscript or muṣḥaf. In 2015, the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham in England, was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE (in the Islamic calendar, between 56 before Hijrah and 24 after Hijrah). It is presently believed that the manuscript is an early descendant of the Uthmanic codex. It is part of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held by the university's Cadbury Research Library.
The manuscript is written in ink on parchment, using an Arabic Hijazi script and is still clearly legible. The leaves preserve parts of Surahs 19 (Maryam) to 20 (Taha). It was on display at the University of Birmingham in 2015 and then at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until 5 August 2016. The Cadbury Research Library has carried out multispectral analysis of the manuscript and XRF analysis of the inks.