7th century Quran manuscript goes on view in Birmingham

an Italian scholar who identified some of the earliest surviving parts of a copy of the Quran in the world

The Birmingham Quran manuscript exhibition officially opens to the public on Friday. Many of the local Muslim community have already been invited in to see the manuscript, on display in a quiet room under the dome of the Birmingham University.

Alba Fedeli, an Italian scholar who identified some of the earliest surviving parts of a copy of the Quran in the world – two leaves of parchment which may have been made in the seventh century in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny – in a volume in Birmingham university library, is slightly baffled by the emotional reaction of many to her discovery. 

The edges of the Birmingham leaves have been damaged, but almost all the text is preserved and the parchment is still white. Radio carbon dating at Oxford University came back with a date for the parchment – with 95% certainty – of between 568 and 645 AD.