This summer, fragments from an ancient Quran were found at the University of Birmingham, leading to speculation that they may be from the first ever copy of the holy book. Radiocarbon dating carried out in July concluded that the manuscript may be at least 1,370 years old, meaning that it was written—at the latest—13 years after the death of the prophet Muhammad.
Experts are taking this find very seriously, with Jamal bin Huwareib, director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Islamic Studies, calling it “the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world.”
He has believes that the Quran may have been commissioned by Abu Bakr, the first person thought to have converted to Islam outside the prophet’s family. He was a close companion of Muhammad, and became the first Caliph after the prophet’s death.
There are those who doubt bin Huwareib’s theory, with one professor of Christianity and Islam at Birmingham University, David Thomas, stating that it is “a very big leap indeed.” He believes that the radiocarbon dating actually puts the date of the manuscript at around 20 years after the death of Abu Bakr.
One reason that the date of the writing may be open to debate is that the radiocarbon dating analyzed the animal skin on which the words were written. This means that the material may have been made long before it was written on.
While it is difficult to know the exact origins of the historic fragments, experts agree that the find is undeniably important.
