1400 Years Old Qur'an manuscript Discovered by Birmingham University.

London 23 July 2015(Lana) A Qur'an manuscript dating back 1400 year has been placed by the University of Birmingham among the oldest in the world, thanks to modern scientific methods. Radiocarbon analysis has dated the parchment on which the text is written to the period between AD 568 and 645 with 95.4% accuracy, the University said. Susan Worrall, Director of Special Collections (Cadbury Research Library), at the University of Birmingham, said: 'The radiocarbon dating has delivered an exciting result, which contributes significantly to our understanding of the earliest written copies of the Qur'an. Consisting of two parchment leaves, the Qur'an manuscript contains parts of Suras (chapters) 18 to 20, written with ink in an early form of Arabic script known as Hijazi. For many years, the manuscript had been misbound with leaves of a similar Qur'an manuscript, which is datable to the late seventh century, Worrall said. Researchers conclude that the Qur'an manuscript is among the earliest written textual evidence of the Islamic holy book known to survive. The Qur'an manuscript will be on public display at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, from Friday 2 October until Sunday 25 October. =Lana=