The Perfect Perservation of the Quran

The perfect preversation of the Quran

Ibn Warraq alleges that the Quran didn’t come into being until about the ninth century about 200 years after our beloved prophet. That’s another lie. This essay will surely refute that claim. Another claim is that the hadith are not accurate accounts of the Prophet’s life. Most of his book is centered around this claim and he even brings up that some people say that the Quran and hadith are so altered and corrupt that we may never know the real Prophet Mohammed. But here’s the funny thing. Warraq says these things yet he also uses the Quran and hadith to prove his claims! This essay is a rebuttal to chapter 3 of his book, The Problem of sources page 66-85.

THE ‘UTHMANIC MANUSCRIPTS

No discussion about the Qur'anic manuscripts begins without the mention of the ‘Uthmanic manuscripts of the Qur'an. Narrations differ as to how many copies were directly ordered and sent out by the Caliph ‘Uthman, but they range from four to seven. It seems certain from various Muslim historical sources that several were lost, through fire amongst other things. There are some copies that are attributed to ‘Uthman. However, it is to be added that there is a disagreement between the scholars whether they are truly ‘Uthmanic. Some Western scholars have rejected the Qur'anic manuscripts attributed to ‘Uthman as "pious forgeries" without showing any scientific evidence (i.e., study of the parchment, script, ink etc.). This itself is unscientific to an extreme. We will discuss some important manuscripts attributed to ‘Uthman below.

A folio from a Qur'anic manuscript in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, commonly attributed to caliph ‘Uthman, has recently been subject to radiocarbon tests at Oxford, United Kingdom. Although the dates generated by this radiometric technique at either confidence level do not rule out the possibility that this manuscript was produced in ‘Uthman's time, palaeographic studies suggest an 8th century (2nd century hijra) date.

The dig at the Great Mosque in San‘a', Yemen, had found a large number of manuscripts of the Qur'an dating from first century of hijra. The date of building the Great Mosque in San‘a' goes back to 6th year of hijra when the Prophet Muhammad entrusted one of his companions to build a mosque. The mosque was extended and enlarged by Islamic rulers from time to time. In 1385 H/1965 CE heavy rains fell on San‘a'. The Great Mosque was affected and the ceiling in the north west corner was damaged. During the survey, the workers discovered a large vault full of parchment and paper manuscripts of both the Qur'an and non-Qur'anic material.

1. Introduction

It has been claimed by Ibn Warrq and others that

... the Kufic Script which, according to Qur'an scholars Martin Lings and Yasin Hamid Safadi, did not appear until the late eighth century.

In other words, according to the missionaries, Lings and Safadi say that the Kufic script did not appear until the late eighth century. Therefore, the conclusions drawn by the Christian missionaries suggest that

... both the Samarkand and Topkapi Codices could not have been written earlier than 150 years after the 'Uthmanic Recension was [supposedly] compiled - at the earliest during the late 700's or early 800's since both are written in the Kufic script (Gilchrist 1989:144-147).

It appears that the origin of this claim goes back to John Gilchrist, a Christian missionary from South Africa, who claimed about the Qur'anic manuscripts that:

Virtually all the relevant texts surviving were written in a developed form of Kufic script or in one of the other scripts known to have developed some time after the early codification of the Qur'an text. None of them can be reliably dated earlier than the second half of the second century of the Islamic era. We shall proceed to analyse some of these scripts.

This assertion that the Kufic script originated very late, not earlier than 150 years after hijra, has been repeated in almost every Christian missionary writing against Islam on the internet. See for example the writings of Joseph Smith and the 'Sermon Series' on The Fairy Tails of the Qur'an. That a Christian missionary quotes yet another missionary without proper verification is not too surprising. Bruce McDowell and Anees Zaka quoting Joseph Smith say that the Kufic script:

... did not appear until the 790s of later.^[1]

Similarly, using the services of Joseph Smith, N. A. Newman claims that the Kufic script:

... thought to date from about 790 AD.^[2]

Similar claims concerning the origins of the Kufic script have been made by Robert Morey^[3] and Brett Marlowe Stortroen.^[4] In this paper we would examine the claim the origins of the Kufic script in the light of the early Kufic Qur'anic manuscripts as well as Islamic inscriptions.

2. The Origins Of The Kufic Script

We begin with the quote of a Muslim, al-Qalqashandi who maintains that Kufic is said to have been the earliest script from which the others developed, he writes:

The Arabic script [khatt] is the one which is now known as Kufic. From it evolved all the present pens.^[5]

This is a very profound statement as its findings differ greatly from missionaries' assertions! Though Nabia Abbott's conclusions perhaps may not go so far as to agree ad totum with this conclusion we find that she does say:

...the Muslim tradition that the original Arabic script was Kufic (that is, Hiran or Anbaran) is one of those statements which, though known to be half wrong, may yet be half right.^[6]

The terms that came to be applied to these scripts by early Arabs themselves could not have the chronological significance that some later Arabs and most Western writers have put to them. For is it the case that the name of a thing (e.g., Kufic) necessarily indicates its ultimate origin? The fact is that the script which later came to be known as Kufic has its origin far earlier than the founding of the town of Kufah.

Imamuddin writes:

The origin of Kufic or the angular style of Arabic script is traced back to about one hundred years before the foundation of Kufah (17H / 638CE) to which town it owes its name because of its development there.^[7]

Similarly Moritz writing in the Encyclopaedia Of Islam says:

Although the script [i.e., Kufic] itself,.... was known in Mesopotamia at least 100 years before the foundation of Kufa, we may conjecture that it received its name from the town in which it was first put to official use...^[8]

That is to say, the town was founded in AH 17, and the Kufic style originated 100 years before that time! This conclusion is agreed upon by other writers too.^[9] Khatibi and Sijelmassi inform us that:

The Arabs usually distinguish four types of pre-Islamic script: al-Hiri (from Hira), al-Anbari (from Anbar), al-Maqqi (from Mecca) and al-Madani (from Medina). The famous author of Fihrist, Ibn Nadim (died c. 390/999) was the first to use the word 'kufic', deriving it from the hiri script. However, Kufic script cannot have originated in Kufa, since that city was founded in 17/638, and the Kufic script is known to have existed before that date, but this great intellectual centre did enable calligraphy to be developed and perfected aesthetically from the pre-Islamic scripts.^[10]

What is of note here is that it is the Hiran script which later came to be classified as the Kufic. Abbott writes:

... Kufah and Basrah did not start their careers as Muslim cities until the second decade of Islam. But these cities were located closer to Anbar and Hirah in Irak, Kufah being but a few miles south of Hirah. We have already seen the major role the two earlier cities played in the evolution of Arabic writing, and it is but natural to expect them to have developed a characteristic script to which the newer cities of Kufah and Basrah fell heir, so that for Kufic and Basran script one is tempted to substitute Anbaran and Hiran ... our study so far shows that the script of Hirah must have been the leading script in the 6th century and as such must have influenced all later scripts, including the Makkan - Madinan.^[11]

The city of Kufah, therefore, inherited and took on the script which was already prevailing in Hirah. The script, as we have mentioned, became later to be called as Kufic.

3. Martin Lings & Yasin Safadi On The Kufic Script

The missionaries have argued that it is the view of both Martin Lings and Yasin Safadi that the Kufic script

did not appear until the late eighth century.

The claim of Lings and Safadi allegedly saying that the Kufic script did not appear until late eight century has even entered the Christian missionary publications such as the one by Steven Masood. He says concerning the script in the Samaqand codex (note the same argument!):

It is written in a particular type of Kufic script which, according to modern experts in Arabic calligraphy, did not exist until late in the eighth century CE and was not used at all in Makkah and Madinah in the seventh century.^[12]

It is difficult to see how this view can be ascribed to Safadi, because he himself, in his work Islamic Calligraphy, details the milestone from the period of the Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685-705 CE) which he describes as being in the Kufic script!^[13]

Concerning the the Kufic script, Yasin Safadi says:

The Kufic script, which reached perfection in the second half of the the eighth century, attained a pre-eminence which endured for more than three hundred years ....^[14]

In the chapter "Kufic Calligraphy" Martin Lings says:

The first calligraphic perfection of Islam is to be found in the monumental script which may be said to have reached its fullness in the last half of the second century AH which ended in 815 AD.^[15]

Can we then assume from this, taking into account the previous evidence, that Safadi held the belief that the script first originated at this time? No, rather he is clearly stating that it is here when it reached its 'perfection'. Lings and Safadi again arrived at a similar conclusion for their book in honour of the 1976 Qur'an exhibition at the British Museum:

Kufic may be said to have reached its perfection, for Qur'anic manuscripts, in the second half of the second Islamic century which ended in A.D. 814.^[16]

One wonders how did the missionaries conclude the appearance of the Kufic script in the late eight century when both Lings and Safadi say that the script reached its perfection in the second half of second Islamic century! Concerning the style of script of the Samarqand codex, there are many examples of it from the first century of hijra in the form of dated Kufic inscriptions.

The Christian missionaries are found to be not only incorrect in their dating of the origins of the Kufic script, but also erroneous in their opinion that Kufic is not a script that we would expect to have been employed in the Hijaz during the Caliphate of ‘Uthman. In respect to Lings and Safadi, the missionaries have simply misread their statements.

To conclude, Abbott thinks that the ‘Uthmanic Qur'anic manuscripts were probably written in Makkan-Madinan scripts.^[17] The manuscript attributed to ‘Uthman, located at al-Hussein mosque in Cairo, is indeed written in Madinan script.

4. Kufic Qur'anic Manuscripts From First & Second Centuries Of Hijra

The best way to refute the claim of Christian missionaries about the appearance of Kufic script (and hence the Kufic Qur'ans!) around late eighth century CE (or mid-to-late second century of hijra) is to show the existence of Kufic Qur'anic manuscripts from first and early second century of hijra. The following museums have Kufic Qur'anic manuscripts from 1st and early 2nd century of hijra.

Austrian National Library, Vienna, Austria: Kufic manuscripts A. Perg 203, A Perg. 201 and A Perg. 193 + 196 + 208 are dated from the beginning of second century hijra. Manuscripts A. Perg. 186 and A. Perg. 197 are dated to middle second century of hijra.^[18]

Beit al-Qur'an, Manama, Bahrain: Manuscript 1611-mkh235 is from late 1st century of hijra. Manuscript 1620-mkh233 is from 1st / 2nd century of hijra.

Maktabat al-Jami‘ al-Kabir (Maktabat al-Awqaf), The Great Mosque, San‘a', Yemen: Examples of first century Kufic manuscripts are available in Memory Of The World: San‘a' Manuscripts, CD-ROM Presentation, UNESCO.

5. Kufic Inscriptions From 1st Century Of Hijra

The Christian missionaries' arbitrary dating of the origins of Kufic script also contradicts early inscriptions which have been commented upon by both Western and Muslim writers.

1. The Earliest Dated Kufic Inscription From Qā‘ al-Mu‘tadil, Near Al-Hijr (Saudi Arabia), 24 AH. This inscription, it appears, is destined to be the most famous of all the Arabic inscriptions as the UNESCO has added it to the Memory of the World Register of Documentary Collections.
2. Tombstone Of ‘Abd al-Rahmān Ibn Khair al-Hajri Dated 31 AH. This was first published by H. M. El-Hawary who said that it is inscribed in:

... carelessly written Cufic script.^[19]

Nabia Abbott reasserts:

The earliest Muslim inscription, the tombstone of ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khair al-Hajari, dated 31/652... It is certainly not Makkan and can safely be considered as poor Kufic.^[20]

3. An Islamic Inscription On The Darb Zubayda Dated 40 AH. This Kufic inscription was found on the Darb Zubayda caravan route at Wadi 'l-Shamiya during an archaeological survey in 1970s.
4. An Islamic Inscription From Wadi Sabil Dated 46 AH. This inscription was found in Wadi Sabil during the Philby-Ryckmans-Lippens expedition.

These Kufic inscriptions date before the collection of the Qur'an by ‘Uthman.

6. Dated Manuscripts & Dating Of The Manuscripts: The Difference

A clear distinction needs to be made between dated (or datable) manuscripts and dating of the manuscripts for proper orientation. A steadily increasing number of manuscripts of both the Qur'an and the New Testament with confident allocation of dates by various palaeographers can obscure the fact that we do not have absolute secure dates for majority of the New Testament and Qur'anic manuscripts.

In the case of Greek documentary papyri such as private letters or receipts, the dates are often present. Most of the New Testament manuscripts are written in a literary rather than a documentary hand. Therefore, it always needs a careful investigation of the evidence and involves comparing it with datable parallels to arrive at a reasonable dating. In the case of Qur'anic manuscripts the dating is carried out by studying the nature of the script, papyrus, ornamentation and illumination. The palaeographers then date the manuscript to a particular century during which such characteristics were seen, a process similar to the one used in the dating of New Testament manuscripts.

The Qur'anic manuscript becomes datable when there is a note on it either from the scribe or the waqf showing the date of its accession in a library or the production of the manuscript itself.

Keeping this in mind let us move over to the statement of the Christian missionaries. They say:

Aside from some of the manuscripts discovered in the loft of the Great Mosque in Sanaa in 1972, no manuscript fragment of the Qur'an can be dated earlier than first quarter of the 8th century A.D. - nearly 100 years after Muhammad. (Calligraphy and Islamic Culture, Annemarie Schimmel, 1984, p.4)

The statement of the missionaries give an impression that Muslims do not have a datable Qur'anic manuscripts before the first quarter of the eighth century. The quote from Schimmel's book when read in the context says:

The terminus ante quem for a fragment or a copy of the Koran can be established only when the piece has a waqf note, showing the date of its accession in a certain library. The earliest datable fragments go back to the first quarter of the eighth century...^[21]

Schimmel is saying that to firmly date a manuscript, we need something like a waqf note. She then mentions about the earliest datable manuscript that goes back to the first quarter of the eighth century. This manuscript is a very famous one and is located at the Egyptian National Library (was formerly at ‘Amr Mosque), dated 107 AH / 725 CE . Moritz has reproduced a large number of pages from this codex.^[22] Arnold and Grohmann assigns this specific date.^[23] The dating of this manuscript has been recently corroborated by Marilyn Jenkins of Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) by studying the ornamentation.^[24] A folio of the manuscript is reproduced below.

t is not true that the earliest datable manuscript goes back to the first quarter of the eighth century. The famous palaeographer Adolf Grohmann informs us that

one dated copy exists from the first century of Higra and two exists from the second, seven only from the third century of Higra.^[25]

The first century manuscript is dated 94 AH / 712-13 CE and is from Iran. The two second century hijra copies, dating 102 AH / 720 CE and 107 AH / 725 CE are in Egyptian National Library, Cairo; the latter we have already discussed above.^[26]

A word of caution needs to be added. Whenever there is a waqf marking on the manuscripts, it is the burden of the paleographer to estimate the time between the writing of a manuscript and its being deposited in a mosque or any other religious institution. In other words, the wakf marking is not the true representative of the exact age of the manuscript. It only overestimates the date of writing of the manuscript.

No discussion about the dated manuscripts is finished without the mention of the status of New Testament manuscripts. We have no dated manuscripts of the New Testament until the Uspenski gospels of 835 CE.^[27] This is not very unusual, as literary documents were not generally dated in antiquity. The first literary manuscript (Vindob. Med. Gr. 1) dated by the scribe is a text of Dioscorides from 512 CE now in Vienna.^[28]

7. Conclusions

In conclusion, we have seen that the script which came to know as Kufic existed before the founding of city of Kufah. It was this script which reached its fullness or perfection in the second half of the eighth century CE. This is a clear refutation of the claims of Ibn Warraq who say that the Quran didn’t come until the late ninth century.

Date

2nd century hijra or 8th century CE.

Shebunin dated this manuscript to the late first / early second century hijra. On the basis of the orthography as observed in the 1905 facsimile, Jeffrey dated it to the early ninth century. More recently, Déroche had assigned a date to the second half of the eight century. The carbon-dating of a folio from this manuscript was carried out at Oxford . The result showed a 68% probability of a date between 640 CE and 765 CE, and a 95% probability of a date between 595 CE and 855 CE. Commenting on this result, Rezvan noted that the paleographic dating of this manuscript also indicated a date at the turn of the eight / ninth century CE.

Although the dates generated by the radiocarbon dating at either confidence level do not rule out the possibility that this manuscript was produced in ‘Uthman's time, palaeographic studies suggest an 8th century (2nd century hijra) date.

Size

55 cm x 70 cm; depending on the folio, length and width can vary by several centimetres. The 1905 facsimile edition is 50 cm x 67 cm and the actual written text is on average 50 cm x 44 cm. There are approximately 250 original folios extant.

Script & Ornamentation

Kufic.

It is a massive Qur'anic manuscript on vellum showing a well-formed Kufic script without diacritical marks and ornamentation. The verse endings are marked by small panels of diagonals lines; the tenth verse is marked with a square medallion illuminated in blue, green, red and manganese with a stellar design. The parchment has become very brittle with age. There is a restriction on free access and the manuscript is protected from light. Instead, a facsimile copy is available for consultation.

Approximately one third of the Qur'an from which these massive folios originate - the ‘Uthman Qur'an - is housed in Tashkent in Uzbekistan . Late in the 19th century the manuscript was in St. Petersberg , Russia , where it was studied by the Russian orientalist A. F. Shebunin and in 1905 a facsimile of it was published. It would appear that during this period in St. Petersberg, a number of folios were separated from this manuscript and subsequently ended up under the hammer at Christie's^[1] with some folios appearing in Sam Fogg's collection of Islamic art. These folios came from North Africa . The extra-ordinary size of these folios from this Qur'an is unparalleled in publications in the Western world. Folios from the Tashkent manuscript were sold at Christie's ( London ) as lot nos. 225, 225a on 22nd October 1992; and lot nos. 29, 30 on 21st October 1993. In the years 2000 and 2003, a couple more folios appeared in Sam Fogg's Islamic Manuscripts / Islamic Calligraphy catalogues.^[2]

In 1940, Mendelsohn published notes on the Columbia University facsimile copy of the Tashkent (Samarqand) Qur'an.^[3] A couple of years later, Jeffery and Mendelsohn discussed the orthography of this manuscript.^[4] For other discussions on the manuscript, consult these references.^[5]

This manuscript is also known as the Samarqand manuscript.

Location

Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Acknowledgements

We thank "Memory Of The World", UNESCO, for the pictures of the manuscript.

The Qur'anic manuscript at the al-Hussein mosque in Cairo, written in large Arabic script, is perhaps the oldest of all the manuscripts, and is either `Uthmanic or an exact copy from the original with similarity to the Madinan script (A brief discussion about various Qur'anic manuscripts attributed to `Uthman is available here). This Qur'an has undergone restoration recently and below is a brief account of the restoration work.

Mohamed Seif el-Shazli has renovated a lot of manuscripts and monuments in his time. He helped reconstruct temples in Abu Simbel and Nubia, the Zoser Pyramid in Saqqara and spent 10 years in the holy city of Mecca restoring old documents and books. But nothing has come dose to the importance of his latest project: the restoration of the first Qur'an ever written.

EI-Shazli, along with his son Ahmed, has spent the past year diligently rebuilding the leather pages of the 1,400-year-old book. The holy book - which stands a staggering 50 centimeters high - has been kept in the relics room of al-Hussein Mosque for the past 100 years, along with other relics, including hairs from the Prophet's beard, his sword, parts of his walking stick and clothing. "This may not be the most difficult project that I have done, but it is a project that feeds my soul," says el-Shazli, 58, whose grandfather, Shazli Mahmoud `Ali, worked during the 1920s with British and American archeologists restoring artifacts found at Giza and Saqqara pyramids.

EI-Shazli learned the craft of restoration from his father, el-Shazli Mahmoud. He began his apprenticeship when he was 12 years old, assisting his father in restoring leather, moldings, weaving, and wood, as well as manuscripts and books. But it wasn't until he was in his twenties that felt he could work on restoration projects alone.

EI-Shazli, a faculty member in the archeology department at Cairo University, was a natural selection when the Egyptian government was looking for someone to restore the Qur'an. In addition to his experience in the field, like the ardent scribes of early Islam, he has memorized the entire Qur'an.

The restoration project is the brainchild of Dr. Souad Maher, the former dean of Cairo University archeology department, who is renowned for being the first female to attain a doctorate in Islamic history in the Arab world. She has long been involved in the renovations of the relics in the mosque and during the 1960s she verified the authentidty of the relics, using the scientific carbon-testing method to determine that the relics and the Qur'an dated back to the time of the Prophet Mohammed^(P).

Maher restored the same Qur'an 45 years ago, but she says that the wear and tear of the years made additional restoration work necessary. She petitioned the Ministry of Awqaf to allocate money for the renovation. "The problem is that many people come to see the book, to touch and kiss it," says Maher. "This is a very important project. After all, this is the first Qur'an in the world. The inscriptions are perfect."

The `Uthman Qur'an, as it is known, is one of four Qur'ans hand-written by the third Caliph `Uthman. According to Sheikh Ahmed Ismail, head Sheikh at al-Hussein Mosque, this is the Qur'an that all other Qur'ans are based on. The Prophet Mohammed's^(P) disciples used to write down his recitations on leaves, animal skins and rocks and kept the writings in the home of Hafsa, one of the Prophet's widows. `Uthman, the son-in-law of the Prophet collected the Prophet's writings after his death and put them into one book, creating the version now accepted by Muslims. `Uthman made four copies to be distributed in the Arab world. One was sent to the ruler of Egypt; the other three are believed to be in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

`Uthman was eventually assassinated by a group of Muslims, who became disgruntled with his ruling abilities and his perceived nepotism. It is said that he was slain while reading the Qur'an, his blood flowing on to the pages. His death ushered in an era of civil wars and political schisms in Islamic history. However he is most remembered as the Caliph who pushed for the preservation of the Qur'an as one book.

Since that time, the holy book has been in the possession of each successive Egyptian ruler. About 500 years ago, the `Uthman Qur'an was moved from the ruler's home to a place called "relics of the Prophet" in old Cairo, then to `Amr Ibn al-As Mosque in Old Cairo, then to the Salah Tala'i Mosque also in old Cairo and finally to al-Hussein Mosque where it has been ever since.

"It was very prestigious and an honor as well for the ruler to have the original Qur'an and relics of the Prophet in his country," says Sheikh Ahmed. "Every ruler was proud to have such relics, as a way to show love and respect."

The years however, haven't been kind to the book. Although it was carefully enclosed in a leather box and a glass case, dust had accumulated between the 1,400 pages and tiny insects had eaten away some portions of the leather pages.

El-Shazli spent the first two months cleaning the pages of the Qur'an and sanitizing the book to kill all the insects, before beginning the restoration work. Two kilos of dust had accumulated in the box where the Qur'an was kept.

Each page takes roughly two weeks to restore. El-Shazli first stretches the old deerskin page between pieces of glass for a week, then fills in any gaps with chemical-free paper. He hand- paints any holes in the letters, however he refuses to replace any completely-missing letters or words, saying that he doesn't want to alter the text of the Qur'an in any way. "That is the line I don't want to cross when restoring a manuscript," he says.

In the sacred room, el-Shazli works slowly and methodically. Wearing glasses similar to a jeweler's, he studies a portion of the leather page which he has mounted on white paper. As his son Ahmed looks on, he paints in portions where the letters have worn away. After a year and a half of this work, he says the restoration is nearly 80 percent complete. By the summer he says, the Qur'an should be completely restored. After that, el-Shazli hopes the book will be put on display, for any interested scholar or tourist to view. "It is part of our heritage," he says. "It is important that people who want to see it, are able to see the first book in Islam."

The book holds a special significance, especially for those who pray daily in al-Hussein Mosque, considered the most important mosque in Egypt. As Sheikh Ahmed puts it: "This Qur'an was touched by those people who knew the Prophet, who had shaken hands with him. To have this Qur'an in this place, we become spiritually very happy and elated." But Sheikh Ahmed is quick to point out that physical age of the book is secondary to the message inside. "This isn't just a book to be blessed by, it is a way of life," Sheikh Ahmed says. "The Qur'an tells us not only how to pray, but how to work, cultivate and beautify life."