Birmingham ke Awraq: Kya Yeh Duniya ka Qadeem Tareen Quran Hai?

Birmingham ki Ek Khamosh Library

2015 ke mausam-e-garma ki baat hai. Birmingham university ki Cadbury Research Library ke khamosh kamre mein Mashriq-e-Wusta ke hazaron makhtootat sadiyon ki gard orhe pare thay. Yeh zakheera "Mingana Collection" kehlata hai — Iraqi-nazhad Chaldean aalim Alphonse Mingana ne 1920 ki dahai mein chocolate ke mashhoor tajir Edward Cadbury ki maali muawanat se yeh makhtootat jama kiye thay. Taqreeban navve baras tak yeh awraq kisi mamool ke catalogue number ke neeche pare rahe.

Phir ek muhaqqiqa, Alba Fedeli, doctorate ke silsile mein inhi makhtootat ki jaanch kar rahi theen ke un ki nazar thehr gayi. Ek Qurani makhtoote ke saath jild mein bandhe do awraq baqi makhtoote se mukhtalif thay — khat mukhtalif, haath mukhtalif. Unhon ne tajweez di ke in do awraq ko alag se parkha jaye. University ne parchment ka ek nanha sa tukra Oxford ki radiocarbon laboratory ko bhej diya.