In a remote place, far from the centres of civilization and distant from major cities where history is usually made, in the early seventh century, emerged an illiterate Arab prophet entrusted with delivering the message from God to all the people. Twenty-three years after the start of the Quranic revelation, on the day of Arafat during the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet PBUH ascended Mount Arafat. In his lengthy Farewell Sermon, he conveyed a revelation from Allah received on that day:
{Today I have completed for you your religion and fulfilled My favours upon you and have approved for you the religion Islam} (Surah 5, verse 3).
The Prophet concluded his farewell speech by saying: "I leave behind me two things, the Quran and the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray." He reiterated, "O Allah, bear witness that I have conveyed Your message to Your people."
After a few months, the noble Prophet PBUH passed away. His companions undertook the responsibility of memorizing, writing, compiling in a book and spreading the Quran to the farthest corners of the earth.
This book narrates the tale of those who bore this responsibility and how they succeeded in preserving and transmitting the Quran we have today, exactly as it was revealed over fourteen centuries ago.
Chapter 1 addresses the early preservation of the Quran during the period of revelation, alongside a brief overview of the early writing of the Arabic Language.
Chapter 2 charts the evolution of compiling and writing the Quran, tracing its journey from the Mushaf Uthman (RA) to the inclusion of the final Tashkeel marks.
Chapter 3 discusses the dating of the Birmingham Quran Manuscript, while Chapter 4 addresses the Sanaa Palimpsest. In Chapter 5, an illustrated comparison word by word is provided between the Birmingham Manuscript and the Quran we have today.
Through these chapters, we embark on a journey introducing the rich tapestry of the Quranic manuscript tradition. Manuscripts written only a few decades after the revelation provide tangible evidence that the Divine message is preserved, transcending time and space to reach all people.
