Kerstin Strotmann and Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd around probably one of the oldest copy of the Quran in the world

We have a fresh opportunity to reflect about probably one of the oldest copy of the Quran in the world. At this point Kerstin Strotmann is going to speak about this manuscript .

Mrs Kerstin Strotmann

 Kerstin Strotmann M.A .

 librarian for Middle Eastern and Islamic studies ,

 Ancient Near Eastern studies and Egyptology

 Training Manager

 Tuebingen University Library

But this amount is being constantly extended. Topics range from Arabic and Islamic literature, Quranic and Hadith studies to Islamic law,  philosophy, science and culture. In addition we have a large section on the topic of  Islamic religion and theology as well as Arab and Islamic history .

The manuscript in question (Ma VI 165) has been identified by experts and researchers in the field of Quranic history and Quranic script of the project Corpus Coranicum/Coranica (see http://www.coranica.de/front-page-en?set_language=en). They focused on this specific manuscripts because of its characteristic style and its format .

Further investigation of the script and the content of the manuscript is still due - as only the parchment material has been examined by radiocarbon dating .

Q: Experts analysis of three samples of the manuscript parchment   concluded that it was more than 95 percent likely to have originated in the period 649-675 AD - 20 to 40 years after the death of the Prophet Mohammed, Could you elaborate on a Koran fragment from the   University of Tübingen Library ?

KS: The manuscript Ma VI 165 consists of 77 sheets including sura 17:37-36:57. The text is written in hijazi script, but classified as kufic in our catalogue (published in 1930), because there was no distinction between hijazi and kufi at that time. The manuscript is quite undecorated. Probably it was made for everyday usage.

Q: The MA VI 165 manuscript appears to contain a large section of the Quran, from Chapter 17, verse 37 to Chapter 36, verse 57. We know the fragment is one of more than 20 in the University Library Collection written in Kufic script, what about the others I wonder if they were written in Kufic script too ?

KS: The other manuscripts are classified as kufi, too.

Q:  Well, The carbon-14 analysis of the Tübingen fragment was carried out by the Ion Beam Physics Laboratory at ETH Zürich, I want to know when Experts will analysis others .

KS: The researchers of the project Coranica have more information about this .

 KS:As mentioned before, the style of the manuscript Ma VI 165 is quite simple .

 Have a look at it :

http://idb.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/diglit/MaVI165

 
Q: The manuscript came to your University in 1864 as part of the collection of the Prussian consul Johann Gottfried Wetzstein, I wonder  we want to know what else collection or part of the collection came to  yours .

KS: The collection of Wetzstein is distributed among Berlin, Leipzig and Tuebingen. Tuebingen's Wetzstein collection - about 170 manuscripts - covers the fields of Arabic literature, history, geography and Islam .

Abdur-Rahman: Thank you very much, Mrs Kerstin Strotmann .

Kerstin Strotmann: Thank you. It was a pleasure .