14-Century-Old Copy of Quran in Hijazi Script Unveiled in Mashhad
Codex Mashhad, also known as "Mus’haf Mashhad Rzavi", is in Hijazi script — the collective name for a number of early Arabic scripts that developed in the Hejaz region of Arabia.
It dates back to the first century after the advent of Islam (7th century AD).
Addressing the ceremony, held on Thursday, Quran researcher and translator Morteza Kariminia said the Mus’haf Mashhad Razavi is actually a combination of two manuscripts each of which contain part of the Holy Book and together constitute almost a complete copy of the Quran.
He said the 252-page copy contains 95 percent of the text of the Holy Book.
Different analyses and studies, including carbon-14 dating, showed that the major part of the copy was written in the first Hijri century, he stated.
It was written on parchment measuring 35 by 50 centimeters either in Medina or Kufa and was later taken to Khorasan (northeast Iran) later, the expert noted.
He added that in the late 5th Hijri century, the owner endowed the copy to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS).
According to a note by the owner, the writing and bookbinding of the manuscript has been done in two volumes.
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The Quran manuscripts written in Hijazi script are among the oldest copies of the Holy Book remaining until today, he went on to say, stressing that the older manuscripts are valuable in understanding events connected with dates of writing and recitation.
Codex Mashhad is the most complete manuscript of the Quran remaining from the first Hijri century, he added.
Kariminia further said that the facsimile copy of the Mus’haf Mashhad Razavi was translated into Arabic and English by Alulbait Institute and published in 2022.
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