In July, the University of Birmingham announced that two leaves of worn parchments from an ancient Quran were discovered in its archives – the issue? Carbon dating indicates that the pages date between 568-645 AD. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is believed to have lived between 570-632 AD, which makes the findings pretty controversial.
Questioning the date is Dr Mustafa Shah, scholar at the Islamic studies department at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, who says the writing is “evolved and elaborate, intimating that it represented a mature form” of Arabic writing and places the date several decades later. Francois Deroche, a historian of the Koran at the College de France, also says he has “reservations” about the radiocarbon dating results.
