New millennium unfolds 205-year-old secret — smallest and oldest Quran

There is no alternative to `miniature marvel’, if you have to describe this brilliant piece of art. It is a telling example of dedication and patience and one is left wondering about the intricacy of the procedure that might have been followed to create it.

The 205-year-old version – with text that is only two cm by one cm (the pages that hold the text are somewhat bigger) is completely handwritten in black ink on paper that was probably specially handmade. The 550 pages incorporate the complete text of the holy Quran – all the 114 suratein (chapters) and 6,237 aayats (verses) of it.

The pages are binded together delicately with threads. All the typicalities of the holy book including the traditional design of the opening page and those in margins of each page have been included by the unknown artist. It requires a very powerful lens to decipher the text on the tiny book.

The tiny marvel, which is about half the size of a normal matchbox, is presently in possession of Dr Shahid Jafri, pediatrician and director of Jafri Hospital at Nandanvan here. Dr Jafri recieved the book from his mother, who in turn got in from her father-in-law. Though Dr Jafri is unable to trace its history beyond this, it seems that the book is a family holding.

Wrapped in a wheat coloured wax-coated cloth, it nestles in a small silver encasement, made in the shape of a typical talisman. Although Dr Jafri was stunned by the intricate work of art, when he recieved it from his mother ten years ago, he did not pay much attention to it. It was kept safely and with reverance due of a holy and religiously important family inheritance.

It all changed with the ushering in of the new millennium. Sometimes around third week of January, Dr Jafri came across a list which included the `marvels of millennium’ from world over. A particular entry attracted his attention. One Abu Haji, a resident of Saudi Arabia, had claimed that he held the smallest version of Quran in the world, a book of size 2.3 cm by 1.9 cm. The size set Dr Jafri thinking as he was sure that the version which he possessed was smaller.

Even before he could do anything about it, one Bhatia, a book store owner from Ferozabad, came up a week later with a claim that he held a smaller version, which was only two cm by 1.5 cm (the sizes are of actual text and not that of pages). It was then that Dr Jafri decided to have his version measured. To his surprise and delight, the text came out to be only two cm by one cm. Dr Jafri now claims that his version must be the smallest in the world.

Another aspect which makes this version more interesting is that it might be one of the oldest miniatures of the holy book. While the name of the artist is not mentioned on the piece of art – as is the tradition – it does have its year of creation inscribed on it. It was written in 1215 Hijri year (the Muslim calender). The ongoing Hijri year is 1420, which means that the version is 205 years old.

Although the artist remains unknown, Dr Jafri is sure that it must have been one of his forefathers. His ancestors, uptil his great grandfather, had been official writers (kaatib) with the Nawabs of Meerut. It is not very far-reaching to conclude that one of these royal kaatibs might have found time, patience and dedication enough to come out with such a magnificient piece of art.

One puzzling aspect about the book is that in some pages numerals (in English script) have been inscribed. The fact that the ink and the handwriting are the same leaves no scope of doubt that they might have been added later on. That the artist was conversant with foreign language sometime in late 18th century, lends credence to claim that he might have been a royal employee.

Dr Jafri will soon get in touch with the publishers of Guiness Book of World Records to stake claim for the version as the smallest in the world.