A Work Analyzing Old Manuscript Qurans
The major academic work analyses the first manuscripts copies of the Holy Book.
Francois Deroche (born October 24, 1952) is an academic and specialist in Codicology and Palaeography. He is a professor at the Collège de France, where he is holding the “History of the Quran Text and Transmission” Chair.
In an interview with the Quranic studies society IQSA, Dr Deroche has discussed the subject of Quran manuscripts belonging to the Umayyad era.
He claimed in this interview that the manuscripts of that era have had an effect on the spread of Quran recitation and that the manuscripts of the first decade of the Umayyad rule were weak.
He said he had planned to study the Umayyad era more extensively, adding that the materials used in that era were not recorded and had no historiography. That is why he began by working on the historiography of the manuscripts of more than three decades of the Umayyad rule. That led to his reconsideration of his previous view on Quran manuscripts, for example, the need for having a more cautious look at the date of old manuscript copies.
Deroche said the book “Qurans of the Umayyads: A First Overview” not only offers a historiography for manuscripts of the era but also shows that the progress of the type of writing, especially spelling rules, was quick.
He said the book introduces new elements for the history of Arabic writing and shows that historiography is an important issue for studying this era.
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The book introduced new elements to the history of Islamic art in that era and offered a more extensive view in this regard, he said.
The first benefit of this book is that with it one can talk about art in the Umayyad era, and it also offers a new outlook about the views of the ruling elites about the Quran, he stated.
Deroche wishes he could bring convincing evidence for attribution of some of the manuscripts of the Umayyad era. He stresses that the last chapter of the book can be a beginning for going beyond the Umayyad era and studying the manuscripts of the Abbasid era, about which not much research has been conducted.
Currently, he is working on the Arabic copy of the Umayyad Mus’hafs as the first part of a research project. The book contains many terms with different interpretations.
Some scholars believe that Deroche in his studies about the Quran has had a secular approach, conducting his research as a French Orientalist. However, they say his book has two benefits. First, it refutes the claim raised by some Orientalists that say the Quran dates back to the 4th Hijri century, and second, the book encourages us to study old copies of the Quran a large number of which exist. One of the main manuscript copies of the Quran that Deroche has studied is known as the Parisiano copy. It was found in Amr ibn al-Aas Mosque in Cairo and was taken to the Bibliothèque nationale de France (national library) in Paris in the 19th century.
