Monday, October 08, 2007

Ancient Quran

A 400-year-old handwritten copy of the Holy Quran is fetching offers of up to $4.3 million for its sale.The centuries-old copy of the central religious text of Islam belonged to a Yemeni Islamic scholar who gave the book to a Qatari national in Makkah during last year’s holy month of Ramadan, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Monday.Saeed Ali Al Suwaidi told the newspaper he may agree to part with the rare book if he receives a good offer. Three people have so far approached Al Suwaidi for the book, from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.
He was last offered a price tag of $4.3 million.The Yemeni scholar told Ali Suwaidi the book was a great calligraphic work that had taken five years to complete in 1034 Hijri, the Islamic year equivalent to 1624 CE."We began talking after a preliminary introduction. He told me that he had a rare copy of a Holy Quran. It was handwritten and a little less than 400 years old. He asked me if I would accept it for safekeeping," he told the newspaper, calling the manuscript ‘a proud possession’ and the most valuable asset in his life.