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Ahmed Shaker Profile picture
Ahmed Shaker
@shakerr_ahmed
Researcher working on Qur'anic manuscripts and Islamic inscriptions | Founder of QMI | 📧 ashaker@quranmss.com | باحث في المصاحف المخطوطة
Apr 22 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
It's often said the word muṣḥaf is actually derived from Geʿez (Ethiopic), meaning "book." But as an Arabic speaker, this doesn’t make much sense--the root ṣ-ḥ-f clearly exists in Arabic & Quran with meanings related to pages and writing. So where did this idea come from? 📜 Image The claim seems to stem from what al-Zarkashī (d. 794 H) mentioned in his al-Burhān, and it was later echoed by al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 H) in al-Itqān. Both referenced a report under "fa'idah" suggesting the term "muṣḥaf" was borrowed from the people of Ḥabasha (Abyssinia).
Nov 30, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Exciting News! We're thrilled to announce that we're on the verge of launching our AI-Powered OCR service for Arabic manuscripts and documents!🤖

Thread 📜 🔍 What is OCR and How Does it Work?
OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, is a cutting-edge technology that enables machines to recognize and extract text from images or scanned documents. With our advanced AI algorithms, it can accurately identify Arabic script.
Sep 10, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
Shoemaker clearly misunderstands how C14 operates. He assumes that if one lab produces an inconsistent result, it automatically means the C14 principle is unreliable!

Thread 📜 Scholars don't rely solely on C14 for dating manuscripts. Its results are paired with other analyses like paleography and codicology. Thus, no one claims C14 is the sole method to confidently date Quran manuscripts.
May 10, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
(Below) more early Islamic inscriptions about Hajj 🕋 Inscription dated 91 AH

Reading:
اللهم اغفر لمخلد بن أبي مخلد
مولى علي وتقبل منه حجته
آمين رب العالمين وكتب
في ذي القعدة من سنة إحدى
وتسعين رحم الله من قرأ
هذا الكتاب ثم قال آمين Image
May 5, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
ʿUmrah and Ḥajj and early Islamic inscriptions in the Syrian Ḥajj Route 📜 ImageImage 1. Saʻīd ibn Sālim (127 AH)

Reading:
نزل سعيد بن سالم تحت هذه الصخرة يوم الأحد لثلاث ليال بقين من جمادى الآخرة سنة سَبع وعشرين ومئة هو متوجه للعُمرة يسأل ربه الجنة وحُسن الصحابة والمُنقلب

Picture: @AlsahraTea Image
Apr 27, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
A 2nd/8th century Islamic papyrus containing instructions for performing prayer – P. Utah. Ar. inv. 205 (@UUtah) Recto sideVerso side Reading of papyrus ImageImageImage
Apr 26, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
A late-Umayyad writing inscribed on the walls of Khālid al-Qasrī Palace ("Kharāʼib askāf Banī Junayd") in Iraq.

The text is quite rare as it lists the names of the companions who were promised paradise in Sunni Islam. ImageImage Translation: "May God forgive Abū Bakr and ʻUmar and ʻUthmā<n> and ʻAlī and Ṭalḥa and Zub<ay>r and Saʻd and Saʻīd and ʻAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʻAwf al-Zuh<ry> and Muʿ<ā>wiya ibn Abī Sufyān."
Apr 25, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
23 early Islamic lead seals from Palestine (7th/8th century CE) Image Source:
christies.com/en/lot/lot-305…
Feb 24, 2023 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Some personal thoughts 📜
1. The pure monotheistic inscriptions reflect a Qur'anic influence (in this case: Q64:1)

2. The omission of the second part of the Shahada (i.e., "Muhammad is the Messenger of God") does not necessarily indicate that this concept was developed later. 3. As Robert Hoyland points out, early Islamic inscriptions were not intended as "catechisms of Islamic doctrine," and that they cannot be used to isolate the different stages of Islam's growth.
Nov 19, 2020 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
#Thread on Codex Topkapı Sarayı Medina 1a based on the recent publication of @IRCICA's al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf (2020), edited by Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç. Note: Scholarly review of this 2-volume work is currently under-preparation and will be published at another convenient platform. For now, I will be sharing some of my general observations and notes on this early, rather complete, Qur'an manuscript.
Aug 7, 2020 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
The Amajur Qur'an [Thread]

Last week, Dr. Arianna Rambach presented three unpublished folios from the Amajur Quran kept today at the Museum of Calligraphy in Damascus.

See her post at:
quranmss.com/2020/07/27/qur… These folios were once part of the Dome of the Treasury (Qubbat al-Khaznah) in the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The dome was opened for German scholars in the late 19th century, and the Othomans transferred the Quranic fragments to Istanbul during WW I.
May 9, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Reading the foundation stone of ‘Muʿāwiya Dam’ in al-Ṭāʾif (dated 58 AH). The dam was built by ʿAbdullāh bin Ṣakhr for the Umayyad Caliph Muʿāwiya. The inscription is quite notable as it shows the early use of consonant pointing (ʾIʿjām) for the bāʾ, tāʾ, thāʾ, nūn, and yāʾ.
Mar 7, 2020 • 56 tweets • 14 min read
Recent archaeological discoveries challenging the neo-sceptical paradigm

[The following thread is based on Schoeler G, Vagelpohl U, Montgomery, J. The Biography Of Muhammad: Nature And Authenticity. New York, NY: Routledge; 2011: 14-15.] Among the recent epigraphical, papyrological and numismatical findings challenging the neo-sceptical paradigm, the following should be mentioned:
Jul 22, 2019 • 25 tweets • 7 min read
I recently reviewed Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Aʻẓamī's (1932-2017) 𝘈𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘘𝘶𝘳'𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘵 for @tafsircenter in Arabic [link: tiny.cc/qurn32]. Now, I will be highlighting some of the crucial points I made there, plus some extras. THREAD! 1. *Context. When it comes to reproducing/publishing early Qur'anic manuscripts, we basically have two ways to follow, either diplomatic or facsimile editions. Yes, I know, Digital Humanities counts too.