"In certain circles allegations thrive that Islam's holy book is not a pristine text but is one that has been tampered with and compromised. With such claims huddling in the background the author alighted on an idea, simple in concept but powerful in context, that would allow scholar and layman alike to explore the integrity of the Qur'anic text throughout history. The fruit of that idea is this book, a visual catalog and record, a labour of love and a product of twelve years of work. This study gathers Qur'anic manuscripts spanning the fifteen centuries of Islam, then "peels" off the text word-by-word and sets it all in a way that is easily graspable yet visually unique. The focus here is not to champion or refute an idea through an essay, or preaching, or speculating, or confounding, or even by reference to bygone works and their authors theories and thoughts. The aim is to collect Qur'anic manuscripts of established pedigrees and, using Surah 17 as a case study, to set the reality of the written words of the Qur'an plainly before all."-- Dust jacket.

Text in Arabic and English.