1924 Cairo Edition in the context of "Al-Azhar University"

The Birmingham Quran manuscript comprises two leaves of parchment from an early Quranic manuscript or muṣḥaf. In 2015, the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham in England, was radiocarbon dated to between 632 and 645 CE. It is presently believed that the manuscript is an early descendant of the Uthmanic codex. It is part of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held by the university's Cadbury Research Library.

The manuscript is written in ink on parchment, using an Arabic Hijazi script and is still clearly legible. The leaves preserve parts of Surahs 19 (Maryam) to 20 (Taha). It was on display at the University of Birmingham in 2015 and then at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery until 5 August 2016. The Cadbury Research Library has carried out multispectral analysis of the manuscript and XRF analysis of the inks.

The Basmala or Basmalah (Arabic: بَسْمَلَة, romanized: basmalah; also known as Tasmiya by its opening words Bi-'sm-illāh; بِسْمِ ٱللهِ, "In the name of God") is an Islamic phrase meaning “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” (Arabic: بِسْمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيْمِ, bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm). It is one of the most important phrases in Islam and is frequently recited by Muslims before performing daily activities and religious practices, including prayer, and at the start of verses (āyah) or chapters (surahs) of the Qur'an.

In the Quran, it is recited before each chapter (surah), except for the ninth chapter At-Tawbah. Scholarly debates regarding its inclusion in the Qur'anic text reached consensus with the 1924 Cairo Edition, where it was included as the first verse (āyah) of Al-Fatiha and remained an unnumbered line preceding each of the 112 other chapters.