30 We know that Taymur conquered Damascus in the year...

30 We know that Taymur conquered Damascus in the year 803/1400 and in the same year his army conquered the city pillaging it and setting it on fire.

Although Taymur had ordered that the grand mosque should not be touched, its wooden roof caught fire and its eastern minaret was totally destroyed, though the 'Arus minaret (about which the Prophet [S] had reportedly foretold) remained intact.31 Accordingly, it is probable that before the mosque of Damascus caught fire, Taymur had the Qur'an transferred to his own camp and had later on taken it to his capital Samarqand.

If this has not happened, it is unlikely that the codex has survived the devastating, fire that consumed Damascus and its mosque. As to the story of its existence until 1310 at Damascus, as quoted by Dr. Subhi al-Salih from Khutat al-Sham, it is not improbable that after the end of Taymur's domination and the resumption of Mamluk rule over Syria, the Uthmani Qur'an of Hums, which al-Nabulusi reported to exist at the old citadel mosque in, Hums, was transferred to Damascus.

Hums had remained un-attacked by Taymur's forces in 803/1400 because it accepted his suzerainty and paid tribute. 32 As per this probability, the Damascan codex, after many a change of place, has finally come to remain at Tashkand, and the Hums codex, after being transferred to Damascus after the 11th/17th century, was destroyed by fire at the mosque in the year 1310/1892.

However, this writer was told by the Director of the Islamic Centre of Uzbekistan at Tashkand that the aforesaid codex is kept under lock and key by the governor of Tashkand. But a photographic copy of it, of the same size as the original (65x50), is kept at the Islamic Centre for display for visitors. 3. The Codex of 'Ali (A) The first person to start the collection of the Qur'an after the demise of the Prophet (S) was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (A).

He did so in accordance with the instructions and testament of the Prophet (S). 33 He arranged the verses chronologically and mentioned their context and place of revelation. Ibn al-Nadim writes: "After the demise of the Prophet (S), 'Ali (A) vowed not to leave his home until he had collected the Qur'an. He remained at home for three days and collected the Qur'an. He was the first one to have compiled the Qur'an from memory; this compilation remained in the custody of the family of Ja'far".