The Nabataean script had come to the Hijaz from Huran (an ancient Syrian town)...

The Nabataean script had come to the Hijaz from Huran (an ancient Syrian town), but, as mentioned earlier, the Qur'an was usually written in the Kufic script and the practice lasted for several centuries. Some even claimed that writing the Qur'an in any script other than the Kufic was improper because the Qur'an was written in Kufic script in the times of the Prophet (S) and his companions.

They considered any change of script to amount to bid'ah.55 Evidently there is no justification for the aforesaid argument, because the medium of recording in those days was exclusively limited to this script. Further if we extend this logic, the use of paper and print, which did not exist at that time, should also be prohibited.

Incidentally, the scholars of the Ottoman Empire had proscribed for a long time the printing of the Qur'an 56 in the vast regions under Ottoman rule although the process of printing had become prevalent in its domains. 57 Previous…