Buhari’s Shah family has got what is believed to be one of world’s smallest holy Qurans.
There cannot be a better example of communal harmony still existing among the communities in Gujarat than this. A Shah family of Buhari town in Tapi district is the proud owner of a 300-year-old Holy Quran.
Measuring just one inch in length, this Quran is one of the smallest in the world. The Shahs worship the holy book along with their deity every day. Prashant Shah, 30, a resident of Vaniawad in Buhari town of Valod taluka, is the proud owner of the Holy Quran.
The holy Quran which is 25 mm long, 20 mm wide and 5 mm broad, can easily be held with a single finger. It has more than 30 pages and each page is believed to be handwritten. The front and back cover are made with a leather type material called ‘aayat’ and words of Lord Paygambar are written on them.
The story of how this sacred book of the Muslim community is in the possession of a Hindu, is quite interesting. A fakir visiting Buhari was given a hospitable welcome by the Shah family. This pleased him and as a reward he gifted them the priceless book. Since then it has been with the Shahs and has become a part of their tradition and rituals.
“The holy Quran was gifted to my great grandfather and since then our family is taking care of it. We keep it in a safe place and seldom take it out in front of people. All pages are intact and one can read the entire Quran without any difficulty,” said Prashant Shah. Interestingly, Shah is the youth president of Tapi district, BJP. Despite being a Jain he shows equal faith and respect for the Quran. His family feels the same way. “A few years ago the head of the heritage research department of Pune University Dr Bari came to Buhari. He checked our holy Quran and gave it the title of the most exquisite and smallest Quran in the world. Bari also said that the Quran was more than 300 years old,” Shah added.
Though the Shah family don’t keep the Quran for public display, for the month of Ramadan, they have kept it on display for Muslims. Hearing about the one-inch Quran, Muslims from Valod and other parts of south Gujarat have started coming to Vaniawad to have a glimpse of the Quran.
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