more-in City resident M.S. Syed Ibrahim is the proud possessor of a miniature copy of the Holy Quran that signifies for him, the eternal spirit of secularism in India. Encased in a gold-coloured metal box attached to a key chain and about the length of a safety pin, this mini holy book in Arabic script, is a gift that Ibrahim received out of the blue, 43 years ago. A native of Aravakurichi in Karur district, Ibrahim was a long-time employee of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in various capacities from 1957 to 1993. “One day, in August 1975, when I was working as Assistant Branch Manager in Thanjavur, I found two youngsters waiting for me in office,” Mr. Ibrahim told The Hindu. “One of them was Rajendran, the son of my close friend in Aravakurichi who was studying medicine in Thanjavur, while the other young man was his acquaintance, whose father was working in West Asia and had got this key chain while he was travelling on an Arab airline.” Mr. Rajendran’s friend had been advised by his father to hand over the souvenir to any deserving Muslim he happened to meet in Tamil Nadu, as it contained Islam’s holy book. “Mr. Rajendran brought him to me, and that’s how I got this rare treasure,” said Mr. Ibrahim. The Quran may have reached Mr. Ibrahim in 1975, but as the publisher’s note reveals at the end of the book, it was produced 15 years before. “Printed under official sanction by the Lafayette Press, Paris, on March 16, 1960,” reads the French inscription that can be read only with the help of a magnifying glass. Miniature Qurans fitted with magnifiers became popular in the early 20th century when Muslim soldiers carried the books with them to the battlefield during the First World War (1914-18). “Since it is a holy book, Muslims must touch the Quran only after performing ablutions (known as ‘wudhu’ in Arabic). I believe this copy has all the 30 chapters printed as in any regular-size Quran,” said Mr.Ibrahim. With age-related ailments restricting his movements, the octogenarian occupies himself with reading the newspaper and religious literature at home. “I believe this mini Quran is my gift from Allah through the kindness of a stranger, and I am grateful for this blessing. That’s why I keep it locked in my cupboard, with all the precious things that I own,” he says.

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