Kosovo: Decades ago, a Christian family named Parushi in Albania found a perfectly intact body and a very small Koran in the ground, which led to the entire family converting to Islam. During the turmoil and wars that happened in the country in the past, this family has been protecting this rare Quran from generation to generation.
My great-grandfather was digging up land for a new house in the Kosovo town of Jakovica when he discovered a man buried there, perfectly safe and sound, family member Mario Perucci, 45, told AFP in an interview at his home. The body was found intact and a very small Quran was placed in the place of his heart.
The family converted to Islam considering this miracle as an unseen sign from God. Porushi added that his grandfather, who was an officer in the army of King Zog of Albania in the 1930s, knew Arabic and invited friends to his house every night to recite the Qur’an.
However, after some time, under the communist rule of Enver Hoxha, all religions were completely banned and their followers started to be imprisoned, but the Quran survived because it could be easily hidden.
Narrating an incident, Puroshi said that someone had secretly informed the police that there was a Quran in our house but it was so small that my father managed to hide it. The policemen searched the whole house but failed to find the Quran and till today we have been organizing the protection of this Quran with full dedication from generation to generation.
What this Qur’an means to Mario Parucci can be gauged from the fact that he washes his hands and mouth daily before kissing the Qur’an, and after kissing it, places it on his forehead.
At just two centimeters (0.7 in), scholars say the Qur’an dates back to the late 19th century and is one of the world’s smallest Qur’ans on record.
Puroshi further said that many museums and institutions from all over the world made huge offers to us to take this Quran, but we rejected all the offers. We will not give this Quran at any cost.
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