One of the most amazing stories in the history of American Islam is the story of Ayub b. Sulayman, a Senegalese scholar who was captured in his home town and eventually sold as a slave in Maryland in 1730.
In one of the most bizarre twists of the slave trade, and no doubt due to his sincere duas and faith, a miracle took place, and he managed to earn the respect of his 'masters' by demonstrating his knowledge and character. His master was so impressed that he allowed him to write to his father in Africa, eventually managing to acquire permission and funds to earn his 'release'. He traveled back to his homeland after a few years, stopping over in London, England (where a painting was drawn of him, and he worked as a curator of the British Museum dealing with Arabic manuscripts), and resumed a somewhat normal life after his harrowing years as a slave.
This is a page of the Quran, in his own handwriting, written from memory while he was a slave. It is the first few lines of Surah al-Ma'idah (Chapter Five), written in the Maghribi script which would have been the script he studied as a child. Amazingly (or perhaps not so amazing!), there is not a single mistake on this page.
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