Shahnawaz Alam/Panipat

Raj Kumar Sehgal was a young man in 1983, when two Arab sheikh customers walked into his jewellery shop in the town. The visitors had come to pay obeisance at the sufi shrine of Hazrat Bu Ali Shah Qalandar.

They wanted to place an order for making a silver amulet from a tiny book they showed him. It turned out to be the Quran. Raj Kumar was not sure he has the right tools with him to accept the order and he refused.

The Sheikhs looked worried and desperate. They had to catch a flight home next day and on that day no other shop was open in Panipat. Sensing their desperation, Raj Kumar decided to help them.

He worked four hours to encase the Quran in silver and create an amulet. His customers were happy and offered him a tip. When Raj Kumar refused to accept it, they offered him a similar looking tiny book –the Quran – as a gift.

Initially, he didn’t understand the significance of the Quran. Later he read about it and also spoke with Muslim friends and it hit him that he was the owner of one of the most revered books in the world.

Today, as Raj Kumar Lords over a big joint family, he says “this gift gave me name, fame and a new financial status.”

Sehgal claims that it is one of the world's smallest Quran. The 572-page Qur'an contains 30 chapters and weighs 2.780 grams. Its dimensions are, 2.8 centimeters (Length), 2 centimeters (width) and 1.7 cm (thickness).

So far nobody in the world has claimed to have smaller Quran than this one.

A devout Hindi who worships deitities and celebrates festivals at home, Raj Kumar also has a strong faith in peer-fakirs, and Sufis, and all religious texts.

Raj Kumar has made a special silver box for the Book. Many people from far and wide visit his shop to see this rare Quran. It’s always kept in a locker.

Way back in 2012,burglars broke into his shop and looted gold weighing 300 gm. This was a big blow to his business and he fell on bad days.

Those days many people offered to buy his Quran. He was offered up to 5 lakh rupees for the book. “There was no way I would sell Quran; I had full faith in its bounties. I knew with its blessings I would bounce back,” Raj Kumar said.

He believes that his due to Quran, his days of struggle had ended soon. “Earlier I faced poverty but after owing this book, I started making money, built a big house, married my son and two daughters and my business is doing well,” he said.