Swiss collector claims to have discovered Zulfiqar sword, but experts cast doubt

A Swiss collector has asserted that a sword in his collection, previously believed to be a replica, has been verified as the authentic Zulfiqar.

Acquired in 2006 from another collector in Bahrain, the sword has been held in private and undergone extensive examinations to verify its origins, according to the collector's representative Sonya Troicher.

Troicher says experts studying the sword made a breakthrough last year, deciphering inscriptions on the blade written in an Arabic-Persian-Turkic dialect. With the help of a professional translation company and an Iranian translation specialist, the inscriptions were revealed to contain the names of the , his daughter Fatima, son-in-law Ali and grandsons Hasan and Hussein.

The inscription also claims that the twin-bladed sword is Zulfiqar, the weapon linked to the Prophet Mohammed and his family that was used during pivotal events in early Islamic history. The dialect used for the inscriptions was identified as one common from the 7th to 12th centuries, specifically during the early years of Islam.

According to a paper by Islamic history lecturer David Alexander published by Penn State University, Zulfiqar was “a major symbol of the Prophet Mohammed's heritage”.

The sword underwent additional scrutiny by scholars and experts across Europe, including historians, metallurgists and specialists in Islamic artefacts, including professors from Lithuania, Ukraine, the US and Austria.

In December, several professors from Switzerland also participated in data analysis, including Reinhard Schultze, a scholar and retired professor of Islamic studies at the University of Bern. According to a report authored by Mikhail Tamoikin in Lithuania, their consensus affirmed the sword as a genuine historical relic, directly linked to the early Islamic period.

However, experts consulted by The National have cast doubt on the potential validity of their findings.

Ahmed Ali, head of the Arabic and translation studies department at the American University of Sharjah, says: “It is highly improbable that it is the authentic Zulfiqar. The presence of inscriptions in Arabic, Persian and Turkic, along with specific names, raises significant doubts about its authenticity.

"Given that early Islamic swords typically bore no elaborate inscriptions – especially not ones referring to later historical figures – this strongly suggests that the sword in question was either created in a later period or was intended for a symbolic, rather than martial, purpose.”

Nasser M Hamdan, professor of physics and material science at the American University of Sharjah, who reviewed the Tamoikin report, found that while the metallurgical analysis performed appears reasonable given the difficulty at hand, the likelihood of exact accuracy of the findings “may not be very high to estimate the age of an item which is 1,500 years old".

Other techniques available could still be used to determine the age with more accuracy, but, “where possible, non-destructive techniques should be prioritised to preserve the integrity of the artefact".

But according to Ali, scientific study of the sword still would not be enough to verify it to be the item in question. The most widely accepted historical account of the sword suggests that it originally belonged to a Qurayshite warrior, who was killed during the Battle of Badr in 624 CE, coming into the possession of the Prophet Mohammed as part of the war spoils.

One year later, during the Battle of Uhud, historic reports indicate that Prophet Mohammed entrusted the sword to his son-in-law Ali, with no reports existing that point to the ultimate fate of the weapon, the name of which is understood to mean “the notched” or “spined one”, referring to a serrated or uniquely marked blade resembling the backbone of a camel.

“Even if metallurgical and historical analyses confirm that the sword dates back to the early Islamic period, there remains no evidence to link it directly to the Prophet Mohammed or Ali. At best, it may be a mere sword from that era, but its attribution to Zulfiqar remains entirely speculative and lacks scholarly validation,” says Ali.

The supposedly-authenticated sword has a split tip, which is often how the weapon is presented in artistic depictions. However, Ali states that there is no historical basis that it had two blades.

"Many scholars assert that the idea of a double-edged Zulfiqar was a later symbolic or artistic representation, rather than a factual description of the sword's actual form, says Ali.

While actual authentication of the item is extremely unlikely, Ali believes that “the discovery of Zulfiqar would represent one of the most profound archeological finds in Islamic history, offering a tangible link to the early battles and legacy of Prophet Mohammad".

“However, without irrefutable historical evidence, such claims must be approached with caution, as many artifacts from the early Islamic period have uncertain provenance, and misattributions have occurred throughout history,” Ali adds.

The sword's owner and a team of scientists are preparing a further study paper detailing its discovery, offering new insights into this rare and important piece of Islamic history.

The collector is also planning an exhibition of the sword, with a delegation of “supreme muftis from a number of countries” set to arrive in in Bern to “meet” the sword in February, according to the collector's representative.