Showcasing 40 rare Qurans and manuscripts at Sharjah Exhibition

The Historical Qurans Exhibition at the Kalba Public Library of the Sharjah Book Authority in the UAE develops the writing and drawing of Qurans in various stages of Islamic history through more than 40 copies of the Quran and Quranic manuscripts that range from 100 to 400 years old.
This exhibition comes on the initiative of the Emirati calligrapher Ali Abdullah Al Hammadi, who pointed out that the participating Qurans and manuscripts represent multiple models of Arabic calligraphy and its readings, and the history of their writing and development since they were first collected in the time of Caliph Othman bin Affan, through the modern era.
The organizer of the initiative Al Hammadi stated that the exhibition includes in addition to the forty copies of the Quran, and a copy of the Hassan Rida’s Quran, of which only two copies exist in the Emirates, where the weight of the Quran is 10 kilograms.
He pointed out that all the manuscripts and Qurans date back to different periods of time and are some of his private collections that he had collected over 19 years when his interest in writing calligraphy began.
Al-Hammadi offers live workshops for the exhibition’s guests focusing on the method of writing the Naskh script in the Qurans, explaining to them the importance of this script and its need for a deep study, as he confirms that no person can write Qurans unless he is an experienced and educated person.
Al-Hammadi aspires to establish a private museum for his manuscript collections, similar to the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait, one of its most prominent landmarks, which brings together Islamic history throughout its ages.
It is noteworthy that Al-Hammadi, 45, began his journey with writing calligraphy and collecting anecdotes of the Quran 19 years ago, as he is distinguished in Kufic script and Islamic decoration.