Dubai: The world's smallest gold-engraved Quran was showcased for the first time at a special function organised at the Burj Al Arab hotel on Monday.
The masterpiece, which is encrusted with diamonds and rubies on the outside and holds two sheets of gold that are slightly smaller than an A4 paper but engraved with all the 602 pages and 114 chapters of the Quran, is the fruit of the collaboration between Raen Khan Zadeh — who has made a name by miniaturising normal text by up to 10 times — and Mohammad Taher Yousufzadeh, managing director of Prima Gold.
Labour of love
The golden Quran also involved the dedicated work and support of no less than 55 individuals from over 10 countries.
Yousufzadeh said that the unique piece of art is another example of "what man, gifted by God with a unique talent — the ability to portray miniaturised text up to 10 times smaller than the human eye can find legible without the aid of magnification — is capable of doing". The talent is "God given, but what we chose to do with it is what truly sets us apart", he said.
The audience for the event had a chance to see the Quran up close as well as see a video which showed glimpses of the effort taken by the artist, Zadeh, to accomplish the feat.
Zadeh said he discovered his talent 12 years ago and started to develop it by working on many "innovative projects especially those related to Islamic art".
Prior to his latest work, Zadeh had inscribed the Basmalah, which consists of four words, on a single strand of hair, made a copy of 16 Quranic verses on a grain of rice, and copied the complete Quran nine times on paper of different sizes. There are now plans for his latest work to be displayed at various museums across the world in the coming years.
