Head to Sharjah to see the Qur’an by female scribe in 1844AD, and other rare manuscripts

Sharjah: Sharjah Museums Authority will be showcasing a number of rare Qur’an manuscripts and Islamic calligraphy from the Hamid Jafar Quran Collection between Oct. 31 and March 19, 2023 at Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation.

The exhibition “Sacred Words, Timeless Calligraphy: Highlights of Exceptional Calligraphy from the Hamid Jafar Qur’an Collection,” will feature a number of exquisite manuscripts that will be displayed for the first time ever.

Businessman Hamid Jafar began the collection with a vision of presenting Islam’s influence as a unifying force and a source of inspiration in disparate cultures from Andalusia and the Maghreb through to the Near East to South East Asia and China.

Over 40 years, he has added numerous works spanning fourteen centuries of Islamic civilisation tracing back to the dawn of Islam.

The highlights

The manuscripts on view will include a magnificent Qur’an by female scribe Sharifah Wahidah Yaqutah, dated 1844AD, and a 1.7m-high page of the Baysunqur Qur’an that dates back to 1400AD and a folio from one of the oldest and largest surviving Qur’an manuscripts from the “Tashkent Qur’an” which dates back to the second century AH/ 8th century AD.

The exhibition reflects Sharjah Museums Authority’s focus on celebrating Islamic culture and heritage, and offers museum visitors insights into the origins and history of Islamic calligraphy while also shedding light on its development through copying and preserving Quran manuscripts during a period spanning 14 centuries.

An array of educational activities and workshops will also be organised on the sidelines of the exhibition.