“Sacred Words, Timeless Calligraphy”: an exhibition at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, featuring a selection of the manuscripts from Mr Hamid Dhia Jafar’s collection.

The collection of exceptional Qur’an manuscripts presented here began with Mr Hamid Jafar’s vision to show Islam’s influence as a unifying force and as a source of inspiration to so many different cultures and people from the Middle East to China and India, to Spain and the Maghrib.

The manuscripts selected for this exhibition are not only exceptional pieces in the history of devotional practice across the Muslim world, but also unique artistic masterpieces representing significant moments in calligraphy, design and book production. The sophistication and diversity of techniques used for each of these masterpieces demonstrates the passion, devotion and creativity of both the artists and their patrons.

The collection is organized along three themes: the iconic power of the written word of the Qur’an; the production of Qur’anic manuscripts across the world of Islam; and the beauty of the Qur’an as a book.