RAWALPINDI: A week-long exhibition started at the Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) to display rare manuscripts of the holy Quran on Thursday.

Cultural Counselor of Iran Ehsan Khazaei inaugurated the exhibition organised by Khana-i-Farhang and Persian Research Centre, Iran, and RAC along with an exhibition of calligraphy by Mohammad Azeem Iqbal.

Speaking on the occasion, Ehsan Khazaei said Muslims need more empathy and compassion than ever before so that difficulties can be overcome with the help of each other and the best way is the holy Quran which is also a beacon. There is adherence and commitment to it which is also a manifestation of the unity of Muslims.

He said the purpose of holding the exhibition is to honour the holy Quran and to promote and expand the Quranic culture and concepts and to create a spiritual atmosphere for the promotion of love and affection from the Quran.

Ehsan Khazaei said the Centre for Persian-Iranian Research in Iran and Pakistan, which had recently moved to Khana-i-Farhang, Rawalpindi, has more than 600 manuscripts of the holy Quran and we can claim that there is no precedent of such a collection.

However, due to space constraints, it was not possible to display all the manuscripts. Therefore, only 41 manuscripts are being presented to the public for the first time.

Most of the Quranic manuscripts on display are 400 years old and have been handwritten which is a sign of how familiar the elders were with the Quran.

“You will know by looking at these exquisite Quranic manuscripts how beautifully the combination of spirituality and art is presented in the form of the Quran,” he added.

He said that the calligraphy of the copies of the holy Quran is very beautiful and some of them are adorned with gold water and other colours and some of them have also been made into flowers.

RAC Director Waqar Ahmad said Khana-i-Farhang and RAC have always worked together for the promotion of Islamic values and Iranian culture.

The exhibition will continue till Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021