KARACHI, Oct 22: The Iranian cultural centre joined hands with the National Museum of Pakistan on Saturday to mount an impressive exhibition of old copies of the Quran and specimens of calligraphy.

The exhibition, which will continue till 10 days after Eid, features 35 copies of the Quran, some written in the 13th century AD, 50 first pages of as many copies of the Quran, illuminated and decorated in a tasteful and traditional manner, and 26 specimens of calligraphy.

One of the oldest copies of the Quran on display was written by Yaqut Al-Moosuli, a well-known calligrapher of the Abbasid era, in the 13th century AD in Naskh script.

Encased in a glass-fronted showcase, a large copy of the Quran, written in AD 1447, drew crowds. An explanatory inscription placed next to the Quran said it was written in Bahar script, the only script invented in the subcontinent. The Quran was written in gold.

The Iranian consul-general, Mohammad Musa Hussaini, told newsmen that following the Islamic revolution in Iran great emphasis was laid on teaching of the Quran. “Children are encouraged not only to commit the Holy Book to memory but also to become acquainted with its various topics. We have among us today six-year-old Mohammad Hussain Sulaimanipur who knows the entire Quran by heart. He has visited Europe and the Middle East and has come to Pakistan this Ramazan,” he said.

The consul-general said the Iranian cultural centre organized a Quranic exhibition every Ramazan.

An award-winning Qari, Masood Karimi of Mashhad University, impressed the audience by reciting the Quran in many styles. Four students of Tabriz University -– Mohammad Jabari, Saeed Zara’an, Syed Mohammad Hussain Balaghi and Jawad Sabaghi -– recited the names of Allah in a traditional style and then read out an Arabic naat.