The First Al-Aqsa Mosque Quran symbolizes sovereignty

Following in the footsteps of neighboring Arab and Muslim countries, President Mahmoud Abbas commissioned a local Palestinian calligrapher to produce the first Palestinian manuscript of the Holy Quran, which will bear the name of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“Writing one page might take up to 14 hours, while Tashkil 'placing Arabic diacritics’ could take around five minutes per word. This is not an easy task and the text is extremely complex,” said Saher Al-Kabi who came up with the idea around two years ago.

Al-Kabi, originally from the refugee camp of Balata near Nablus, shared his idea with the president and was met with instant approval.  

He told WAFA, “I knew the president would support me, but I never imagined his approval would be this quick.”

The calligrapher, who has a master’s degree in Economics but worked in teaching calligraphy courses in Abu Dis University, realizes the significance of this task; not only because his name will be tied to it, but also because it presents an unprecedented Palestinian achievement.

He said, “It took me months to prepare, including calculating the diameters of the manuscript, choosing the type of paper as well as the pens and ink.”

The material used in the production of the manuscript was imported from other countries, including the Japanese ink and the organic German paper.

The font used to write the Quran is known among calligraphers as 'Naskh’, a simple and clear font that is used in Quran to guarantee clarity and easy comprehension.

With the support of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Islamic Waqf, Al-Kabi began working on the manuscript in 2015 and expects to deliver the finished copy around the end of 2016, if not early 2017.

For Al-Kabi this has always been a dream. He found the art of calligraphy extremely fascinating since he was a young boy. Al-Kabi used to examine the work of a local calligrapher and knew he wanted to become a renowned calligrapher one day.

During his early years, al-Kabi studied calligraphy on his own until he traveled to Iraq to study at the University of Babylon. He then joined the Iraqi Calligraphers Association and began to practice calligraphy every week.

Al-Kabi said he always dreamt about calligraphing the Quran, but he never imagined he would be the one to work on the first Palestinian manuscript. Abbas commissioned Al-Kabi on February 26, 2014, which was followed with around eight months of preparation.

Al-Kabi said the process of producing this copy of the Quran went through two main phases; buying the paper and needed material and obtaining official approval from Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Egypt’s renowned Islamic institution.

He explained, “We work hand in hand with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. After finishing the first five chapters, we sent them to be proofread by experts while I work on the next chapters. We will continue to do so until we finish the entire Quran.”

After being proofread by a special committee in Al-Azhar, the next phase would be applying Islamic decorations and a distinctive style of golden illumination.

Abbas’ Advisor for Religious Affairs and the head of the committee supervising the project Mahmoud al-Habash told WAFA, “After completing the project and finishing Al-Aqsa Mosque Quran, we will decide where to print it.”

He said the Palestinian Authority is planning to print around one million copies in different sizes to be distributed later in Arab and Muslim countries in order to make sure all Muslims remember al-Aqsa Mosque and their responsibility towards the holy city.

Source: WAFA