Qur'an Ghubari scroll

Qur'an scroll fromTurkey, 15 CE. ACM, Singapore

Close up of the Qur'an scroll, 14 x 112 cm

If there was a fire in the museum, which artifact would I save? Tough question since there are so many beautiful artifacts in the museum but hands down, it would have to be a 500 year old Qur’an scroll written in ghubar script. The scroll measures 112cm x 14 cm and amazingly, it contains the entire contents of the holy book of the Muslims, the Qur’an.

The holy Qur’an contains God’s revelations to Prophet Muhammad in the 7^th CE and literally means recitation. It comprises of more than 77 thousand words in Arabic and they are all contained here, in a space measuring just over 1 meter. What you can see from far is a popular Shi’ite invocation but on closer inspection (click on the pictures to enlarge them), you can see minuscule words entirely handwritten in an Arabic calligraphic script called ghubar, which in Arabic means dustlike. The letters are as tiny and delicate as dust, often measuring between 1.3 and 3mm, like an army of tiny ants on paper. The ghubar script was probably first developed to convey military messages via carrier pigeons or pigeon post - olden day courier service!

What I find absolutely fascinating is the skill of the calligrapher who has painstakingly written this scroll. I can’t imagine the number of hours spent practicing and planning it and since it contains the sacred words, there can be no mistakes. Traditional tools used by Arabic calligraphers are carbon-based black ink, a reed pen called qalam and paper. The qalam is hand-cut by the calligrapher at an ergonomic angle and is slit down the center to hold ink. The width of the reed pen used to write ghubari is so small, barely visible to the naked eye.

Qalam made of reed used by Arabic calligraphers

There is a story that I like to tell the visitors. A 15th CE calligrapher eager to impress the ruler Timur (also known as Tamerlane) presented him with a miniature ghubari Qur'an that was so tiny that it could fit under a signet ring. You would think that the great ruler would be impressed, but it was not so. The calligrapher then made a Qur'an so large that it needed to be carried in a cart and for this, he was handsomely rewarded.

The ghubari script is too small to be read so the purpose of the scroll is as a talisman, since the words of God are believed to have protective powers. Ghubari miniature Qur’an were mainly commissioned for their portability and some were put into cases that were worn either around the neck or around the arm. Out of respect for the sacred words, they would have to be worn above the waist.

Miniature Qur'an from Persia or Anatolia, 14 CE (7 x 4.9 cm). ACM, Singapore

After looking at these Qur'ans, you realize why Arabic calligraphy is considered the highest art form in the Islamic world.