Twelve years have passed since the inauguration of Mus’haf Qatar, this civilizational achievement that the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on March 9, 2010, crowned with it the first decade of the 21 century, after a journey that lasted for nearly two decades, as an exceptional work worthy of the Noble Book of God, and fulfilling the ambition of this country, whose name has become synonymous with great achievements.
The journey of this Islamic civilizational achievement began, in particular, in August 1991, when the idea was circulated by those in charge of Islamic affairs in the corridors of Sharia courts, even before the establishment of the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, when the Director of the Department of Islamic Affairs at the time Dr. Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Kuwari, submitted a memorandum to HE the Undersecretary of Sharia Courts, containing a proposal to write a Quran (Mus’haf) in the name of the State of Qatar, a proposal that remained the subject of research and study at that time, but without taking any tangible steps, until 1999, when the idea surfaced again.
The revival of the idea of Mus’haf Qatar that year was in the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, which directed its study, and set all conditions, controls and standards to produce it in an optimal way, so that the idea at that time received the supreme approval of Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in May 2000, the State of Qatar began the first practical steps in this great civilizational project.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs began contacting one of the most important centers in the Islamic world in the field of Arabic calligraphy, which is the Research Centre For Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to follow practical steps after that, and work teams begin during the year 2000 by preparing for the project, in accordance with the established plan that includes stages and procedures to write Mus’haf Qatar.
After a year of work and perseverance in studying ideas and visions to bring this Quran into the light in a distinguished manner, an international competition for Arabic calligraphy was announced to write Mus’haf Qatar, specifically in August 2001.
This competition was the largest of its kind in the history of Arabic calligraphy and the first in the history of writing the Noble Quran, and it succeeded in attracting about 120 of the most skilled calligraphers in the Islamic world who competed to win the honor of writing before an international jury formed from experts in the arts of Arabic calligraphy.
After the arbitration panel announced in October 2002 in Istanbul that the competition was limited to two calligraphers only to write Mus’haf Qatar; The writing contracts were signed in Doha in June 2003, to begin the ceremony of writing the Noble Quran.
In January 2007, Doha was on a date with another chapter of this project, represented by the arbitration panel meeting to choose the winning version after a period of review, auditing and comparison between the two works according to purely scientific and objective criteria that required that the names of the two calligraphers be withheld from the authority so that the selection would be accurate, honest and far for any subjective factors, to announce the winning version of the first place for the Syrian calligrapher Ubaidah Muhammad Salih Al-Banki, on January 20, 2007, in the presence of all members of the jury, and media outlets.
The calligrapher Ubaidah Muhammad Salih Al-Banki told Qatar News Agency (QNA) his experience in writing the Mus’haf, which he described as an inspiring and rich experience because it is related to the Noble Book of God, and it came after an international competition that witnessed strong competition between calligraphers around the world.
He added that it has always been his wish to write the Noble Quran, but he did not imagine that he would go through this unique experience and have the honor of writing Mus’haf Qatar, which is being shared and read today by millions of Muslims around the world. He explained that he wrote Mus’haf Qatar twice as part of his participation in the international competition between calligraphers.
He said that his writing of Mus’haf Qatar took about three and a half years of continuous work, and he wrote it with a feather twice, to come out with this image that was not familiar with the history of the Quran.
In his statement to QNA, he confirmed that calligraphy is a precise engineering of letters, its rules and technical standards cannot be skipped, especially as you write the Noble Quran and are required to abide by various other rules related to Ottoman drawing, and to produce the page in a way that combines beauty and good distribution on each page.
He details his writing experience, saying that he was studying the page from the Quran, then he would write it with the regular “pencil” as a draft, and then write it in the final form, and then the stage of correcting and cleaning the letters and putting signs of form and control began, so that one page took more than eight hours of continuous work.
After announcing the winning copy, completing all technical requirements, and agreeing on the final form of Mus’haf Qatar, there was a basic and essential task awaiting those in charge of the project, it is to review the Quran book before the publication is approved, which is a task that requires wisdom, insight and experience because it is related to the Book of God and a historical project for the State of Qatar.
Printing Mus’haf Qatar was not an easy task, so a committee was formed to print the book and one of its competencies was to prepare the studies and specifications necessary for the printing of the Holy Quran and its technical production. This task also included identifying and selecting the appropriate printing press that would undertake this task.
The search for the appropriate printing press was another challenge that must be overcome, and after suggestions, visits and printing samples of the Quran in a number of presses here and there, the Committee settled on the Turkish city of Istanbul due to the distinction of its models from other printing presses.
On March,9, 2010, Doha was on a date with a historical moment witnessed by the Islamic world, and from the Museum of Islamic Art, where HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, attended, under his kind patronage, the ceremony of starting the circulation of Mus’haf Qatar, as part of celebrating Doha as the capital of Arab culture.
Today, 12 years after the start of circulation of Mus’haf Qatar, about 2.5 million copies are currently being circulated inside and outside Qatar, while the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs continues to maintain the highest technical standards in its printing, and to ensure its distribution internally and externally to millions of Muslims in all media, where it is available in text and audio on all phones and smart electronic devices.
