exhibition islamMUSEUM COLLECTION |

E X H I B I T I ONI S L A M

www.exhibitionislam.com

QURAN MANUSCRIPTS | COINS | ARTEFACTS

left: intense 17th Century opening pages of a hand written Quran from the Indian subcontinent. Naskh Arabic script with symmetrical axis.

Front Page: Rare 8th Century Hijazi Script. Written on veluum during the 1st/2nd century in Islamic calender.

Exhibition Islam is an independent, UK registered charity that specialises in promoting a greater awareness of Islamic history and civilisation across the globe. Exhibition Islam delivers museum style exhibitions using the latest educational resources such as modern posters, historical artefacts, interactive models and other display items to showcase themed exhibitions.

The Exhibition Islam Museum Collection boasts more than 400 ancient manuscripts from across the world, ranging from China to Spain and spanning over 1400 years - the entire period of Islamic civilisation. In addition, the Exhibition Islam collection showcases rare Islamic coinage and other artefacts that have been preserved and collected over many years..

“exhibition islam was displayed at the Guildhall museum, Rochester, UK. the exhibition and launch event conference highlighted the linkages between

islam and the other great world religions giving an important multi-faith and multi-cultural dimension to the message of the exhibition. the exhibition was

an important ‘showcase’ event for the local and regional islamic community. the organisers of exhibition islam are to be congratulated for

the hard work and great enthusiasm that they invested in the organisation of the exhibition.”

Peter boreham ba ma FRsa FZs (Curator)Rochester Guildhall museum

Exhibition Islam has showcased its collections in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Our exhibitions have been showcased at 100`s of churches, museums, libraries, mosques, shopping centres, corporate, cultural & financial centres. “Exhibition Islam’s curators have worked diligently to bring into the collection, everyday copies of the Qur’an that not only enhanced the quality of the collection but also told the story of its preservation.”

Dr. Ahmad ibn Saifuddin Associate professor

Al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud | KSA

left: Detailed view of 16th Century Quran from Uzbekistan. Written in Muhaqqaq script.

above Right: Rare Andalusian Quran fragment on Vellum. Written in Maghribi script with illuminated devices with diacritics.

Right: Decorative header on the opening pages of a 17th Century Chinese Quran. Written in Sini script with dark green and gold geometric design.

above left: Pages from a 15th Century North African or An-dalusian Quran. Written in Maghribi script using brown ink or originally white paper.

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“Exhibition Islam was the highlight of Islam Exhibition SA 2009. Over and above the 66 cubicles of the bigger exhibition, Exhibition Islam took up 574 m2 and was undoubtedly the core of Islam Expo SA 2009. Their display on Islam, housed priceless manuscripts including Qur’ans, Bibles and Torahs as well as Islamic Coins, Artefacts and information on Biology, Astronomy, Egyptology, Architecture and Mathematics within the Qur’an and this proved to be very interesting and fascinating to visitors of all walks of life.

At the Opening Ceremony Minister Laluma Xingwana, National Minister of Arts and Culture, praised the Exhibition Islam Team for their magnificent attention to historical and artistic detail and found the Exhibition Islam Display to be necessary and important in bringing people of different religious and cultural backgrounds, together.

The Consul General of the Chinese Embassy was so surprised to see the Qur’an translated into Chinese and was fascinated to realise what various verses of the Qur’an meant. Upon leaving the Exhibition Islam area, visitors could purchase books and these were sold out by the second day of the exhibition, another indication of the popularity of what was on offer at the Exhibition Islam area at Islam Expo SA 2009.”

Fatima Allie Communications Manager

ITHEKO Event Management | South Africa

left: Elegeant Muhaqqaq calligraphy of the opening chapter of the Quran.

“By implementing the latest exhibition resources and technological advances in methods of display, Exhibition Islam take a unique and revolutionary approach to developing environments that are accessible to people regardless of cultural, political or economic background.

Exhibition Islam is an exemplary organization in Britain, through their professional approach to campaigning for promoting tolerance and understanding of Islam they have managed not only to engage the British Muslim community but the wider population, offering hope for the flourishing prospect of representing Islam in the UK.” Islam Online Magazine

above: Gold and blue marginal medallion from a 12th Century Abbasid Quran

78 THE MAGNIFICENT QUR’AN

Right: 18th Century ottoman commentary on the Quran. Written on a scroll in Diwani and thuluth script and decorated with foliate designs.

However, Allah also makes it clear that these earlier Divine revelations are no longer valid, because they have been superseded by the �nal revelation, the Qur’an. Even a cursory study of the Qur’an reveals that a large part of it deals with the ‘People of the Book’. Allah highlights where they have strayed from His commandments and calls upon them throughout to accept His Final Message that was delivered by His Final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad . For example Allah says:

“Say (O Muhammad ): “O people of the Scripture ( Jews and Christians)! Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah.” �en, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.”

Surah aal-Imraan (�e Family of Imraan) 3: 64.

“O people of the Scripture! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhammad ) making (things) clear to you, a�er a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: “�ere came to us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.” But now has come to you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is Able to do all things.”

Surah al-Maaidah (�e Table Spread) 5: 19.

�e nature of the previous books

In mankind’s ancient past, writing was largely composed of inscriptions on items such as leather, wood and stone tablets. Pages bound in book form did not exist so wri�en text would have been mostly in the form of separate sheets. �e scripture that was revealed by Allah to the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), for instance, is described in the Qur’an as Suhuf or ‘sheets’; as in the following verses:

“Verily, this is in the former Scriptures – �e Scriptures (Sheets) of Abraham and Moses.”

Surah al-A’la (�e Most High) 87: 18–19.

“Or is he not informed with what is in the Pages (Scripture) of Moses, and of Abraham who ful�lled (or conveyed) all that (Allah ordered him to do or convey).”

Surah an-Najm (�e Star) 53: 36–37.

�e ‘sheets’ sent down to Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), however, are no longer with us and have been lost long ago. Similarly, the scripture that Allah revealed to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was the Taurat, although the Qur’an refers to it both as the ‘book’ and the ‘sheets’. For example, when referring to the Taurat as the book, Allah Says in the Qur’an:

Part of an early 20th century decorative Qur’an scroll showing the �rst four words of Surah ad-Dhuha (�e Morning Hours, 93). Hand wri�en in large thuluth script and splendidly illustrated with strong use of colour. Each word of the surah is wri�en within alternating blue and red panels. Most likely of Syrian or Lebanese origin. �e scroll measures 5 metres in length and has a width of 30 cm.

62 THE MAGNIFICENT QUR’AN

The Exhibition Islam Museum Collection showcases an outstanding array of manuscripts of the Holy Quran and of illustrated scientific and theological manuscripts. A central place has been given to the art of calligraphy, which plays an essential role in the art of the Islamic world.

left: Magnificent page from a 16th Century Quran from the Middle East. Written in a variety of styles using Muhaqqaq, Thuluth and Naskh scripts. Surrounded by multi-coloured foliate work,

below: Part of a 20th Century Quran Scroll. Hand written in Thuluth script. Likely Syrian or Leba-

nese. Scroll length is 5th meters.

568 THE MAGNIFICENT QUR’AN

568 THE MAGNIFICENT QUR’AN

above: Brass quill holder and ink well. 18th Century from Ottoman Turkey.

below: North African calligraphy inkwell. Made from stone.

aRteFaCts

sPain Umayyad coin of Hisham issued during 8th century Spain.

1/4 dirham coin minted in the 15th Century in Granada.

13th century coin minted during the Nasrid dynasty, which was last Muslim dynasty in Spain.

Very rare coin issued during Umayyad rule in 8th century Muslim Spain.

Amirid of Valencia. Fractional dinar minted during the reign on Abd al-Malik in the 11th century.

Coin issued by al-Qadir Yahya II of Toledo, Valencia during the period of Islamic rule in 1090 CE.

Silver coin minted by the Caliph Abd al -Rahman III during Spanish Muslim rule in the 10th century.

PoRtUGal 13th century Islamic Portuguese coin minted during reign of Musa bin Muhammad. Very rare example and only known medieval coin to reference Portugal as Algarve.

IBN WAZIR 1/2 QUIRATE MINTED IN Islamic PORTUGAL

1/2 Quirate minted by Ibn Wazir in 12th century Islamic Portugal.

Issued by al-Zahir (11th century) 1/4 dinar weighing 0.82 grams.

1/4 dinar minted by al-Hakim (11th century) in Sicily.

1/4 dinar minted by al-Muntasir (11th century) in Sicily weighing 1.02 grams.

17th century Islamic coin from Islamic Greece.

GReeCe

Silver coin minted during the 16th century

17th century coin minted in Thessaloniki.

17th century coins issued in Cyprus.

CyPRUs

The Exhibition Islam Islamic Coin Collection features coins from across the world including an exceed-ingly rare collections minted by Muslims in Europe . Mint locations include Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Cyprus, Crete, The Island of Chios, Greece, Bosnia, Serbia, Turkey, Romania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, India and large Parts of Africa including Morocco, Zanzibar, Algeria, Egypt and many other countries.

Exhibition Islam has coins from many of the regions in Spain including extreme-ly rare coins from regions such as Mallorca, Tortosa and Cabra. The coin minted in Cabra is so rare only 2 are known to exist with the other one being in a museum in Madrid . Our collection also contains a rare Islamic coin minted in Beja in Portugal , only 3 good samples of this coin are known to exist.

siCiliy

Exhibition Islam has worked with reputable partners including Buckingham Palace, Mayor of London Office, Embassy of Denmark, Embassy of Germany, Embassy of Kuwait, Saudi Embassy, Embassy of UAE, Embassy of Qatar, Home Office, British Muslim Heritage Centre, Central London Mosque, Edinburgh Mosque, the Muslim World League, the Joseph Interfaith Foundation, United Nations World Harmony Week, Alif Aleph UK, HSBC Bank, Barclays Bank, Bristal Library and more

DELIVERED

OVER

1400EXHIBITIONS

ATTRACTED

OVER

1.5MILLION

VISITORS

WORkED

WITH OVER

1000 pARTNERS

Portfolio exhibition islam mUseUm ColleCtion

Exhibition Islam248 Brockley Road

London, UKSE4 2SF

Registered Charity: 1121147Mobile: +44 (0) 7956 509 725

+44 (0) 7900 266 969

Email: mail@exhibitionislam.comumar@exhibitionislam.com

Web: www.exhibitionislam.com

E X H I B I T I ONI S L A M