KARACHI: A magnificent one of its kinds work — the historic and world’s ‘largest’ gold-plated copy of Quran — warrants a big enough museum worthy of housing it.

The expensive project requiring huge funding also asks for patronage from the government and private organisations.

The person behind this incredible work is painter and sculptor Shahid Rassam, who started the project in 2016. At a press conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday he informed the media that the copy of Quran comprising 550 pages and 80,000 words will carry 2,000 kilograms of aluminium and 200kg of gold for gold plating.

Each page is two metres wide and 2.6 metres in length. “Instead of using ink or paint, we are casting the words in metal, and instead of using paper, we are using canvas,” he said.

“Earlier, when I shared my initial work with my artist friends, I was asked by Anwar Maqsood Sahib how long it was taking me to complete the work. On learning that it had taken me two years to do two pages, he asked if my grandchildren would be completing the entire project. That was when I brought in 200 young calligraphers, designers, painters and sculptors to speed up the process,” he said.

He added that when completed, this gold-plated copy of Quran would also need to be displayed in a special museum thus requiring support from the government as well as the private sector. “I am also looking to the Aga Khan Foundation for patronage,” he added.

Writer and artist Anwar Maqsood said Rassam was an artist who followed his heart. “His latest offering is not only appreciated by Muslims, but also by those who are drawn to it for its exquisite art value,” he said.

“Of course, if you are going to ask for a museum to house it, you may also be asking for a hundred thousand security personnel to guard it because it is loaded with gold,” he joked, also adding that the Aga Khan Foundation would be ideal for patronising such a project.

At Dubai Expo

Surah ar-Rahman is currently on display at the Pakistan Pavilion at Dubai Expo.

Irfan Mustafa, a Dubai-based entrepreneur, said that when he heard about the incredible project from the artist, he suggested that it should be displayed at Dubai Expo.

A short documentary about the gold-plated Quran from conception to ongoing work was also played on the occasion with testimonials from several well-known personalities, including Malala Yousafzai, who visited the Pakistan Pavilion at Dubai Expo with her family last month.

KPC president Fazil Jamili said that Rassam had done a great service by creating a magnificent work of art.

“It is a masterpiece. As Pakistanis we are proud of it and feel lucky and overcome with emotion to have been awarded with the opportunity to see this kind of work in our lifetimes,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022