Dubai Expo: World's largest Quran goes on display at Pakistan Pavilion

The Expo 2020 Dubai showcased part of the world's largest Holy Quran at the Pakistan Pavilion on Monday.

Award-winning Pakistani-Canadian artist Shahid Rassam displayed Surah-e-Rahman cast on a canvas with aluminium and gold-plated script for the first time in more than 1,400 years of Islamic history.

Adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, Pakistan Ambassador to the UAE Afzaal Mahmood, senior officials of Expo 2020, diplomats and corporate executives attended the historic event to launch the first-of-its-kind project at the world's largest trade fair being held in Dubai for the first time in the region.

"This exhibit of the Holy Quran will not only be the biggest in the world but the most unique of its kind. This artefact is unique and innovative from various aspects. Its greatest distinction is that its words aren't written with colour or ink; instead, the words are cast," Rassam told the media.

He said there were 1,585 letters, 352 words, 78 verses and three rukus in Surah-e-Rahman that were cast on a high-quality canvas with aluminium and gold-plated words.

"We will be displaying Surah-e-Rahman on six pages. First, two pages have only five lines on each page, while the rest four pages have 10 lines on each page. There are a total of 50 lines in Surah-e-Rahman," Rassam said before his artwork went on display at the Dubai Expo.

In reply to a question, he said 15kg of aluminium and more than one kilogram of gold had been used to cast Surah-e-Rahman on the special canvas.

"With the help of a team of 200 artists, painters, calligraphers, designers and sculptors, I completed this amazing Surah-e-Rahman project in four months," Rassam said.

Thread: A part of the world's largest Holy Quran, which unveiled at Expo 2020 Dubai on Monday, attracted a large crowd outside the Pakistan Pavilion as visitors thronged the pavilion to see the one-of-its-kind project. Photos by M. Sajjad pic.twitter.com/d36LqG2CHQ

— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) January 24, 2022

Irfan Mustafa, a Dubai-based entrepreneur and leading corporate leader, sponsored the project and convinced Rassam to share his work at Expo 2020.

He appreciated Pakistani artist's quality work and said the Quran project would be a good addition to Expo 2020 Dubai.

"This is an extraordinary masterpiece and one of its kind in the world. I am sure expo visitors will see and appreciate the hard work done by Rassam and his team," said Mustafa.