The Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation is pleased to announce its first in-house curated exhibition at the MIAH Islamic Arts & Heritage Gallery in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Taught by the Pen: the Qur'an and Calligraphy explores the role of the art of calligraphy in the preservation of the Qur'an in its written form through the centuries. The exhibition is being launched during the month of Ramadan, during which the first verses were revealed. Among the items on display are original folios, manuscripts and works of art over the span of one thousand years from across the Muslim world - from China to sub-Saharan Africa - as well as the tools and materials used by calligraphers. We also have on display loans of reproductions of the 7th century Birmingham Qur'an Manuscript (Cadbury Research Library, Birmingham), the 11th century Qur'an by master calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwāb (Chester Beatty Library, Dublin) and the 17th century Qur'an of the Moroccan sultan, Mulay Zaydan (El Escorial, Madrid).
Accompanying this exhibition is a beautiful and thoughtful sonic study by sound artist Tasawar Bashir of the night sky above Jabal al-Nūr in Makkah on the 24th August in the year 610 – thought by many to be the night of the first encounter between the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and the Angel Jibrīl (as).[1] Radio and spectral data from the stars, planets and cosmological phenomena that were visible on the night of the first revelation are turned into musical sounds and combined with a choir of Qur’anic recitation that extends across time and space into infinity. Elements found in the Birmingham Qur’an Manuscript, certain Maqqata’āt and verse 109 from Sūrah al-Kahf are referenced throughout this work.
The exhibition will be open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 12pm-6pm, starting from Friday 15th March until 25th May 2024 (although, it may close earlier depending on demand).
Tickets
We would like to make this exhibition as accessible as possible and so have subsidised the price of the tickets. However, we still need to make a small charge for entry to help cover our costs. To guarantee your place, please book your tickets in advance using the link. We will allow tickets to be purchased at the door, however, this is subject to availability and on busy days this may not be possible.
Standard Ticket: £5 (+ ticket fees)
Concessions (students, low-income): £3.50 (+ ticket fees)
Ages over 65: (flexible donation amount - free or whatever you can afford)
Please present proof of concessionary status with your ticket upon arrival, where applicable.
[1] The 27th Ramadan 610 is often cited in Muslim tradition as the date of the first Revelation. However, this is not a universally accepted date.
