Iraqi calligrapher completes six-year handwritten Quran

Iraqi calligrapher Ali Zaman in Istanbul completed a colossal, six-year handwritten Quran made of 302 double-sided scrolls, now kept at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque.

Ali Zaman, an Iraqi calligrapher, has completed a colossal handwritten manuscript of the Quran after six years of work in Istanbul. The finished work is stored at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque. Zaman moved his family to Istanbul in 2017 to pursue the project and to further his study of calligraphy. Islamic calligraphy, known in Turkish as hat, has a long history in the region and is often regarded as a devotional art. Key details: - The manuscript comprises 302 double-sided scrolls, each about 4 meters long and 1.5 meters wide (approximately 13 by 4.9 feet). - Sheets were custom made for the project using traditional materials, including eggs, corn starch and alum. - Zaman, 54, was born in Ranya in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah governorate and first became interested in calligraphy around age 12. - He worked from dawn to dusk in a small room at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque and completed the manuscript entirely by hand over six years. - The work is being described as the world's largest handwritten Quran but has not received official recognition; Guinness World Records lists a largest printed Quran from the Holy Quran Museum in Mecca in March 2025. The manuscript is stored covered at the mosque, and Zaman has said he hopes a buyer will place it on public display. Summary: The project underscores the ongoing cultural role of Islamic calligraphy and represents a multi-year personal commitment to craft. Zaman seeks a buyer or institution that can display the manuscript; the timing and location of any public exhibition are undetermined at this time.