Shafaqna English- A former Iraqi goldsmith completed the world’s largest handwritten Quran with pages measuring 4 meters long and 1.5 meters wide in Istanbul.
Ali Zaman, born in 1971 in Iraqi Sulaymaniyah developed a passion for Islamic calligraphy from a young age. After leaving his trade as a jeweller in 2013, he dedicated himself fully to the art. In 2017, Zaman moved with his family to Istanbul’s Fatih District to further his work.
The massive Quran, which took six years to complete, was written entirely by hand with traditional reed pens in the thuluth script—an Arabic script version of Islamic calligraphy.
Each page, when opened, spans three meters. Zaman avoided modern tools, meticulously crafting every letter himself.
Working alone in a small room at Istanbul’s Mihrimah Sultan Mosque complex, he spent each day on the manuscript, pausing only for meals and prayers.
The project was entirely self-funded. Zaman continued despite serious health challenges, which forced a pause in 2023.