Devout Yemeni keeps tradition of Islamic calligraphy alive

 Ali Qassim, a calligrapher in Sanaa, is keeping the centuries-old tradition of hand-writing the Koran alive, crafting each page with painstaking precision and care.

Working patiently at his home, Qassim carefully dips his pen into ink before forming each letter by hand. The process demands not only artistic skill but also a deep understanding of the rules that govern the writing of the Koran, where every page, verse and chapter must be precisely balanced, he said.

“Working with verses from the Koran is different, not like writing anything else,” Qassim told Reuters, adding that the placement of each chapter, page and verse needs to be measured carefully.

Producing a handwritten Koran requires years of practice and experimentation. Qassim said his early attempts helped him test different papers, pens and techniques before embarking on the larger project of copying the holy book.

He now uses specially treated paper designed for Koran manuscripts. Like traditionally burnished papers used by calligraphers in the past, modern industrially processed papers prevent ink from bleeding through to the reverse side of the page.

The tradition of hand-copying the Koran is historical and was once the primary means of preserving and disseminating the Islamic holy book before the advent of printing technology.

While printed copies are now widely available, handwritten Korans continue to hold cultural, artistic and spiritual significance.

Despite the challenges facing Yemen after years of conflict and economic hardship, practitioners such as Qassim continue to preserve the art form, passing traditional techniques to a new generation and ensuring that the centuries-old craft of hand-writing the Koran endures.

Camera: Adel Al Khader, Production: Abdulrahman al-Ansi, Editing: Zainab Elhaj, Writing: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters