On May 18, in the museum-exhibition complex “Memorial sign in honor of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgars in 922” took place the opening of the exhibition “Quran – the attraction of harmony”.
The exhibition presented Qurans from the collection of the Kazan Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve “Kazan Kremlin”. The exposition included a rich collection of historically significant and artistically designed manuscripts and editions of the Quran.
The Quran is the holy book of Muslims, which was sent down to Prophet Muhammad in the form of Allah’s revelations. Despite the spread of printing, the tradition of manuscript Qurans was and still is valued much more than the printed versions. The Quran published in 1803 in Kazan became known as the “Kazan Basmasy” (Kazan Edition).
Miniature Qurans in Quran cases were made by virtuosos of calligraphy, as only a great master could write down the full text of the Quran by hand in a book slightly larger than a thimble.
Translations of the Quran are a special phenomenon in modern Islam, one of the evidences of the changing Muslim world. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Muslims used commentaries or interpretations (tafsirs) to understand the text of the Quran, which were almost always longer than the text of the Quran being explained, and translations (i.e. word-for-word transmission of the text in another language) were carried out by non-Muslims. In the 20th century, Muslims themselves began to participate in the preparation and publication of translations. The most spectacular part of the collection displays a rare collection of translations of the Quran into European and Oriental languages.
The collection includes all known translations of the Quran into Russian by 2008, including a facsimile edition of the first translation into Russian from the original Arabic by Professor of the Kazan Theological Academy G. S. Sablukov in 1907.
The exhibition “Quran – the attraction of harmony” opened to the visitors the richest traditions of the multifaceted art of Islam based on the Quran and addressed to the Quran, gives an opportunity to feel how the harmony of calligraphy and decoration of the presented works of art fascinates, attracts with the depth of meaning and images.

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