Beit Al Qur'an ( ar, بيت القرآن, meaning: the House of Qur'an) is a multi-purpose complex dedicated to the

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

s and is located in

Hoora Hoora ( ar, الحورة) a district of Manama, the capital of Bahrain. Along with the Central Business District, Adliya, and Juffair, Hoora is considered one of Manama's nightlife centres, with many bars, hotels, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. Established in 1990, the complex is most famous for its Islamic

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, which has been acknowledged as being one of the most renowned Islamic museums in the world.

Establishment

Early Kufic script - Qur'anic Manuscript

Construction of the complex began in 1984 and the museum was officially opened in March 1990 by Abdul Latif Jassim Kanoo. It was built to "accommodate a comprehensive and valuable collection of the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

and other rare manuscripts", a concept which, according to a regional magazine, is unique in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region. The core of the museum's holdings is Kanoo's own collection of Qur'anic manuscripts and Islamic art, since he was reportedly said to have been an avid collector. As his collection grew, he reportedly came to feel a strong sense of responsibility toward the rare manuscripts he had acquired. In 1990, he donated his collection to the museum he established to operate a first-of-its-kind institution dedicated to the service of the Qur'an and the preservation of historic manuscripts. The establishment of the institute was funded completely by public donations, with added help from a variety of people from all walks of life in Bahrain, ranging from heads of state to school children. The facilities at Beit Al Qur'an are free to the general public. The institution and its museum house an internationally celebrated collection of historic Quranic manuscripts from various parts of the Islamic world, from China in the East and to Spain in the West, representing a progression of

calligraphic Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as ...

traditions from the first Hijri century (622–722 AD) and of the

Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...

, to the present day.

Facilities

The Beit al Qur'an complex is open to the public on Saturdays to Wednesdays from 9am to 12pm and 4pm to 6pm respectively. The complex's exterior designs are based on an old fashioned 12th-century mosque. The entire complex itself comprises a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

, and a

that consists of ten exhibition halls. A large stained glass dome covers the grand hall and the mosque. The Mihrab, the sign indicating the direction to Mecca, is covered in blue ceramic tiles with engraved Al Qursi Qur'anic verse. The library consists of over 50,000 books and manuscripts in three languages –

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, English and French – that are mostly on Islam. The institute does specialise in

, and many of the

reference books A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...

have international importance. The library and its reading rooms are open to the public during working hours with internet access available, as well as providing individual rooms for researchers and specialists. There is also an auditorium – named the Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Lecture Hall – which can accommodate up to 150 people, and is mainly used for

lectures A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical inform ...

and

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...

. Guest speakers are brought to Bahrain from many countries, including the US, UK, and France. The conference hall is often made available for general use for public lectures in cooperation with different societies and institutions in Bahrain. The Yousuf Bin Ahmad Kanoo School for Qur'anic Studies is located within the site. The school offers seven study areas fully equipped with computers and modern aids, with separate classes for women and children learning the Qur'an.

Museum

The Al Hayat Museum is the complex's most recognized establishments; it consists of ten halls spread over two floors, exhibiting rare Qur'anic manuscripts from different periods, starting from the first century

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

(700 AD). Manuscripts on parchments that originate from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

), Damascus and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, are present in the museum. The manuscripts undergo special procedures for the preservation of these artifacts, in order to protect them from damage. Some of the artifacts present in the museum include a rare manuscript of the Qur'an dating from 1694 AD which was printed in Germany. The museum also houses the world's oldest translated copy of the Qur'an, which was translated to

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in Switzerland and dates to 955 AD. The first copy of the Qur'an, written during the reign of

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Uthman ibn Affan Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

, is on display in the museum alongside a number of small copies of the Qur'an, which could only be read using optical instruments. Grains, peas and rice, dating from the 14th century in present-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, which contain surahs engraved into them, are displayed in the museum. The exhibits include a rare number of gold and copper

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

and glass from different eras of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, respectively. The works of Islamic scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah are preserved in the museum. It has been claimed to have been "''the only institute in the world dedicated to the Qur'an and Qur'anic studies''".

References

{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1990 Museums established in 1990 Islamic culture Museums in Bahrain Islamic museums Libraries in Bahrain Mosques in Manama Buildings and structures in Manama Tourist attractions in Manama Quranic places

Establishment

Facilities

Museum

See also

References