From Abu Dhabi to Toronto: Illuminating Islamic Art For a New Generation

The rising sun has, for millennia, signalled hope, renewal, and the promise of new beginnings. In the exhibition As the Sun Appears from Beyond, these ideas are reignited through the lens of Islamic art and tradition. Light, both metaphorically and conceptually, serves as the exhibition’s guiding force, offering spiritual insight as well as a curatorial framework that connects past and present. It offers a platform not only for aesthetic reflection, but for deeper understanding: a space where viewers can encounter the spiritual, historical, and contemporary expressions of Islamic culture, and find common ground in its beauty.

FeaturesAnna SeamanDecember 26, 2025Toronto, Aga Khan Museum, exhibition, Islamic Art, Abu Dhabi

Sacred Words: Timeless Calligraphy - A Celebration of Islamic Art Across the Ages

The Taskhent Qur’an – also known as the Samarkand Kufic Qur’an is one of the oldest surviving Qur’an manuscripts in existence. The large lettering, where only a few words populate an entire page, is written in an early version of the kufic script and dates back to the eighth century. About one third of the original manuscript is housed in the Hast-Imam Library in Tashkent, Uzbekistan but one page, in immaculate condition is currently on show at the Museum of Islamic Civilisation in Sharjah. It is a key part of Sacred Words, Timeless Calligraphy: Highlights of Exceptional Calligraphy from the Hamid Jafar Qur’an Collection displaying some of the world’s finest examples of Qur’an manuscripts and Islamic calligraphy owned by Hamid Jafar. Jafar is the founder and chairman of Sharjah-based Crescent Group of companies and he began collecting the rare manuscripts more than 40 years ago.

ReviewsAnna SeamanApril 27, 2023Exhibition, Islamic Art, Calligraphy, Sharjah, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, Qur'an