Mangaluru woman handwrites entire quran using traditional dip pen in 2,416 hours; bound volume weighs 13.8 kg

MANGALURU: In a feat of devotion and perseverance, a fresh B Com graduate from Puttur has become one of the few women in India, to handwrite the entire Holy Quran using a traditional dip pen (qalam). Fathima Sajla Ismail, daughter of private school founder-secretary Ismail Baithadka BP and Zohra Jasmine, a homemaker, spent about 2,416 hours meticulously copying all 30 sections (juz) of the Quran in beautiful calligraphy, reproducing every page exactly without a single deviation.A B Com graduate from Markazul Huda Women’s Degree College, Kumbra, Sajla began the handwritten project in Jan 2021 during the Covid lockdown after encouragement from her parents, who felt her steady handwriting and aptitude for calligraphy made her suitable for the task. Writing the Quran by hand with a dip pen requires great discipline, including sitting in one particular direction throughout the process and ensuring absolute uniformity. Calligraphy makes the task even more challenging. However, she paused midway, but she resumed the work on Oct 24, 2024, and finally completed the work on Aug 2. Initially, at one point, an ink blot ruined the initial few pages, and she had to rewrite them from scratch, explained her father.

Sajla completed the work in 302 actual days of writing. Each page took nearly four hours to complete, sometimes eight hours when she wrote two pages a day. The 604-page manuscript was written using white, light blue, and light green paper, with the Arabic letters formed in black ink. The finished volume, bound in red and gold, weighs 13.8 kg and measures 22 inches in length, 14 inches in width, and 5.5 inches in height.“This took me 2,416 hours in total, and I used a traditional nib pen throughout,” said Sajla.

A formal launch of the handwritten Quran was held on Saturday at the Markazul Huda Women’s College in Puttur. Murris Yaseen Sakhafi Al Azhari from the Markaz Knowledge City in Kerala officially released the first copy. Several scholars and college officials were present.The family has been receiving requests to exhibit the handwritten volume. On future preservation of the copy, the family maintained that a decision will be taken after discussing with elders and scholars. The family is also considering applying for Limca Book of Records.