World’s Largest Ottoman Quran Weighing 176lbs Goes On Show In Egypt

The world’s largest Ottoman Quran weighing 176lbs has gone on show in Egypt.

Photo shows the worlds largest Ottoman Quran during the opening of Egypt’s Islamic Cultural Center in the new administrative capital by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, undated. The Quran weighs about 80 kilograms and was written with iron ink on parchment in Kufic script. (Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency/Newsflash)

The Quran, which weighs an impressive 80 kilogrammes (176 lbs), went on show at Egypt’s Islamic Cultural Centre, which was inaugurated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in the New Administrative Capital, a new urban community in Cairo Governorate, near Cairo, on Thursday, 23rd March.

The Muslim holy book was written with iron ink on parchment in the kufic script and is a priceless piece of Islamic art.

The move comes after Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently inaugurated the cultural centre.

It is reportedly thought that this Quran could date back to Year 1 AH, or 622 AD, when the Prophet Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib.

Although local media reports that it could be a copy that was sent to the Egyptians, or even that it was written during the Umayyad dynasty, making it approximately four centuries old.

Photo shows the worlds largest Ottoman Quran during the opening of Egypt’s Islamic Cultural Center in the new administrative capital by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, undated. The Quran weighs about 80 kilograms and was written with iron ink on parchment in Kufic script. (Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency/Newsflash)

Despite little being known about the exact origins of the book, it is the largest known copy of the Quran in the world.

It was reportedly preserved during the Ayyubid era, the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171 AD, in the Fadhil School, until the school was destroyed.

It is now located in the Holy Quran House in the Islamic Centre of Egypt.