By: Murtaza Ali Shah
LONDON: A Pakistani woman has made history by writing the Holy Book of Quran with her hands in beautiful calligraphy to send a message of peace and spirituality in response to the rising level of Islamophobia and racism.
Farkhanda Pervaiz, who is originally from Pakistan, has been living in London since 1992. She decided to write the Qur’an al Kareem with her hand to indulge herself into spirituality and to get a closer connection and feel with the Holy Book as well as the Creator.
It was a sad turning in her life when her husband died over 15 years ago and not only left a vacuum in her life. She was left on her own to deal with lots of issues including raising up three young children without any help. In times of turmoil, she took solace in turning to the Holy Book and decided to start writing the Quran with her own hands in spare time to produce a deeper relationship with the Holy Book.
Farkhanda Pervaiz is a practicing Muslim and her work challenges the stereotype of the Muslim woman as portrayed in the media in general and especially the narrative that has been set about Muslim women all over the world. A Pakistani woman who defied many challenges thrown her way, she is an inspiration to all Muslim women who have found it difficult to deal with the societal pressures.
Her two sons live and work in London and have helped their mother in the accomplishment of her work.
“It took me almost 15 years to complete writing the Holy Book of Quran. This was a project that I loved with my life and I didn’t need to rush it as there was no pressure. It was something between myself and my Allah. It was my desire to write the Holy Quran but I would like to say that it is entirely blessing from the Almighty Allah,” she told The News in an interview.
She said she did not face any problems at all during these years.
“That was my peaceful, spiritual time I enjoyed very much during that period. I had faced many problems when my husband passed away but all my problems were resolved when I turned to the Holy Book. Allah is the best of all helpers and it is through connecting with the Holy Quran that we can have all our problems resolved in the best possible manner.
The hand-written Holy Quran weighs over 20 kilograms and has been adorned in beautiful colours. All pages have been protected with transparent covers. Farkhanda Pervaiz has set up a separate small room where the Holy Book has been kept in safety.
Now she wants to send the Holy Book to Madina in Saudi Arabia. “It is my desire and request to my Almighty Allah that help me to send it to Saudi Arabia. That’s where it belongs to and I will be very relieved once it has been taken there.”
She says that every human should obey the law of their creator Almighty Allah and his all messengers “who came with true laws for the humanity for peace and harmony in this world.
Her passion to write the Holy Book was fuelled when she saw the extremely negative portrayal of Muslims in the western media and society, especially after the blasphemous cartoons were printed and negative articles were written about the last Prophet (PBUH). But instead of becoming negative or turning to pessimism, she went on to embark on a spiritual journey.
“Everywhere in this world there is a negative portrayal of Muslims because Muslims have turned away from the teaching of their Lord and their Holy Book Quran. This is our fault. We cannot blame others for our own shortcomings.”
