Written words have always had a special place in Islam, and the Holy Book, The Qur’an, has always been an endless source of inspiration for artists. The art of decorating the mushaf i.e., the Qur’an manuscripts arose from a love for God’s word, and examples of it can be found all over the world, that is, wherever Islamic culture and civilization have spread.
Numerous institutions, libraries, and museums around the world house beautifully decorated mushafs. Bosnia and Herzegovina inherits the tradition of copying and decorating the mushafs, which is testified by manuscripts in domestic and foreign collections. Mushaf as a book has a central place in the Islamic civilization and is considered as the best representative of book arts.
This special book co-written by Ćazim Hadžimejlić and Haris Dervisevic, presents the preserved treasure, the art of decorating the mushaf, through the most beautiful mushafs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 40 mushafs that are represented in this special monograph are selected as a result of detailed work and based on their cultural, historical and artistic values. Each manuscript has been carefully aesthetically, codicologically, and palaeographically processed
This bilingual monograph, in Bosnian and English, has been substantiated by rich literature, first-class sources, and numerous photographs to introduce the masterpieces of the arts of the book in the Islamic world to its readers. The scientific monograph, which is the result of many years of dedicated work and research and includes both public and private collections, brings an immensely important work to light.