AN UNRECORDED AUTOGRAPH QURAN OF HAZRAT MIAN MEER LAHORI
IN THE ARCHIVES OF CHUGHTAI MUSEUM AWAITING PROPER RESEARCH
PERHAPS THE BLESSINGS OF ALLAH THROUGH HAZRAT MIAN MEER BE UPON US!
History records many things. Many facts are lost in history. That is life. We have never heard of Hazrat Mian Meer Lahori as a calligrapher but certainly a person who has studied the Quran as well as Deeni books, must be well versed in writing same. It came as a total surprise when we came across a Quran, the initial part somewhat damaged, with a couple of pages missing in all. But the Surat Fateh is there intact. It is sprinkled with gold throughout and has seven golden naqashi pages. The calligrapher has his own individual way of writing his name, different from the usual calligraphers. It is clearly written SHEIKH MEER LAHORI. The date was written but only KHUMAS can be read with ease, meaning Five. The numerical THREE as separate can also be read too. As Hazrat Mian Meer died in 1045 AH, it lead to our research in the date as follows. The word Khumas means FIVE, and we see the THREE fit in like this. The Quran is dated 1043 AH and means FIFTH JALOOS. The date 1043 AH translates as 1633 AD, and as Shah Jahan ascended the throne in 1628 AD, it clearly means the fifth year of his reign. A word can be read as zil ul QAD. This clearly shows that it was written about two years before his death.
The calligraphy is of thicker line, not that of a professional calligrapher with a thinner line to work on. It is the work of a calligrapher who is not a professional one, as most calligraphers would write in a different way. The calligrapher instead of the usual way of expression is writing of himself in a different way too. Not Katba Malik ul Wahab but Baid Al-Mazneeb. The calligrapher endorses the Prophet (PBUH) as well as Hazrat Ali in his elucidation. The Khatimah Quran is slightly different than the normal one elucidated in Hadees literature. These small points all point to the special nature of writing of the Quran.
The Quran was damaged in time but some follower and well wisher repaired it in his own way, but not up to the mark in any way. Even chips missing of the text were filled with missing writing. Surprisingly the binding is intact with a big poetic SEAL on it. We have not been able to read all of it but individually many words can be read, and it means a poetic stanza of same. One clear word is QALANDER, one is LUTUF, one is ILM, one is perhaps KHADIAM, and so on. It is there as an attachment. A rough reading could be KHADIAM AHAL ILM NAM UMEED LUTUF IRAM BANDOBAST QALANDER. People can try to complete the poetic stanza, perhaps it is a sentence which Hazrat Mian Meer used extensively in his life time. Our object is to surprise people, so that they can enjoy the unexpected and appreciate our work in the matter. Perhaps as we have preserved the sacred writing of Hazrat Mian Meer, he can preserve our museum from demolition by the bandits of our times. Allah hamari madad karey! Ameen.
Thanks for sharing. How can i see this Qur’an, illuminated copies of Qur’an was the subject of my phd research.
We have a number of Qurans but our specialty is Qurans related to Lahore. Of course we can share. But let this hot phase pass, as well as Ramazan. We here are with fasts. Thanks for commenting. For more email us at chughtaimuseumlahore@hotmail.com
Where can I see this MS