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Pakistan
Printer Develops Original Qur’an Calligraphy Software
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The
software has a security system that prevents tampering with the
sacred verses
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ISLAMABAD,
July 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Islam's holy book, the
Qur’an, may have been online for years in many languages, but a
Pakistan printer has found a way to copy the original calligraphy and
bring the mastery to the masses.
Hassan
Rasheed, a printer from the city of Lahore, has spent five years
developing a software to capture the original calligraphy of the
Qur’an.
He
has managed to turn the ancient script into a unique font that can
reproduce an error-free Qur’an at a fraction of the time it took the
masters some 1,400 years ago, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"Calligraphers
are a dying breed, but with this software, we can preserve their work
and reproduce Qur’ans in any size or shape preserving the original
hand writing style of the masters," AFP quoted Rasheed as saying.
His
innovation, he said, is probably the first known successful bid to
digitize an ancient script that through state-of-the-art printing
technology could mass produce an error-free Qur’an -- a must-have
for the faithful.
The
original text of the holy scripture of Islam is in 30 parts which
include 114 suras, or chapters that have 6,348 verses.
All
that can now be digitally reproduced, preserving the original
handwriting of the master calligraphers.
About
70 percent of the software was developed in Pakistan where a team of
15 people turned Qur’anic artistry into 3,000 unique ligatures, or
combination of characters that make up a word.
With
the accents and other linguistic markings, the 3,000 ligatures were
expanded to 15,000 to give a new lease of life to the dying art of
hand-written text.
Pakistan's
well known calligrapher Rashid Ahmed Chaudhary is already immortalized
by Rasheed. So is the work of Indian master Feroz Hashmi.
"If
we have access to museums, especially in Islamic countries, we can
digitize the hand written characters in very old Qur’ans and have
the hundreds-of-years-old fonts made available all over again,"
Rasheed said.
He
said a good calligrapher takes about 50 years to master his art and
spends at least three years writing a single Qur’an. Rasheed's
software labeled as "Qur'an Publishing System" can
revolutionize reproductions.
The
system also allows users to read the original text and have a
translation in many language side by side with the original text.
The
Qur’an was originally put on paper over 1,400 years ago in Arabic,
but Rasheed's software also allows an "Arabic to Arabic"
interpretation – from the classic to the modern – to adapt to
contemporary times.
While
giving the masses the most ancient text in its purest form, Rasheed
has added some of the latest innovations in software to keep pirates
at bay.
The
software allows anyone to copy chunks of Qur’anic text, but the
system will not allow tampering with the sacred verses. Editing is not
allowed.
"It
is very important that no one tries to change the original text... You
never know, some mischief maker might try to change the meaning, and
we must ensure that it cannot be done," Rasheed said.
He
admits there is no 100 percent infallible method, but is constantly
updating the security in the software to keep hackers who try to break
into computer codes.
And
for those who think they can escape the high price, 5,000 U.S dollars
for one copy of the software, Rasheed has a warning: ‘The digital
Qur’an software has a built-in fatwa (decree). Try to make an
illegal copy and the security incorporated into it can destroy the
offending computer -- there is no mercy for pirates.’
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