Aligarh: A two-day book and manuscript exhibition organised by the Maulana Azad Library of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in collaboration with the ‘Ali Society’ on the occasion of Ali Day, marking the birth anniversary of Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib, concluded on Wednesday.
Earlier, AMU Vice Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon inaugurated the exhibition and inspected it, which had rare handwritten manuscripts and books in different languages, various copies of the Holy Quran, and a 900-year-old copy of Nahj-al-Balagha, the famous collection of speeches and sayings of Hazrat Ali, which is the oldest copy existing in the Indian sub-continent.
The University Librarian Prof Nishat Fatima and In-charge of the Oriental Section Dr T S Asghar briefed the Vice Chancellor about the historical value and academic relevance of the manuscripts displayed in the exhibition.
Prof Naima Khatoon also released a catalogue of items displayed in the exhibition.
Rare collections displayed in the exhibition also included a fragment of the Holy Quran handwritten on parchment in Kufic style, believed to have been written by Hazrat Ali himself, some verses of Quran handwritten by Jahanara Begum, daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, ‘Qasida-e-Hafiz’ in praise of Hazrat Ali, written in the peculiar style of Khat-e-Nakhun (nail script), various old copies of Nahj-al-Balagha, and a Qasida (laudatory poem) authored by Asif Khan, father of Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan.
University officials and faculty members including Mr. Mohammad Imran IPS, AMU Registrar, Prof Rafiuddin DSW, Prof M Wasim Ali, Proctor, Dr. Syed Mohammad Asghar, Chairman of the Department of Shia Theology, Prof TN Satheesan, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof Towqueer Alam, Dean, Faculty of Theology, Prof Vibha Sharma, MIC Public Relations, Prof Masud Anwar Alavi, Principal, Women’s College, Prof Abid Ali Khan, President, Ali Society, Prof Ali Nawaz Zaidi, Prof Iffat Asghar, and Dr Ali Jafar Abdi among others were present on the occasion.
