Islamic research academy says ‘No’ to colored versions of Quran

Cairo – The sale of colorful, hardcover publications of the holy Quran has spread in Egypt despite the disapproval of Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy (IRA). If you visit several areas in Cairo, such as Al-Azhar street in Old Cairo, you will find many sellers selling these colored copies, although the IRA had previously ordered the withdrawal of such copies. The IRA stated that black is the only color to be used for Quran verses.

Moreover, colorful copies has spread nowadays to being sold on the social network Facebook, where they are offered with a range of colors, including orange, pink, red and green, among others. Furthermore, there are also copies where the inside pages are colored and decorated.

The prices of the copies of the Holy Quran vary according to their size, as 24×17 centimeter copies are sold for EGP 80, 14×20 sold for EGP 55 and 12×17 for EGP 45.

“When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was alive, there were no copies of the holy Quran, but they appeared after his death,” said Islam Al-Iraqi, a seller of the colorful copies.Why does Al-Azhar reject the sale of colorful copies? Al-Iraqi asked.

Islamic scholar Abdullah Rushdi, former Imam of As Sayyidah Nafisah Mosque, said the ban on the sale of colored copies is attributed to maintain the elegant form and sacred nature of the Holy Quran.

“There are objective scientific rules that should be taken into consideration on printing the copies of the holy Quran, even its font should be in compliance with Sharia (Islamic law),” he explained.

“There are copies of the Holy Quran, whose pages are written with certain colors and they too should also be banned. Provisions of Islamic Sharia stipulate that copied publications of the holy Quran should be respected,” Rushdi added.