We were blessed to participate in the Islamic Art Festival 2014, held by H.H Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi in Sharjah, and the gracious visit of his majesty of our booth, coordinated kindly by Hisham Al-Madhluom, Director of the Art Islamic and Professor Muhammad Nabati at the time, where the notion of the art project was formed. The idea of creating bilingual and durable artwork that are counterpart, in harmony and combine Islamic and Western concepts, as well as meet the needs of non-Muslim audiences was implemented from 2014 to 2020

During these years and after reviewing hundreds of exquisite, outstanding calligraphy artwork created by Islamic calligraphers and artists in different eras and over the centuries, in addition to two decades of specialized activity in the field of non-Islamic calligraphy and Islamic art, a clear window presented itself to generate unique bilingual artwork. In the next three years, 30 bilingual verses in frames selected from the poems of “Ode to Al-Barda” (“The Mantle Adorned” or “The Qasidat Al-Burdah”), which is a first in the history of Islamic calligraphy art, were created successfully.

The arrangement of this bilingual collection prioritizes the original content of the poems in Arabic in terms of segmentation and uses Naskh calligraphy above the translated English calligraphy. In each work, two verses of The Mantle Adorned have been prominently and independently displayed. In the translation segment, the need for the English-speaking audience to effortlessly understand the concepts of the content, according to the priority of the mission, has been stressed on based on composition, design and calligraphy. There are four main descriptions inscribed in English on each side of the artwork.

At the top, the phrase "Qasidat al-Burda "
On the left side “the name of the chapter of the selected verses”
On the right side the phrase “Peace Be Upon Him”
On the lower part the phrase “The Poem of the Mantle”

The focus (Vision and Mission) of the International Art Gallery is on creating bilingual and multilingual calligraphy artwork for Islamic literature and content, which ultimately meets the demands of non- Islamic audiences in understanding the original concepts in other languages.

Therefore, creating conventional and artistic calligraphy juxtaposed by the original language within the artwork is the key element of IAG policy.

By using Italic Flourished font and English inscription by hand of Master Mojtaba Karami, a prominent and attractive addition to the Al-Bardah artwork has been created using original Islamic ornamentations, illuminations and Tazhib. Mojtaba Karami has two decades of international calligraphy expertise in various styles and languages, creating and managing this collection of the highest artistic quality.

Naskh calligraphy (the quality has been approved by the Turkish Master of calligraphy Davut Bektas (داوود بكتاش - تركيا ) & Iraqi Master of calligraphy Hakem Ghanam (حاكم غنام يخط حروفيات برؤى معاصرة)) was used for the content of the poems in terms of legibility.

After research and careful review, the translations of The Mantle Adorned by Dr. Syed Mohiuddin Qadri, published in 2008, was chosen as the closest and most meaningful. Dr. Qadri is the author and translator of many Islamic books and texts.

(Urdu: محمد طاہر القادری‎‎; born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who founded Minhaj-ul-Quran International and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. He was also a professor of international constitutional law at the University of the Punjab. Qadri is also the founding chairman of various sub- organisations of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. He has authored 1000 works, out of which 550 are published books, including an "eight-volume, 7,000-page Qur’anic Encyclopedia in English covering all 6,000-plus verses of the Koran." He has delivered over 6000 lectures and has been teaching subjects such as Islamic jurisprudence, theology, Sufism, Islamic philosophy, law, Islamic politics, hadith, Seerah, and many other traditional sciences.

Islamic Ornamentation (Tazhib) of The Mantle Adorned bilingual artworks collection was based on common Islamic forms in the 7th to 9th centuries AH (Timurid period), which at its height used decorative and geometric motifs in two main colors of azure and gold, the colors used in this art collection, creating magnificent artwork.

The Islamic ornamentation (Tazhib) design are thematically similar and executed in the same way on pages facing each other. All the poems will be published in an exquisite bilingual book.

The Mantle Adorned bilingual artworks collection was based on common Islamic forms in the 7th to 9th centuries AH (Timurid period), which at its height used decorative and geometric motifs in two main colors of azure and gold, the colors used in this art collection, creating magnificent artwork.

All artwork is created on handmade paper and six natural colors are used. Surrounding each calligraphy segment is handmade paper in two styles of cloud, wind and giraffe, decorated with gold.

The arrangement is hard-pressed on German replica cardboard. Some calligraphy content has been gilded with 24 carat gold.

The collection includes 31 exquisite verses of The Mantle Adorned canvases, selected by the Literature Experts team from 10 chapters of The Mantle Adorned.

1 superb showpiece, as the pride of the collection, has been created in the dimensions of the rest of the set and has the following content.

Naskh Calligraphy "وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيم"on top
With Title: "قصيدة البردة"
With the name: Sheikh Sharfuddin Mohammad Al-Busiri (الامام شرف الدين ابی عبدالله محمد البوصيري)
With Flourished Italic calligraphy and the pronunciation of القصیده البرده Qasidat al-Burda in English
The name Sharffuddin Abi Abullah Mohammad al-Busiri in Flourished Italic
“The Poem of the Mantle” in Flourished Italic
On the left side the English translation of the verse of the calligraphy, translator:
“And thou on an exalted standard of character.”- Yusuf Ali
- On the right side the French translation of the verse in Flourished Italic calligraphy, translator:
“Et tu es certes, d’une moralité imminente.”- Muhammad Hamidullah

31 verses of the “Qasīdat al-Burdah or al-Burda (Ode of the Mantle)” collection by the great Mystic “Imam al-Busiri” of Egypt

Titles of Chosen Verses:

The Praises of Prophet
The Blessedness of the Invitation
The Glory of the Qur’an
The Mi’raaj of Rasulullah
The Jihad of Rasulallah
Seeking Forgiveness from Allah Ta’aala and Intercession by of Rasulullah
The Seeking of Salvation and The Requisition of Necessities

Number of works: 31
All artwork dimensions: 30x40 cm.
Dimensions including decorative fringe: 35x45 cm
Dimensions inside frame: 49x62 cm
Dimensions of Outer frame: 60x76 cm
Weight of Each Piece: 500 grams
Weight of Piece and Frame without glass:3000 grams
Weight of Piece and Frame with glass: 3800 grams

The frames were designed and executed exclusively for this project by the Design Experts at the International Art Gallery, due to the importance of content and uniqueness of the bilingual calligraphy project.

Each frame is an artwork in its own right and created by hand through the hard efforts of handicraft specialists in a period of 24 months and possess registration marks.

The frames are made of Georgian beech wood and have dimensions of 55x68 and a depth of 2.5 cm.

Visualization and form is based on mosque arches and the architecture of the mosques of Cairo, Morocco and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in the UAE.

Each frame has six decorative segments, which are composed of epoxy material combined with 24-carat gold sheets, with a distinct reflection when displayed in suitable light. The body of the frames is white and in combination with the ornamentation on the six sides of the frame, it evokes a sense of spiritual, purity and status.

This artwork collection now includes 30 verses of the entire collection and in the next phase an exquisite book, which includes all the verses in Arabic and English, as the first bilingual volume will be created, printed and offered to all devotees of Qasidat al Burdah.