A Facsimile Edition of the gQurfanh, Hafiz Osman As the Qurfan (Koran), the most sacred book for Muslims, has great metrical beauty when recited in Arabic, it has been said it should not be translated into other languages. On the other hand, since the art of painting did not sufficiently develop in the Islamic world due to the prohibition of idol worship, Arabic calligraphy has been greatly esteemed instead. That of Quranic passages has always been applied on the surface of sacred buildings as ornamentation. The above photo is a couple of pages from the facsimile edition of the historical Qurfan transcribed by Hafiz Osman (1642-98), a renowned calligrapher in the Ottoman Dynasty, held in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, displaying the highest Islamic aesthetics. It is in the calligraphic style of Naskhi; human and animal figures were never drawn for ornamentation, but flower and foliage patterns were permitted.