The King Fahd Printing Complex in Madinah is a huge complex that is devoted exclusively to printing the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Established for over 20 years, it has established an enviable reputation for the care attention to detail and accuracy in its texts and the quality of its production.
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd laid the cornerstone of the complex in 1984. Just two years later, he opened the complex, which by then had incorporated the latest technology, for the production of durable and clear copies of the Qur’an.
The complex was set up to cater to the needs of the growing number of the faithful in the world. With the number of Muslims rising so did the need for more copies of Qur’an. With the diversity of nationalities and languages reverting to the faith and increasing interests in the many fields of study the Qur’an offered, there was an increasing need for accurate translation of the Qur’an into different languages.
Part of the brief was also to produce definitive versions of the Sunnah (the actions of the Prophet (pbuh) and the way he conducted his life). It also complemented the Kingdom’s role in the service of Islam and Muslims and it highlighted the awareness of King Fahd about the importance of serving the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet through a center that was set up to focus exclusively on the propagation of Islam through a special center dedicated to the task.
The complex, which covers about 250,000 square meters, is supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Dawa and Guidance and is more than simply a printing works.
The site, which is virtually a small town, includes a residential area, a mosque, buildings for administration, transport and maintenance areas, printing presses, warehouses, entertainment facilities, a dispensary, a library and restaurants.
The accuracy and correct transcription of the Qur’an is of paramount importance, as it is the definitive Holy text for 1.3 billion Muslims around the world. In response to this need, the quality control system, to monitor the written and spoken content of the output and the print quality control and final checking is probably the best in the world.
Before going to print in any of the many languages — over 28 languages — the text is verified by a production committee which is hugely experienced in Qur’anic fields of study, including Tajweed, methods of recitation, calligraphy and punctuation. It is this committee that authorizes the printing after minutely examining every part of the Mus’haf and making sure of the accuracy of the text in all the stages of production, starting with preparation through to the finished edition.
In the production of the holy text, the Complex uses the best material for preparing, montage, printing and bookbinding. Much of the production is computerized, but the committee considers involvement of human eye and judgment as vital.
Quite apart from the text, the committee takes on responsibility for the physical quality of the Qur’an copies that leave the complex. They rigorously inspect the printing, assembly and binding of every batch under their control and correct mistakes as they are found or in extreme circumstances, scrap a production run and start over again.
In addition to the constant control made of the text control committee, there is an independent facility for the final quality control. It consists of more than 600 workers and starts its work after the process of bookbinding is complete. Their task is to achieve more accuracy and verify the compliance of the production with the technical specifications delineated by the production committee.
The complex, apart from promoting the faith, was set up also to address the needs of a diverse cross-section of the faithful. King Fahd was keen that the meaning of the Holy Qur’an was translated into many languages to extend the reach of Islam. He also wanted the complex to print books on Sunnah and the Biography of the Prophet (pbuh).
The Scholarly Council, which is headed by the Secretary-General of the Complex, is the overseeing authority. Its areas of responsibility include both practical and academic aspects of production. Apart from establishing the future development plans for the complex, the committee is responsible for identifying areas of research concerning the Qur’an, the Sunnah of the Prophet and translations of the meaning of the Qur’an and Islamic subjects; examining research papers and studies submitted by the minister of Islamic affairs and studying reports prepared by the academic committee in the Complex and evaluating them
It is moreover, concerned with all the procedures of verifying the Complex’s editions of the Madinah Mushaf in print, based on Islamic sources of recitation, calligraphy, punctuation and Tafsir, and finally approves printing. The committee is also in charge of verifying handwritten and printed copies of Mushaf, sent to the Complex by agencies and establishments within the Kingdom as well as abroad.
As well as written copies of the Qur’an, recitations — which are a time-honored and hugely respected way of communicating the work — fall under the committee’s mandate. It ensures the integrity and correctness of recordings by comparing them with the different methods of recitation accepted as benchmarks.
The Scholarly Committee also deals with specific matters of translation — especially involving the meaning of the Qur’an — into different languages, studying the problems related to these translations and developing solutions. Among the tasks of the center is to prepare research papers and studies in the field of translation; verifying the current translations; and translating what Muslims need of Qur’anic subjects and fields of study. There is also a subcommittee that specializes purely in matters of translation.
A major duty is to prepare research papers related to Islamic fields of study, particularly, in the field of Dawa. Among its tasks is to conduct studies related to Muslim communities and Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries. It monitors what is written and published against Islam and prepares the appropriate responses. To perform its tasks, the center is supported by an academic council, a research committee, a follow-up and analysis committee, and a committee that supervises the Internet project.
The Center for Serving the Sunnah and Sirah of the Prophet Center was established in 1406 A.H. and was approved by the Islamic University to print prepared and revised material. The center is also concerned with collecting and preserving manuscripts, documents and information related to the Sunnah and the Prophet’s biography and with preparing specialized encyclopedias. The Center also verifies books and prepares the research papers serving the Sunnah and Sirah, refuting doubts raised against these books and prepares needed translations.
It also collects and preserves the manuscripts and publications in addition to documents and information related to the Qur’an and its fields of study. Among its tasks is to verify the books related to the Qur’an and to refute the doubts and misconceptions raised against them. The production capacity of the complex has reached more than ten million copies of different publications a year per single shift; it has the capacity to work in three shifts.
So far, over 90 different publications have been produced. The complex has three manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an of its own; two, according to the narration of Hafs after Asim, and one, according to the narration of Warsh after Nafi’. All were written by the in-house calligrapher and revised by the Scholarly Committee for Revising the Mushaf of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah.
