The largest, the heaviest and the most expensive; these are some of the titles the book, This is Muhammad gained on Monday night in Dubai, as it made its entry into the Guinness World Records. Dr Mohammed Saeed Al Awlaki, Chairman of the board of Mshahed Investment Group, told Khaleej Times that the book is written by Dr Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Muslih, Saudi author and Secretary General of the Complex for Islamic Fiqh Research in Riyadh.
“The book, weighing over 1,500kg, and consisting of 420 pages, costs up to Dh11 million.”
Around 100 people worked on the contents of the almost 5-metre long book which was made of a fine mixture of paper and leather in collaboration with the Awassem International and The World Body of the Definition of the Holy Prophet.
“It took 16 months to pen and print out around one million copies in four languages, including brail and is to be printed into Italian and Danish,” Dr Al Awlaki, the man behind this mind boggling record, added.
Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, unveiled the book which spotlights in a simple and transparent style the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islam as a divine message with humanitarian content.
“The book, a new world record, has been made of a fine mixture of paper and leather, and printed out in Germany,” said Hossam Hamid, Advisor to Mshahed Group Dubai. Renowned Saudi Scholar Dr Shaikh Mohammed Al Urifi said he took the opportunity to urge all Muslims to follow the steps of the Prophet to attain and maintain happiness in the life here and the Hereafter. The book includes very precise details about Prophet Muhammad’s life besides 100 scientific facts in fields of medicine, agriculture, geometry and others that the modern science had recently proven.
Guests got the opportunity to participate in the ‘One Million Signatures Campaign’, and spectators were able to take pictures, sign on it and purchase a mini version of the book. The book will travel around the world to collect signatures from across all nations.
The event saw the presence of members from the Royal families of the seven Emirates, ambassadors and ministers from different departments of the UAE government, as well as diplomats and representatives of various National and International companies.