'Qur'an-Centred Creative Writing Workshop' with Ehsan Khan and Jawaad Shah

This workshop empowers participants to imagine and write creatively, inspired by the Quran. It brings together insights from traditional exegesis (tafsir) of the Quran and a craft approach to creative writing, influenced by leading authors of English literature and fiction.

In the workshop participants will follow a carefully considered method for observing the world through prompts and framing found in divine revelation, and for improving how they express these observations in the form of imaginative narrative writing. They will leave the workshop understanding how creative writing can be a sacred act, how they can continue to engage more closely with the Quran and their own experiences in their writing, and how they might use the approaches taken in the workshop with their own writing communities and groups.

This event is part of the Muslim LitFest. Find our full programme of events here: buytickets.at/muslimlitfestlondon26

Ehsan Khan is an imam and writer, based in London. He trained as a professional economist at SOAS, University of London, and worked for the UK Civil Service in development, trade and environmental policy for 5 years. After a profound encounter with the Quran, he moved to Fez, Morocco, where he studied traditional Arabic and Islamic studies with scholars at the University of Qarawiyyin. He continued his studies for three years at Cambridge Muslim College, where he specialised in researching stories in the Quran. Ehsan now works in community education and has led congregations as an imam across the UK since 2021. He also works as a researcher of the Quran, for the Bayyinah Foundation.

Ehsan is now working on a novel and a series of children’s stories for publication, informed by his study of the Quran. He is on a mission to grow the appreciation of imaginative writing in Muslim communities and drive their production of good literature.

Jawaad Shah is a researcher and educator based in London. He studied for several years on the traditional ʿālimiyyah programme at Ebrahim College before completing a BA (Hons) in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College, a programme grounded in the close study of classical Arabic texts alongside modern Western thought. He continues to pursue advanced study of the Arabic language and tafsir. Jawaad is the Research Manager at Bayyinah Institute, where his work centres on the classical tradition of Quranic exegesis: analysing and synthesising the works of major commentators and rendering their insights accessible to general audiences. He also teaches Bayyinah’s course in tadabbur.

A lifelong reader, Jawaad has always loved literature for its power to shape the way we see the world; that same love draws him to the Quran as a text of unmatched literary beauty. He is especially interested in how the Quran uses language to move its reader and shape the way they perceive the world, and in what that can teach those who want to write.

This event is sponsored by Beacon Books
Publishing classic and contemporary books since 2012
www.beaconbooks.net