Last week I discovered an incredible feat of craftsmanship. A complete copy of the Holy Quran made entirely out of natural herbs. The pages had been hand pressed from a natural pulp, the ink was made from a mixture of many different herbs and piped onto the pages in a painstaking process and the cover and binding was put together from another textured pulp that acts like a glue when dried. Cased in a handcrafted wooden box, also steeped in aromatic herbs, the book is really a marvellous achievement. It was made by a Turkish man named Hakim Hamdi Taher who took 23 years to make the Herbal Quran and who passed away in 2003 at the age of 106.
His intention was that anyone who reads from the book he made, would benefit from the healing properties of the herbs. By running your finger over the letters, you will absorb the herbs through your fingertips and when you turn the pages, you will inhale the delicious aroma and find the peace of the holy book with all your senses.
He was inspired to make the book from a hadith or a saying of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him): “There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He has also created a treatment”.
The Herbal Quran is owned by Heddem Arts, an India-based art firm and it has been approved as authentic by the Islamic Affaris and Charitable Activites Department here in the UAE.
The book is a wonderful display of dedicatation to a craft and it was on display in a small office in Deira. Howver, the team are looking for partnership with a larger institution and I personally think it would make a great addition to an Islamic museum.
* For more info visit: www.heddemarts.com
