Mushaf Quran Berlumuran darah dalam pelukan Imam Masjid Baiturrahman, Maret 1873 The Quran of a ‘dead Achehnese priest’ In 1873 the Dutch invaded the independent state of Acheh, North Sumatra. The colonial army launched in March 1873 a large-scale attack on the Great Mosque of the ‘capital’, which was fiercely defended by the Achehnese. The building was set ablaze by gunfire. J.H.A. IJssel de Schepper, an infantry captain, found a Quran on the body of a dead Achehnese ‘priest’. He first took the manuscript to his bivouac on the coast but afterwards, on 27 April 1873, decided to send it to Michael Jan de Goeje, professor of Arabic at Leiden University. De Goeje instantly passed it on to the University Library. This ‘most remarkable object’ as the Leiden daily newspaper Leidsch Dagblad called it in its edition of 9 July 1873, is beautifully illuminated on the opening and final pages in red, black and gold. The red full-leather Oriental binding with its typical flap is blind-tooled with delicate ornaments. Tradition has it that the book is stained with blood, but this has never been ascertained. The high-resolution scan of this manuscript was made by the digitisation company of Dr. Harald Fischer from Erlangen, Germany, and kindly donated by him to Leiden University Library. This Achehnese Quran with its turbulent history can now be consulted in its entirety on the Digital Special Collections website. [Or. 2064]. https://socrates.leidenuniv.nl
Oleh: Masykur Syafruddin
Direktur Pedir Museum