This weekend, Mumbai residents will get the opportunity to see a 600-year-old Koran calligraphed by Sufi saint Hazrat Makhdum Fakih Ali Mahimi, after whom the Mahim Dargah is named. The Koran will be on display from 10 p.m. on Saturday to 1.45 a.m on Sunday .
Dargah authorities term the holy book a miracle as it has not needed any process for conservation yet, and is in a bold black font that looks freshly written. “The ink is still fresh and the paper is bright. It is hard to believe that this was written more than 600 years ago. We have never used any chemical to clean this holy book,” said Suhail Khandwani, trustee of the dargah. While the exact date of writing of this Koran is not known, it is believed to be calligraphed before 1431 A.D., the year he is said to have died. According to Mr. Khandwani, the thick volume weighs close to 5 kg. “It has more than 200 pages and is about two feet long,” he said.
Every year, the holy book is taken out from the asthana , a silver box padded with velvet, on the 29th night of Ramazan and kept for ziyarat . This year, the night falls on June 24. The annual affair attracts more than 50,000 people from all corners of the city and outside to catch a glimpse of the book.
Before it is put on display, the dargah authorities clean the book with a soft cloth. Once it goes back in the asthana , it isn’t touched for the rest of the year.
The dargah’s librarian and research assistant, Noor Parkar, said Makhdum Shah Baba was the first in the country to write an interpretation of the Koran. “He is known as the first commentator on the holy Koran in India. Therefore, the holy book written by him is extremely precious to us,” he said.
Microfilming the tome
Mr. Khandwani says the book has been kept away from human touch as much as possible to ensure its longevity. “But now, we plan to show it to an expert for a detailed historical analysis. We also have plans to microfilm the entire book so that we will have a replica that can be displayed more often,” he said.
