Thirty juz' carved
The whole Quran on wooden boards.
One of Indonesia's most remarkable sights for Muslim visitors: the entire Quran, all thirty juz', carved by hand on huge boards of tembesu wood with traditional Palembang ornament, in a lofty hall inside the Al-Ihsaniyah Islamic school in the Gandus district west of the city. The Indonesian records museum lists it as the largest and heaviest Quran in the world. Each board is nearly two metres by one and a half, and the boards are stacked in tiers like the pages of a giant book whose total thickness with its covers is about nine metres; some forty cubic metres of wood went into the carving over several years. The President of Indonesia opened it in January 2012 with delegations to a conference of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation parliaments, and the hall was renovated and reopened in 2022. Entry is about twenty thousand rupiah per adult and fifteen thousand per child, and it opens daily from nine to five. Visitors move between the floors to see the boards up close and read the carved verses. It is inside a religious school, so dress modestly and keep quiet. It is about twenty minutes by car from the city centre and takes about an hour, a moving experience for any Muslim.
The whole Quran on wooden boards.
According to Indonesia's records museum.
Carving in the local style.
Al-Ihsaniyah pesantren, Gandus, west Palembang
The boards are shown for close viewing; it is best not to touch them, out of respect for the Quran and to protect the carved wood, and to follow the staff's instructions.