A BAHRAINI history enthusiast has put together a 1.25km reel of Quran, adding it to his collection of 80 unique versions of the holy book from across the globe.
Ebrahim Badaw, 59, put his skills in carpentry, welding and crafts to good use as he rolled a single line of Quran into a two-reel contraption.
“I plan to apply for a Guinness World Record for the longest single-line spool of Quran,” the Muharraq resident told the GDN.
“From the first to last surah (chapter) – ‘Al Fatiha’ to ‘Al Nas’ – the tape is 1,250m long. However, the overall length is 1,280m when duaas (prayers) are counted.
“Symbols marking sections, sub-sections and page numbers are included, along with ‘in the name of God’ which precedes every surah in the Quran.”
The BDF pensioner started the project following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I wanted to dedicate my time for prayers and thus came up with the Quran plan,” he said.
He took several breaks in between and completed the reel shortly before Ramadan this year.
“I decided to unveil my creation on Laylat Al Qadr, or the Night of Destiny, to mark the fact that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet during Ramadan,” said Mr Badaw.
He said his creation will be helpful to readers as they can focus on a single verse or aya at a time.
“I wanted to make a one-of-a-kind version of the Quran which could possibly attract attention to the holy book and showcase its significance to the world,” he added.
“Eventually, I would like to gift it to a religious or cultural institution for display.”
Mr Badaw had to make several prototypes before finalising the project. Having learnt carpentry from his elder brother, he used his skills to make a set of wheels to roll his Quran tape on.
“My idea was to turn the wheels through a motorised system, but it spun too fast and hence I dropped the plan,” he said.
“I experimented with different hand-cranks, metal spools, plumbing pipes, bearings and even welded parts to achieve the end result.
“As for the actual reel, I made a small rig to cut and separate the lines of the holy book so that they were all 4.5cm in width.
“I stuck them end-to-end on regular printer papers and rolled them on a 60cm wheel.”
The end product includes a wooden stand decorated with some of the most-repeated verses of the Quran, written in intricate calligraphic styles.
The stand also showcases historic versions of the holy book along with descriptions and facts about them.
“I have a collection of 80 Qurans in seven different languages, both hand-written and printed,” said Mr Badaw.
“A copy that is close to my heart is a version mechanically printed in India in the mid-1800s.”
zainab@gdn.com.bh
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