Museum Displays Quran Writing Materials from Prophet Muhammad PBUH’s Era

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Museum Displays Quran Writing Materials from Prophet Muhammad PBUH’s Era

The Quran Museum in Makkah’s Hira Cultural District displays replica materials used by the Prophet’s scribes to write the Quran.
Materials include tanned leather, palm stalks, wood, stone and animal bones such as shoulder blades and ribs.
Tanned leather, known as “adeem,” was widely used because it was strong and kept the text well.

The Quran Museum in Makkah’s Hira Cultural District tells the story of how the Quran was first written down during the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The exhibits show replicas of the different materials that the Sahaba, acting as scribes of the revelation, used to record the verses as they came down.

Materials Used by the Prophet’s Scribes

The museum displays models of leather pieces, palm tree stalks, and pieces of wood and stone.

It also shows animal bones, including shoulder blades and ribs, all of which the scribes used to write down verses before the Quran was gathered into one single mushaf.

3 Museum of the Holy Quran Displays Materials Used to Write Quran in Prophet Muhammad PBUH's Era

Why Tanned Leather Was Widely Used

Among these materials, tanned leather, called “adeem” in Arabic, was one of the most common. It was prepared from animal skins after tanning and treating them for writing.

Scribes preferred it because it was strong and could hold written text well, making it one of the main materials used to record the Quran in the early days of Islam.

2 Museum of the Holy Quran Displays Materials Used to Write Quran in Prophet Muhammad PBUH's Era

Part of a Wider Cultural Experience

Alongside the exhibits, the museum provides information about each material, explaining its properties, why it was chosen, and how it was written on. This gives visitors a clear picture of the setting during the early years of Islam and the effort put into preserving the Quran until it reached the Ummah in the form it was written.

The Quran Museum is one of the main cultural sites in the Hira Cultural District.

1 Museum of the Holy Quran Displays Materials Used to Write Quran in Prophet Muhammad PBUH's Era

It offers a full journey through the history of the Quran, its sciences, and the stages of its writing and compilation, using modern exhibition halls and interactive technology.

The museum is part of the cultural network within the Hira Cultural District, which aims to highlight the Islamic and historical heritage linked to Makkah.

Museum Displays Quran Writing Materials from Prophet Muhammad PBUH’s Era
Samira Yusuf.

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Imran Siddiqui

Imran Siddiqui is a journalist based in Jalna, Maharashtra, and district representative for Navbharat (previously with Lokmat Samachar). He edits NewsNation Online, covering Jalna, Marathwada, Maharashtra and India, and ImranJalna, covering Islamic knowledge and Muslim-world news in English, Hindi and Urdu.

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