The Prophet’s history at Maimun Palace

The Prophet's history at Maimun Palace

A youth from Aceh, Sayed Ahmad Sabiq, 32, waited for almost a half an hour at the ticket counter of an exhibition in Medan, North Sumatra, recently.With a ticket costing Rp 15,000 (US$1.75), he entered a display room where replicas of various objects used by the Prophet Muhammad were being exhibited.

Display field coordinator Agus Maulidin said the exhibition of replicas of items owned by the Prophet from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, was being held in Indonesia's major cities. In Medan, it was held at the Maimun Palace of the Deli Sultanate from Aug. 2 to 29. The exhibition will move to Aceh in October. 

In the 20-by-40-meter room, Ahmad Sabiq and other visitors studied duplicates of heirlooms and two replicas that attracted considerable public attention: the sword of the Prophet called Al Qadib and the sword of the Prophet's father, called Al Ma'thur. Both swords were displayed in a glass case in the middle of the room.

After looking around for about an hour, Ahmad Sabiq said he was satisfied. “I'm deeply moved to see the relics of the Prophet Muhammad. I thought such valuable objects could no longer be found. I'm quite satisfied though they're only replicas,” he told The Jakarta Post in mid-August.

Exhibition guide Rio Prasetyo said the display, organized by Pyramid Communication in cooperation with the Indonesian government and the Turkish government, had been held in 22 cities in the country since 2010. “Indonesia has contracted the replicas from the Topkapi Museum of Istanbul to be shown in 30 cities,” Rio said.

Rio said the copies of the items had been made with the permission of three countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq. Of the hundreds of duplicates produced, only 12 replicas were allowed to be displayed in Indonesia.  

The 12 comprise six swords of the Prophet Muhammad, a bow and arrows, a pair of sandals of the Prophet, the footprints of the Prophet, a cane of the Prophet and a rod of the Prophet Moses. Rio indicated that of the nine of the Prophet's swords in the Topkapi Museum, only six copies were permitted to be brought to Indonesia, including Al Battar, Al Qadib and Al Ma'thur. 

Al Battar is very special because the middle of the sword bears the names of the Prophets who are believed to have held the weapon. Al Battar was first held by the Prophet David, followed later by the Prophets Solomon, Moses, Aaron, Jesus, Zachariah, John and lastly, the Prophet Muhammad. Rio referred to a story saying Al Battar would later be used by Jesus to conquer Dajjal (a being tempting humans to do evil) at the end of times. 

Al Qadib was the personal possession of the Prophet Muhammad. The 100-centimeter-long sword was never used by the Prophet for war. Made of titanium, it was the Prophet's sword of grandeur and only used in welcoming guests. Two creeds are written its side.

Al Ma'thur belonged to the Prophet Muhammad's father, Abdullah. The 99-centimeter-long sword was turned over by Abdullah to his son before his designation by Allah SWT as the Rasul or Messenger.

Rio motioned to Moses' 2-meter rod, made from the pukkaha tree. This rod, with the consent of Allah SWT, once turned into a serpent in facing the sorcerers of the Pharaoh. The same rod was later of great service in saving Moses' followers as they were pursued by the Pharoah's army into the Red Sea.

Besides the Moses rod, there was a replica of the Prophet Muhammad’s cane made of date palm wood. This stick, 120 centimeters long, served as a supporting rod when the Prophet departed from Mecca to Medina.

The other exhibits were duplicates of the Prophet Muhammad’s sandals made of camel hide. According to certain histories, the Prophet owned three pairs of sandals his entire life. A copy of the Prophet’s footprints taken from Masjid Aqsa were also on display.

Agus Maulidin pointed out the exhibition was intended to disseminate the idea of the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad’s historic course. He also noted that the event had drawn considerable public interest so far.

“Thank God, 250 to 2,000 people have visited the display on average every month,” Agus said, adding that the largest number of guests was recorded in Bandung, West Java.