Gaya khankah preserves one of world’s oldest and largest holy Quran

One of the largest and oldest copy of the holy Quran is kept in the Nauagarhi Khankah in Bihar’s Gaya along with other ancient texts and documents which are preserved alongside the holy texts.

The holy Quran, which is 35 centimetres long and 54 centimetres wide, is in two parts with 1,152 pages. It was first printed back in 1882. The printers were able to publish very few copies which were offered to Islamic scholars and also preserved in Madina.

After the 1857 mutiny against British, many scholars from across the Arab world migrated to India and subsequently one of their descendants reached Gaya with the holy Quran with him.

Only three copies of those printed Quran are now available across the globe that include, Gaya Khankah, Maulana Azad Library in Aliganj, Uttar Pradesh and the third one at the British Library, London.

The “Sajda Nasheen” (Incharge) of the Gaya Khankah, Saiyad Shah Sabahuddin Chisti Monami, whose ancestors had brought this holy Quran from Madina to Gaya, said, “Shah Abdul Aziz Mohaddis Dehalwi and Raffiuddin Mohaddis Dehalwi, the two great scholars of the subcontinent, had penned down this Quran way back in 1793. The handwritten Quran was, however, printed after 89 years in 1882 of which only three copies are available in the world.”

Khankah authorities claimed that since then, no copy of the holy Quran was ever printed in such a large size and it continues to be rare collection of the Gaya Khankah.

“The Chisti of the Khankah said that the holy Quran is often used for references by the Islamic scholars. Besides, it is also showcased for visitors on occasions or during festivals.

The Khankah Chisti further said that the largest Quran has a 30-page separate book titled “Risala Faizur Rahman Ki Adabul Quran” which deals with the sermons of the Holy Quran and was added by Md Ghulam Gaus.

The Khankah authorities said that the meanings of the stanzas of the holy Quran have been translated and explained in Persian and Urdu languages.