From Pesantren to Museum: A Historiography of The Giant Mushaf Al-Qur’an of Wonosobo

Abstract

Research Problem: Studies on the historiography of Qur'anic manuscripts (mushaf) have predominantly focused on Middle Eastern codices, while monumental Indonesian local productions, particularly those from the pesantren tradition, remain largely understudied. The Wonosobo Giant Mushaf Al-Qur'an, a handwritten manuscript of extraordinary scale, has never been systematically examined using the complete framework of Mushaf Historiography.

Objective: This research aims to reconstruct the history of the Wonosobo Giant Mushaf Al-Qur'an, analyze the motivations behind its creation, trace its journey from a rural pesantren to a national museum, and assess its significance within the historiography of Nusantara mushafs.

Methodology: This study employs a qualitative historical method with a library research approach. Data were collected through heuristics (gathering journal articles, books, and photographs taken by researchers at the Bayt Qur'an Museum, TMII), followed by external and internal source criticism, and culminating in historical synthesis. The theoretical framework is Mushaf Historiography as developed by Taufiq Adnan Amal and rooted in Ibn Abi Dawud's Kitab al-Mashahif.

Key Findings: (1) The Wonosobo Giant Mushaf was initiated by KH. Muntaha al-Hafidz and written by Hayatuddin (text) and Abdul Malik (ornamentation) over exactly 17 months (October 16, 1991 – February 5, 1993); (2) Its physical specifications are extraordinary: page size 111×81 cm, total weight approximately 200 kg, 30 volumes, and 1,788 pages; (3) Motivations were multidimensional: spiritual (reverence for the Qur'an), historical-reparative (responding to the colonial-era loss of a family manuscript), and cultural-dakwah (attracting modern society's attention); (4) The mushaf was presented to President Soeharto and became the central collection of the Bayt Al-Qur'an wa al-Museum Istiqlal, inaugurated on April 20, 1997; (5) Comparative analysis with the Indonesian Standard Mushaf reveals that the Wonosobo Mushaf represents a different genre, symbolic-monumental rather than functional-daily.

Implications: The Wonosobo Giant Mushaf expands Mushaf Historiography beyond text-centric concerns to include ritual, political, and museological dimensions. It demonstrates that handwritten mushaf production remains a vital spiritual-artistic practice in the age of print reproduction.