HAFIZ IBRAHIM ŠEHOVIĆ
A BOSNIAK WHO TRANSCRIBED THE QUR’AN 66 TIMES

Author: Meho Manjgo, Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo   • Illustration: Richly decorated initial pages of the 53rd transcription of the Qur'an by hafiz Ibrahim-ef. Šehovića from 1214 Hijri year / 1799 A.D.

The tradition of transcribing the Mus'haf (Qur'an) in Bosnia and Herzegovina is inseparable from the arrival of Ottomans and Islam in these regions. Since their arrival in 1463 to this day, several superb calligraphers and transcribers have appeared among Bosniaks. Besides the Word of God, they transcribed valuable works in Islamic sciences, mathematics, medicine, pharmacology, astronomy, philosophy, logic, literature and other academic disciplines which is, among other things, confirmed by the preserved copies in the collection of rare codices of the Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo. 

The personality who particularly stands out among transcribers of the Qur'an in Bosnia and Herzegovina is hfz. Ibrahim-ef. Šehović, a years-long imam of the Imperial Mosque in Sarajevo. This distinguished calligrapher, who was included among our most famous transcribers of the Qur'an by Hamdija Kreševljaković, lived in the Sarajevo neighboUrhood of Bistrik in the second half of the 18th and in the early 19th century. It is known for certain that hafiz Šehović transcribed the Qur'an at least 66 times during his life, since he recorded the sequence number of transcription on each copy. He completed some transcriptions in less than a year and, according to Mehmed Handžić, his copies are “very much appreciated and were named Mus'hafs of the Imperial imam”.

Richly decorated initial pages of the 53rd transcription of the Qur'an by hafiz Ibrahim-ef. Šehovića from 1214 Hijri year/1799 A.D

 

Unfortunately, not all copies of the Qur'an have been preserved. Out of a total of 66 transcriptions, four are held in the Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo, as follows: thirty-second, fifty-third, fifty-sixth and sixty-third transcriptions of the Qur'an. The transcriptions were made from 1780 to 1807.

Besides the Qur'an, hafiz Šehović transcribed some works in Islamic sciences, notably a richly illuminated collection of dovas (prayers) Dalā’il al-ẖayrāt. In one of the preserved manuscripts, hafiz Šehović recorded that it is his third transcription of this collection of dovas, which was completed in 1195/1781. This manuscript, stored in the Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo, is decorated by outstanding unvans (titles), pictures of cemeteries in Mecca and Medina, nicely crafted rosettes on the borders of some leaves, and gilded ornaments are stamped on covers and on the flap.

First pages of the collection of prayers Dalāʼil al-ẖayrāt with richly decorated unvan, transcribed by hafiz Ibrahim-ef. Šehović in 1195 Hijri year / 1781A.D.

 

Pictures of Mecca and Medina in the manuscript Dalāʼil al-ẖayrāt, transcribed by hafiz Ibrahim-ef. Šehović in 1195 Hijri year/1781A.D.

 

This relentless transcriber o the Word of God probably died in 1226 Hijri year /1811 A.D., when his last known transcription of the Qur'an was completed.


References:

  • Mehmedović, Ahmed (2018), Leksikon bošnjačke uleme, Sarajevo: Gazi Husrev-beg Library, pp. 490-491.

  • Popara, Haso (2019), Iz rukopisnog blaga Gazi Husrev-begove biblioteke, Sarajevo: Gazi Husrev-beg Library, pp. 43-46.

  • Jahić, Mustafa (2019), Trajnost islamskog naslijeđa, Sarajevo: Gazi Husrev-beg Library, pp. 39-40, 81.

  • Dobrača, Kasim (2000), Katalog arapskih, turskih, perzijskih i bosanskih rukopisa Gazi Husrev-begove biblioteke, Sarajevo: El-Kalem, volume I, 2nd edition, p. 32.

  • Handžić, Mehmed, “Hfz. Ibrahim ef. Šehović”, El-Hidaje, VI/1942-43, no. 10-11, p. 292.

  • Lavić, Osman (2006), Katalog rukopisa GHB, Sarajevo: El-Kalem, volume XV, 32-35.

  • Fajić, Zejnil (2003), Katalog rukopisa GHB, Sarajevo: El-Kalem,  volume XI, 561.