Arab Citizens Unitedly Travel to Indonesia in Search of the Plant Mentioned in the Quran
In Surah Al-Insan verse 5, Allah promises that those who perform good deeds will drink from cups containing a drink mixed with camphor water. Islamic scholars interpret camphor water as referring to water from the camphor plant or kapur barus.
The camphor mentioned in the Quran does not refer to the small perfumed product known today, which is generally a chemical synthesis from naphthalene (C10H8). Instead, the camphor referenced in the Quran is believed to refer to the plant known in the Arab region with the Latin name Dryobalanops aromatica. This plant has a distinctive strong aroma and is traditionally known for its health benefits.
However, it is not easy for Arab society to obtain it since it is not native to their region. As a result, they had to seek the centre of camphor plants and, in short, brought traders to remote areas in the eastern part of the earth. Now, that unknown region is called Indonesia.
Centre of Camphor Plants
Archaeologist Edward McKinnon in Ancient Fansur, Aceh’s Atlantis (2013) mentions that trade connections gradually made Arabs aware that the centre of camphor plants is in Indonesia, specifically on Sumatra Island. More precisely, the location is in Fansur or now known as Barus.
Arab traders repeatedly mentioned Barus as an important port that transported commodities, one of which was camphor.
For example, Arab trader Ibn Al-Faqih in 902 already mentioned Fansur as a producer of kapur barus, cloves, nutmeg, and sandalwood. Then, 13th-century geographer Ibn Sa’id al Magribi also detailed specifically that Fansur’s camphor comes from Sumatra Island. Even further back, the Roman scholar Ptolemy had already mentioned the name Barus in the 1st century AD.
Based on this, many Arab citizens, especially traders, flocked to Sumatra. They were willing to undertake long voyages from Arabia to obtain camphor. Historian Claude Guillot in Barus A Thousand Years Ago (2008) states that Arabs arrived in Barus via a direct journey from the Persian Gulf, passing through Ceylon (Sri Lanka), then arriving on the west coast of Sumatra.
They usually brought large ships to transport large quantities of kapur barus to be sold at high prices in the international market. Gradually, the arrival of Arabs in Sumatra increased after Barus camphor became the highest quality, surpassing camphor from Malaya and Kalimantan.
At this point, Barus proved to be a camphor-producing area and had developed into an important port in Sumatra.
Emergence of Islam
The discovery of the kapur barus location in Indonesia led many Arab traders to visit Barus to stop over or even settle. If they were going to China, they would definitely stop first in Barus. However, their arrival was not only motivated by trade but also contributed to the spread of Islam.
As a result, Islamisation occurred among the local population in places where Arab ships arrived, namely Barus (Fansur), Thobri (Lamri), and Haru. The early traces of Islam entering Barus are strongly suspected to be recorded in the 7th century AD. This is evidenced by the existence of the ancient Mahligai tomb complex in Barus. There, gravestones from the 7th century AD are inscribed.
From here, one theory emerges about the arrival of Islam in Indonesia, which certainly still sparks debate. However, it does not forget the fact that gradually the process of spreading Islam occurred there.
Regardless of the truth of that theory, Muslim traders in Barus succeeded in forming a trade network connecting the Arab world with Indonesia and making the homeland famous since ancient times.