Arab Traders Bring Large Ships to Sumatra in Search of Plant Mentioned in the Qur'an

Arab society has long been known as traders who explored various regions. Their reach even extended to Indonesia in search of various commodities, one of which is camphor.

In Arab tradition, camphor is part of fragrance sources. Known by the term kafur (kaafuur), as mentioned in Surah Al-Insan verse 5, which means “Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup whose mixture is of kaafuur.”

Kaafuur water is described therein as the name of a spring in paradise whose water is white, fragrant, and very pleasant to taste.

Scholars interpret kaafuur as meaning camphor. A white and fragrant substance extracted from the wood of trees that usually grow in the forests of Sumatra island. It is more popularly known as Kapur Barus, as explained in Tafsir Al-Azhar by the renowned scholar Buya Hamka, page 7790, as quoted on Saturday (25/4/2026).

The camphor in question differs from the small white round synthetic fragrance made from Naphthalene (C10H8). The camphor or Kapur Barus mentioned in the Qur’an is a plant popular in Arabia named Dryobalanops aromatica in Latin. This plant has a very distinctive fragrance and can indeed be consumed as it is beneficial for health.

However, Arab society did not easily obtain it because it is not native to their land. 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.

Camphor Plant Centre

Archaeologist Edward McKinnon in Ancient Fansur, Aceh’s Atlantis (2013) mentions that trade connections made Arabs gradually learn that the centre of camphor plants is in Indonesia, specifically on Sumatra island. More precisely, the location is in Fansur or now called Barus, in the administrative area of North Sumatra.

Arab traders repeatedly mentioned Barus as an important port that transported commodities, one of which is camphor.

For example, Arab trader Ibn Al-Faqih in 902 AD already mentioned Fansur as a region producing camphor, cloves, nutmeg, and sandalwood. Then, the 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 Arabs, 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 directly 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 camphor to be sold at high prices in international markets. 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 camphor location in Indonesia led many Arab traders to visit Barus for stopovers and even settlements. If they were going to China, they would certainly stop first in Barus. However, their arrival was not only motivated by trade but also spread the religion of Islam.

As a result, Islamisation occurred among the local population in the places where Arab ships arrived, namely Barus (Fansur), Thobri (Lamri), and Haru. The early traces of Islam entering Barus are strongly believed to be recorded in the 7th century AD. This is evidenced by the existence of the ancient Mahligai tomb complex in Barus. There are tombstones dating from the 7th century AD.