A folding X-shaped stand that holds a copy of the Quran open at reading height. It exists because the physical book is handled with care: it is kept above other books, not placed on the floor, and not read from a surface that would put it below the reader. The stand solves that.
Many are cut from a single block of wood with an interlocking hinge and no fastenings. Worn or damaged copies of the Quran are not thrown away; the usual disposals are burial, or in some traditions release into running water.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItAdherents of the tradition 2 ConsecrationNot consecrated; an instrument, not a consecrated object 2 Physical Form
MaterialWood, mother-of-pearl inlay 1 Identity
Category of Sacred Object Learn More
The Stand That Keeps the Book Off the Ground
The rehal is a folding X-shaped stand that holds a copy of the Quran open at reading height, and it exists because the physical book is handled with unusual care.
Care for the book
The Quran, as the literal word of God in Muslim understanding, is treated with a reverence extended to the physical volume: it is kept clean, placed above other books, not set on the floor, and not touched without ritual purity by many, and the rehal serves this care by raising the open book to a comfortable height and keeping it off the ground. The reader sits and reads from the book resting on the stand, so the object supports both the comfort of long recitation and the respect owed to the text.
A simple, worked object
The rehal is typically two flat pieces of wood joined by a central pivot so that it folds flat and opens into a cross-legged stand, a design old and widespread, and the finest examples are elaborately carved from a single block of wood, a craft in itself. Similar folding book-stands are used in other traditions for large sacred books, but the rehal is particularly associated with the Quran and with the settings of its study and recitation, the mosque and the school. It is a plain implement whose whole significance lies in the honour it helps pay to the book it holds.
The Folding Frame That Keeps the Quran Off the Ground
A rehal is built as a folding X-frame, usually carved from a single length of wood split and hinged so it opens into a stand and collapses flat for storage, a simple joinery solution to a specific problem, giving a reader a stable surface at a comfortable angle without setting the Quran directly on the floor or their lap.
Craftsmanship and regional styles
Plain versions are turned on a lathe from a single wood, while elaborate Ottoman, Persian and South Asian examples are inlaid with mother of pearl, ivory or fine marquetry, produced by furniture workshops rather than religious specialists, since the rehal itself is not considered sacred, only what rests on it. Some larger rehals are carved from a solid block rather than hinged, a heavier form generally kept in a mosque rather than a private home.
Who uses it, and its ordinary status
Any reader, young students in a madrasa, an elderly worshipper, or a household keeping a Quran for daily use, may use a rehal, and there is no restriction on ownership or manufacture. Because the object itself carries no textual sanctity, a damaged rehal is repaired or discarded as ordinary furniture, its entire purpose being to protect the dignity of the book it holds rather than to hold any of its own.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Element Of
The folding stand holds the Quran above the ground while it is read, part of the general care that the book is not set down carelessly.
Related To
The rehal is a folding stand that holds a copy of the Quran open at reading height.
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