THE BEGINNINGS OF OUD AND THE RISE OF ITS DAWN

How Was the Oud?

Oud was just wood of trees collected by the people of the neighbouring regions of the oud forests for heating purposes during the nights of cold winter, where oud was available with large quantities at that time. Then, the scent of oud covered all those regions, and it was smelt tens of kilometres around.

Was the Discovery a Stroke of Luck?

There were preachers from the Arab Peninsula who were travelling all over the word to preach for Islam, and in 1596, the preachers went to India, exactly to a region called Assam. In their way to villages, they were attracted by the scent of oud all the way during their journey, and they were wondering about the source of this smell until they arrived to a village and entered a house. They asked the owner of the house about the source of this scent, and he replied that that kind of wood was being burnt for heating purposes instead of normal wood, because normal wood was causing tears and asphyxia for people in the house. The preachers finished their mission, and when they decided to leave, the owner of the house offered a quantity of this wood to the preachers’ sheikh because he was so pleased by this scent.

How Did the Oud Enter the Arab Peninsula?

The preachers returned to the Arab Peninsula, and their sheikh started distributing that wood given as a present from the village in India to his friends, the dignitaries, and sheikhs as rare gifts never presented by anyone before. Those gifts pleased everyone, and it had a very high reputation because of their nice scent and their good use.

The First Beginnings in Oud Trading:

Everyone who had smelt the scent of that wood was pleased and liked it, and the Sheikh was asked by his friends, the dignitaries, and notables to go once again on a trip to India offering him the payment of his trip costs. Ho set out on another trip, and when he arrived and started collecting that wood (oud), the villagers denounced what he was doing, since it was a strange act for the village, and refused it. The man then had to act wisely, so he decided to marry a woman from the village, provided that he would stay in the village. They agreed, and so he was considered as one of the villagers. He was then able to collect that wood (oud) and fetch it to the Arab Peninsula where it was sold at very high prices. After that, he returned to India which he considered as his homeland. He relied mainly on his sons by sending them to the Arab Peninsula with large quantities of oud for sale. Since the inhabitants of the Arab Peninsula were fond of oud, the sons succeeded, and the trading of oud flourished.

And What after Oud?

After the big success in the trade of oud in the Arab Peninsula, the preachers’ sheikh started thinking of extracting the fragrance from oud because it is easy to carry and to use, but all his attempts failed. After his death, may God be merciful on him, he was succeeded by his senior son who tried extracting oud oil following the process of jasmine perfume extraction (the first perfume in the world), but his attempts failed also. However, he did not give up and continued his attempts until he succeeded in extracting the oil by extraction process.

Development Continues with the Sons:

The sons had to preserve the glory built by their fathers. The senior son had to teach his son, the grandchild of the preachers’ sheikh, may God be merciful on him, the art of the nice profession of oud oil extracting. The grandchild carried on following his father’s and grandfather’s advice, and was traveling continuously to the Arab Peninsula carrying oud and frankincense before his father’s death. After his father’s death, the grandchild of the preachers’ sheikh relied on his son by sending him to dignitaries and sheikhs in the Arab Peninsula. The grandchild liked staying in his homeland because he was the only one to extract oil and his son had the task of distribution.

Time Passes… but Good Quality Remains!

The grandchild’s son gathered as many lovers of oud and perfumes as he could in the Arab Peninsula during his visits, and made everyone who had no previous knowledge about this fascinating treasure love it. After a short while, and because he became an elderly person, the grandchild’s son was succeeded by his son, and this succession was greatly appreciated in the Arab Peninsula since they trusted this inherited glory, and the son started his trip.

Stability:

This Sheikh (the son) traveled continuously all over the Arab Peninsula, and during those days he was accompanied by his junior son Mohammed. Days and days passed with the company of the little boy who was affected so much by these trips and who was intelligent with a strong memory, and learnt quickly since he was still young. Sheikh Mohammed was thinking of staying in the Arab Peninsula because of the great number of lovers, reputation, and the nice reception full of love he had from the part of the great families for the preachers’ sheikh, and because of the travel difficulties he was facing. In one of his trips to Makkah, Sheikh Mohammed decided to stay in his ancestors’ homeland. His father, however, returned back to India, leaving his son Mohammed struggling for life at the age of 14.

The Beginning of Rain is a Drop of Water:

Mohammed went into the business, and it was a wonderful starting since he had a solid experience in the field of oud and perfumes though he was still young, because he was brought up in a house where its people’s interest was oud and perfumes. And because of the complete trust the Arab Peninsula inhabitants had in this experienced young man, who was financed by his father, he became the first trader of oud and perfumes in the kingdom.

The First Perfumer [Arabic: Itarji] in the Kingdom…Alam Itarji:

Sheikh Mohammed had a shop in front of As-Salam gate in Al Harem Al Shareef of Makkah which was facing any person going to or coming from the most famous gate for Muslims in the world. It was famous by the name of Alim Itarji, and it was even known by Arabs and non-Arabs. It was the destination of the kings of Yemen, the Arab Peninsula, Syria, and the Arab countries with their ambassadors, kings, leaders, and even non-Arabs. This is because he was the first perfumer in the Arab Peninsula. He was known by the young and old people, by people near him and people far from him, by kings and by servants. However, this was not sufficient for Sheikh Mohammed Itarji. He traveled all over the countries collecting the best of  ambergris from India’s forests and  musk of deer  found in India’s large forests, as well as saffron  from Iran and Spain. He had in his possession the rarest kinds of oud and raw ambergris. Some people from neighboring countries waited for the Hajj season impatiently to meet Mohammed Alam Itarji so as to buy from him the rarest of the famous perfumes in the world, like raw ambergris, musk, saffron, and oud oil of high quality.

From Grandfathers to Grandchildren:
 
As usual, the son inherits from his father only. The Sheikh put the first stone of the building, his son and his grandchild completed its basis, his grandchild’s son constructed it, his grandchild’s grandchild reinforced it, and his son Mohammed Alim Itarji decorated it with jewelry. This originality and glory had to be preserved after having been completed, and so Sheikh Muzaffar Alim Itarji, the only son of Sheikh Mohammed Alim came. He was the prop who would develop the world of perfumes, and who would continue adding to the building of his ancestors, in order to preserve a glorious and successful past that is testified by everyone. He built a factory for oud oil extraction, which he had exclusively and, thus, he became the only one to produce oud oil in Saudi Arabia.

Oud & Perfumes World:

The edifice continues existing by its own people who served a wonderful world, Oud & Perfumes World, a company of Majid Muzaffar Itarji’s group.

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