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‘Our Library’ databank / collection

The ‘Al-Furqan Digital Library’ also includes the online catalogue of the holdings of the Al-Furqan’s physical Library. It is an electronic bibliographic database which describes the Library items, and the way of accessing them.

The Library Collection represents a cornerstone reference collection on major research areas, including Islamic manuscripts. The major subjects covered are: Qur’anic studies, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic theology, philosophy, science, medicine, history, geography, art and architecture, and literature; all of them written in the major Islamic languages, including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Swahili, Gujarati, as well as European languages and Russian. The Library collection also includes multilingual dictionaries, Arabic biographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias, covering the classical period to the present time.

To date, the Library has collected over 11,000 titles in more than 16,000 volumes, on various subjects. Moreover, the Library's collections include almost 1,800 printed Islamic manuscript catalogues in around 2,500 volumes, from over 70 countries.

The library’s holdings are arranged and organised according to the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) for ease of use, while its collection of catalogues of Islamic manuscripts is classified by country.

Country:Tunisia
City:Tunis
Library:Dar al-Kutub al-Waṭaniya (National Library)

Extrait du catalogue des manuscrits et des imprimés de la Bibliothèque de la Grande Mosquée de Tunis

Par B.‎ Roy; avec la collaboration de Mhammed bel Khodja et de Mohammed el Hachaichi.‎
Publication Details: Date: 1900
Place: Tunis
Publisher: Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement Tunisien [J.‎ Picard, Imprimerie genérale]
Physical Description:iii, 85 p.‎ ; 32 cm.‎
Notes:Brief description of part of the collection called al-ʿAbdalīya {al-Ṣādiqīyah} derived from the Hafsid ruler's name, who established the collection in the Zaytūna Mosque: ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿUthmān al-Ḥafsī {899-932/1526}.‎ Collection presently in the Dār al-Kutub al-Waṭanīyah.‎ See World Survey of Islamic mss.‎, v.‎ 3, p.‎ 261.‎
Language:Arabic, French
العربية، الفرنسية
Contributors:HẠSHĀʼISHĪ, Muḥammad ibn ʻUthmān (Compiler)
الحشائشي، محمد بن عثمان (محرر)
ROY, Bernard (Compiler)
IBN AL-KHŪJAH, Muḥammad (Compiler)
ابن الخوجة، محمد (محرر)
Subject:Islamic manuscripts — Union catalogues & Reference works
المخطوطات الإسلامية — فهارس موحّدة والمراجع
Item Shelf Details:Location: Catalogue collection
Library ID: 8688 Class Mark: Z6620.T81.T8.D35 Main Accession Number: 9308
Volume Accession Number:Vol.‎ ISBN:Volume Details:Status:
9308------Available
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$aBrief description of part of the collection called al-ʿAbdalīya {al-Ṣādiqīyah} derived from the Hafsid ruler's name, who established the collection in the Zaytūna Mosque: ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿUthmān al-Ḥafsī {899-932/1526}.‎ Collection presently in the Dār al-Kutub al-Waṭanīyah.‎ See World Survey of Islamic mss.‎, v.‎ 3, p.‎ 261.‎
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$aCatalogue collection$hZ6620.‎T81.‎T8.‎D35$p8688$2Al-Furqan Library Subject
Country:Tunisia
City:Tunis
Library:Dar al-Kutub al-Waṭaniya (National Library)
Catalogue:Extrait du catalogue des manuscrits et des imprimés de la Bibliothèque de la Grande Mosquée de Tunis

Contact:20 Souk-el-Attarine, Tunis
Telephone:00 216 71 57 2706  
Date of establishment:Unknown
Status:Institutional
Status Details:Public
Condition of access:Open to university research students with permission from the Administration.
Total number of Islamic MSS:ca. 25,000.
Description of Collection:The collections of the National Library are presently situated in a barracks built by Ḥammuda Pasha near the Zaytuna mosque in the early eighteenth century.‎ It was used by the French in 1920 as a site for a French library and was then converted into a public library, which became the National Library after Independence.‎ The collection is one of the largest in the Arab world in terms of quantity and variety of material, after the collections of the National Library of Egypt and the Kingdom of Morocco.‎ It contains many rare works, confirming the significance of Tunisia as a major centre of learning in the history of Islamic culture.‎  

This library houses the collections of various individual libraries, some of which are old, and which were brought here in accordance with the presidential decree of September 1967.‎ The MSS are stored on the ground floor of this historic building, in a large library with an arched ceiling, on old wooden shelving which has marked their decorated bindings and has contributed to the spread of woodworm.‎ Although the library has an old air-conditioning unit, storage conditions are poor.‎  

The library also has a non-functioning workshop for binding and repairing.‎ Efforts have been made to develop this side of the library's work and some facilities have been restored, although the project remains incomplete.‎  

The overall collection, the exact total of which has yet to be assessed, is made up of the following library collections:  

(i) Al-ʿAbdaliya (Al-Ṣadiqiya)  

This collection derives its name from prince ʿAbd allah Muḥammad Ibn al-Ḥusayn Ibn Masʿud ibn ʿUthman al-Ḥafṣi (899–932/1526), who established it in the eastern cloister of the Zaytuna mosque, overlooking the fruit market.‎ It was destroyed during the Spanish attack of 980 AH.‎ Restoration was undertaken by Khayr al-Din Pasha during the rule of Marshal Ṣadiq Bey, who collected in it the remains of the madrasa and mosque libraries.‎ He also donated his private collection, which contained the manuscript works of the scholars of Al Bayram, and numbered about 1,000 MSS.‎ Ṣadiq Bey went on to issue a regulatory edict in 1292/1876, stipulating that the manuscripts may be studied and copied, without being removed.‎ The collection became known at this time as the Ṣadiqiya Library.‎ A series of bequests followed: al-Amir al-Ḥusayni ʿAli Bey III donated 300 manuscripts in 1300 AH, and his son Muḥammad al-Hadi gave 822 volumes in 1320.‎ The total stands at 5,180 MSS.‎ After Independence and the dissolution of the  Awqaf, the collection was appended to that of the University of Tunis, and was then moved, after the edict of 1967, to the National Library.‎  

Its rare works include: (i) a fine copy of  Al-Fakhir by al-Mufaḍḍal Ibn Salama ibn ʿAṣim (d.‎ 290/903), copied by ʿAbd Allah Ibn Yaḥyá in 564/1169.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 7,116; (ii) commentary on the  Diwan of Abu Firas al-Ḥamdani by al-Ḥasan Ibn Aḥmad Ibn Khalawayh (d.‎ 370/980), copied on 14 Ramaḍan 578/1184, MS.‎ number 8,321; (iii)  Ṣuwar al-Kawakib al-Thabita by ʿAbd al-Raḥman Ibn ʿUmar al-Ṣufi al-Razi (d.‎ 376/986), containing graphs, tables and diagrams of the movements of the stars.‎  Nastaʿliq, copied in 1030/1631.‎ MS.‎ number 8,093.‎  

(ii) Aḥmadiya

This library was founded by Marshal Aḥmad Pasha Bey in 1256/1840–41 and stored in twenty cabinets along the  qibla wall at the Zaytuna mosque, in which were also stored the remains of the Pasha's library at Bardu, which had been brought by Prince ʿAli Pasha Ibn Muḥammad (1153–1169 AH) from Istanbul.‎ The remaining MSS from the collection of the minister Ḥusayn Khawaja were also stored there, as were the collections of Shaykh Ibrahim al-Riyaḥi (d.‎ 1266/1849), the minister Muṣṭafá Khaznadar and the collection of the historian Aḥmad Ibn Abi 'l-Ḍiyaf.‎ When the collection was incorporated into that of the National Library in 1967 it numbered 6,464 MSS, covering most fields of Islamic culture.‎  

Its rare items include: (i)  Tafsir of Yaḥyá Ibn Sallam al-Baṣri al-Taymi (d.‎ 201/816), parts 13 –19, copied on parchment in 383/933.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 7,447; (ii)  Mukhtaṣar Ibṭal al-qiyas wa-'l-raʾy wa-'l-istiḥsan wa-'l-taqtid by Ibn Ḥazm, copied by al-Ḥafiẓ al-Dhahabi (7th century AH).‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 8,804; (iii)  Al-taqrib li-ḥadd al-manṭiq by Ibn Ḥazm; a fine copy.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 12,777; (iv)  Al-Kafi fi-'l-Bayzara by ʿAbd al-Raḥman Ibn Muḥammad al-Baladi.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 14,290; (v)  Al-ṣiḥaḥ by al-Jawhari; large, fine copy, vocalised text, copied 665/1266.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 12,335.‎  

(iii) ʿAli Ibn Salim al-Nuri (1093–1118 / 1644–1706)  

The founder was an authority on the canonical readings  (qiraʾat) of the Qurʾan.‎ He collected a large library whilst studying in Egypt, the surviving elements of which were incorporated into the National Library after 1967.‎ It numbers 1,363 manuscripts.‎ It was previously kept by the founder's descendants in Ṣafaqis (Sfax).‎  

(iv) Al-ʿAṭṭarin

This collection takes its name from the market in which its building (now the National Library) is situated.‎ The development of this collection began in the 1920s, with the total number of manuscripts growing from around 300 in 1925 to a collection numbering thousands, thanks to the efforts of the first curator, ʿUthman al-KaϹϹak.‎ The collection continued to grow after Independence, and important private collections were acquired, such as the manuscripts of Shaykh Aḥmad al-Juraydi, Muḥammad Bilkhuja (Belkhodja) and Muḥammad al-Qarawi, when the manuscripts numbered 4,900, in addition to about 80 manuscripts in French and Italian.‎  

Operating under conditions which had hampered the growth of other collections, the ʿAṭṭarin Library carried out a survey of titles available in the book market and set about acquiring the rare items which give this collection its distinctive value.‎ These include: (i)  Sharḥ Mufaḍḍaliyat al-ḍabbi by Abu Zakariya Yaḥyá Ibn ʿAli al-Khaṭib al-Tabrizi (d.‎ 502/1109).‎ Autograph MS.‎ copied in Baghdad in 486/1093.‎ Also written on by scholars who quoted from it or heard it being read, like al-Jawaliqi and others; (ii)  Aṭlas balad Ṣafaqis wa-quraha by students of the school of architecture at Bardu, under the supervision of General Rashid, Commander-in-Chief of coastal stations in 1274/1857; (iii)  Al-ʿIzz wa-'l-manafiʿ li-l-mujahidin fi sabil Allah bi-'l-madafiʿ by Ibrahim al-Ribbash al-Andalusi.‎ Translated from Spanish by Aḥmad Ibn Qasim al-Ḥajari.‎ Copied by Ibn al-Mutarjim, with explanatory illustrations, in the 11th/ 17th century.‎  

(v) Ḥasan Ḥusni ʿAbd al-Wahhab (1884–1968)  

The owner was a government minister and historian who donated his manuscripts as a  waqf to the Zaytuna mosque and subsequently to the National Library in 1969.‎ The collection was carefully built up during the owner's life which included various visits to the cultural capitals of the Muslim world.‎ The total number of MSS is 1,297.‎  

The collection contains numerous rare items, including: (i)  Sharḥ al-Ḥamasa by Al-Aʿlam al-Shushtari; fine copy dating from the 7th century AH.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 18,656; (ii)  Muḥkam of Ibn Sida(d.‎ 458/1066).‎ Vol.‎ VIII, copied 601/1205; (iii)  Al-Dhurriya al-ṭahira al-Nabawiya by Muḥammad Ibn Aḥmad Ibn Ḥammad al-Dulabi (d.‎ 320/832); (iv)  Kitab al-ʿAruḍ by al-Jayani, fine copy from 7th century AH.‎ MS.‎ no.‎ 18,610.‎  

(vi) Khalduniya

The Khalduni Cultural and Educational Society was established close to the Zaytuna Mosque in 1896, where it founded a library in 1901.‎ It had public status and was open to all.‎ Its collection of 158 manuscripts was incorporated into that of the National Library after 1967.‎ This collection contains rare works by Tunisian scholars.‎  

(vii) Muḥammad Bilkhuja (Belkhodja)

The founder was a former soldier, government minister and historian.‎ The National Library purchased part of the collection, including 94 manuscripts containing some rare items, such as the History  (Taʾrikh) of Ibn Salama.‎

(viii) Muṣṭafá ibn ʿAli Riḍwan al-Susi

This collection reverted to State ownership after the son of the founder died without issue.‎ Al-Susi was a high functionary of the State with an interest in astronomy, who collected rare works on the subject.‎ The collection numbers 680 MSS, including  Al-Majisṭi by Baṭlamiyus al-Qaludhi  [Almagest, Ptolemaeus], taken from  Al-Ḥayawaniya by Isḥaq Ibn Ḥasanayn and corrected by Thabit Ibn Qurra.‎ Fine Andalusian MS.‎ with geometric diagrams and astronomical tables, copied in 478/1085 from an original collated with that of Abu 'l-Qasim al-Munajjim, which had in turn been corrected with reference to the copy of Abu 'l-Ḥasan al-Ṣufi.‎ MS.‎ Riḍwan 7,116.‎  

See:

 Biblioteca de la Mezquita Azzeituna de Túnez.‎By F.‎ Codera.‎Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia 13 i–iii, pp.‎ 26–44.‎ 

 La Bibliothèque Nationale de Tunisie.‎By J.‎ Hafsia.‎Mitteilungen: Dokumentationsdienst Moderner Orient 3 i, pp.‎ 12–18.‎
 

 Mulaḥazat ḥawl ṭa'ifa min al-makhṭuṭat al-ʿArabiya fi Dar al-Kutub al-Waṭaniya bi-Tunis.‎By Jalil al-ʿAṭiya.‎Majallat Maʿhad al-Makhṭuṭat al-ʿArabiya 29 ii, pp.‎ 809–816.‎
Notes:See published World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts. 1992 - 1994, Vol.3, p 257.
Published Catalogues:29
Unpublished Catalogues:1
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