Welcome to Al-Furqan’s E-Database
The largest gateway of Islamic written heritage
‘Our Publications’ databank / collection
‘Our Publications’ collection is a bibliographic database of the Foundation's own publications. These works are the outcome of prominent research projects and events carried out by the three centres of the Foundation, i.e. the ‘Manuscripts Centre’, the ‘Mawsoa Centre’ and the ‘Maqasid Centre’.
This collection was added to the ‘Al-Furqan Digital Library’ to enrich the user research experience. The collection is continuously updated, and currently contains over 200 works in over 400 volumes. These cover both introductory and advanced topics discussed and presented by distinguished scholars in the field of Islamic written heritage.
It also includes many popular and heavily cited publications, as well as award winning works, such as the critical edition of al-Isfizāri’s book which deals with the field of mechanics, known as “the sciences of weights and mechanical devices” (‘Ilmay al-Athqāl wal-Ḥiyal). Other popular items include works by the late famous scholar Annemarie Schimmel, such as The Secrets of Creative Love (1998) and Islam and the Wonders of Creation(2003); and many other highly demanded references, including the unique Encyclopaedia of Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Al-Madīnah Al-Munawwarah.
Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in The Egyptian National Library (Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah) - Collections (Majāmīʿ)
This analytical catalogue, which is specific to the collections of Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, lists 4156 rasāʾil or letters. The varied topics of this catalogue include uṣūl al-dīn, the sciences of the Qurʾān, jurisprudence, astrology, physics, chemistry, the Arabic language and Sufism. The catalogue was printed in four volumes, and is considered to be the first part of a project that is made up of 12 volumes. The second part appears after the catalogue, and is made up of 8 volumes. It is specific to the collection of manuscripts found in the libraries affiliated to the National Library, such as the library of Aḥmad Taimūr, Aḥmad Zakī Pasha, Aḥmad Ṭalʿat Beg, Muṣṭafā Fādhil, Khalīl Āghā, Qawalah, Ḥalīm and others.
| Volume | View Vol. 1 (2011) | (sold in set only) |
| View Vol. 2 (2011) | (sold in set only) | |
| View Vol. 3 (2011) | (sold in set only) | |
| View Vol. 4 (2011) | (sold in set only) | |
| Full Set | £80.33 |
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| Contact: | 121 Nile Corniche, RAMLET BOULAK، Boulaq, Cairo Governorate |
| Telephone: | +20 2 25750886 |
| Date of establishment: | 1870, in Darb al-Gamamiz; moved in 1904 to Ahmad Mahir Square, Bab Al-Khalq. |
| Status: | Institutional |
| Status Details: | National library, affiliated to the General Egyptian Book Organisation, Ministry of Culture. |
| Condition of access | The library can be used by any Egyptian or foreigner without any conditions. |
| Total number of Islamic MSS: | 50,755 (47,065 Arabic; 996 Persian; 2,150 Turkish). |
| Description of Collection: | In 1876, the Qawalla Library and the Musṭafa Faḍil Library were incorporated into it: subsequently a number of private libraries were incorporated, the most important being Al-Khizana al-Taymuriya, Maktabat al-Shanqiṭi, Maktabat al-Ḥusayni, Maktabat al-Shaykh Muḥammad ϹAbduh, Al-Maktaba al-Zakiya, Maktabat Ḥalim Pasha, Maktabat Khalil Agha, Maktabat Makram. The MSS are in a separate storeroom, placed on metal stands. The Repair Centre of the Organisation undertakes continuous conservation work and the treatment of any damage which becomes apparent in the collection. In the storeroom there is a need to install air-conditioning and ventilation equipment and also to deal with the level of relative humidity, which exceeds the average required by MSS. The MSS collection in Dar al-Kutub is regarded as one of the largest and most important in the world. It contains priceless and rare MSS from the Islamic heritage, especially from the first four centuries AH, as well as extremely rare illustrated MSS unmatched anywhere else in the world. There is a high proportion of MSS copied in the early centuries of Islam. Nearly all subjects are covered. |
| Notes: | See published World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts. 1992 - 1994, Vol.1, p 212. |
| Published Catalogues: | 36 |
| Unpublished Catalogues: | 4 |
| Online access: | http://www.darelkotob.gov.eg/index.html |
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