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.
The Corpus of al-Isfizārī in the Sciences of Weights and Mechanical Devices by Abū Ḥātim al-Muẓaffar ibn Ismāʿīl al-Isfizārī - English version
This critical edition of al-Isfizāri’s book deals with the field of mechanics, known by early Muslims as “the sciences of weights and mechanical devices” (‘Ilmay al-Athqāl wal-Ḥiyal). The book introduces the theory of the “steelyard” and its applications. It extensively describes and provides exhaustive details on a large group of mechanical devices. Its contents are organised into seven parts. Reading this work of Isfizāri enhances the knowledge of historians and researchers of Islamic heritage and specifically the history of Arab mechanics. It also confirms both the originality and innovative characteristics of the Arab contribution to the field of machinery in terms of using mathematics and physics in both experimentation and theory. The work demonstrates how Muslim scientists’ ventures had substantially participated in transferring and developing scientific knowledge in addition to elaborating its value from the history of technology and mechanical engineering perspective.
Shared Knowledge
Kashf Al-Zunūn ‘An Asāmī Al-Kutub Wa Al-Funūn
(The Removal of Doubtfrom the Names of Books and the Sciences)
Nuṣrat al-Fatrah wa-ʿUsrat al-Fiṭrah (The History of the Seljuks) by Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-ʿImād al-Kātib al-Aṣfahānī (597 AH/1200 CE)
The Mechanical Corpus of al-Isfizārī in the Sciences of Weights and Ingenious Devices by Abū Ḥātim al-Muẓaffar ibn Ismāʿīl al-Isfizārī