Welcome to Al-Furqan’s E-Database
The largest gateway of Islamic written heritage
matches
- Language
- XAlbanian
- XAmharic
- XArabic
- XAzeri
- XBamum
- XBelorussian
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- XBosnian
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‘World Collections’ databank / collection
The ‘World Collections’ databank / collection holds the digitised outcome of the survey on the collections of Islamic manuscripts in the world, completed and published by the Al-Furqan Foundation in 1994, under the title “The World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts”.. This Survey is available in both the English and Arabic language.
This flagship project (the only one of this type to date) started in 1989, focusing on identifying and recording undocumented Islamic manuscript collections in the world, with the aim to support and instigate research into the field of Islamic manuscripts. A number of known scholars and experts contributed to this encyclopaedic work.
The Survey identified collections in 106 countries. It is a compilation of detailed independent studies, highlighting just over a million and a half Islamic manuscripts from just over 2,500 collections. These collections, in more than 40 languages, belong to public and private libraries in almost 1,300 cities. It gathered extensive information about these libraries, including details about their establishment and the status of their collections, unveiling in the process rare manuscripts. For example, the collection of manuscripts at the Institute of Oriental Culture (University of Tokyo) - that was acquired in 1987 - included several new and unique Islamic manuscripts. The noteworthy discoveries were two copies of Risala fi anwaʿ al-mashruʿat, a comprehensive work on the terminology of jurisprudence, by Luṭf Allah al-Kaydani (died 1349 AD /750 AH). These were significant findings, as they had not even been mentioned in the most renowned classical period references, such as Brockelmann's famous work Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur (GAL), Sezgin's Geschichte Des Arabischens Schriftums (GAS), and Kaḥḥala's Muʿjam al-muʾallifin.
A large number of the identified libraries have listed and included detailed descriptions about the manuscripts held in their collection, in a form of a document or publication. This publication is known as a ‘catalogue’; with most of them published and available for purchase. Another form of a published catalogue is one that was compiled by a group of libraries, known as ‘library consortium’. These libraries partnered to combine their collections into one unified published catalogue, known as a ‘union catalogue’.
Some libraries held collections that were not catalogued or documented. Others made an attempt to describe their collections in simplified lists and general documentations. These were usually not published and are known as ‘unpublished catalogues’.
A unique outcome of the Survey was the identification of all the various catalogues. Just over 5,500 catalogues of Islamic manuscripts were surveyed, including the listing of almost 700 union catalogues, and almost 1,000 unpublished catalogues.
All this information and much more is ready to be explored on theAl-Furqan Digital Library, under the ‘World Collections’ databank.
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| Contact: | Shaykh Jarraḥ, Centre for Islamic Studies (Markaz al-Abḥath al-Islamiya), |
| Telephone: | (02) 828962 |
| Date of establishment: | ca. 17th century |
| Status: | Private |
| Status Details: | Private family library |
| Condition of access: | The library is, now housed in the Centre for Islamic Studies, and is open to students and researchers. Open 08:00-14:30 Sun. – Thurs.; closed Fri. – Sat. |
| Total number of Islamic MSS: | 178 (172 Arabic; 2 Persian; 4 Turkish). |
| Description of Collection: | The majority of the MSS are in good condition, although some have suffered damage and stand in urgent need of conservation. Of the Arabic MSS 71 are majamiʿ, and the collection thus contains many more titles than the total number of MSS would suggest. The subjects include Qurʾanic sciences and exegesis, Ḥadith, jurisprudence, Sufism,fatawa, dogmatics, Arabic literature (especially poetry) and lexicography, logic, astronomy, medicine, history and faḍaʾil. The oldest MS. is a copy of Sharḥ al-siyar al-kabir by Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Sarakhsi, dated 480/1087, but most of the MSS were copied in the seventeenth century CE and after. The pages and margins of some works have been finely decorated. In addition to the work named above, important MSS include: 1) Risala fi takfir al-Shiʿa wa-'l-rafiḍa al-Ismaʿiliya wa-'l-Ithnaʿashariya by Muẓhir b. ʿAbd al-Raḥman b. ʿAli b. Ismaʿil; 2) a majmuʿa containing documents and comments concerning Muḥammad al-Tafalani(d. 1191/1777), Muḥammad ibn Budayr (d. 1220/1805), Ḥasan al-Ḥusayni (d. 1226/1811), and others; 3) Al-Fatawa al-Tamartashiya by Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allah al-Tamartashi al-Ghazzi. |
| Notes: | See published World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts. 1992 - 1994, Vol.2, p 579. |
| Published Catalogues: | 0 |
| Unpublished Catalogues: | 1 |
| Unpublished Catalogues Total: 1 | 1975 |
| Union Catalogues & Surveys Total: 16 | 1928 |
1938 | |
1945 – 1946 | |
1947 | |
1954 – 1964 | |
1976 | |
1981 | |
1981 | |
1982 | |
1983 | |
1983 | |
1984 | |
1986 | |
1987 | |
1987 | |
1989 | |
| Bibliographical appendix Total: 11 | 1947 |
1967 | |
1978 | |
1982 | |
1983 | |
1983 | |
1984 | |
1986 | |
1986 | |
1988 | |
1991 |
Cities surveyed
Libraries surveyed
Catalogues surveyed
