Welcome to Al-Furqan’s E-Database
The largest gateway of Islamic written heritage
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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: | 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: | 31 |
| Unpublished Catalogues: | 1 |
| Published Catalogues Total: 31 | Most of the collection of Dār al-Kutub al-Waṭanīya is catalogued on index cards in the reading room. Partial catalogues and handlists have also appeared from time to time. No single system is adhered to; some are simple lists of no scholarly value. |
1875 | |
1884 | |
1884 | |
1884 | |
1888 | |
1892 | |
1900 | |
1908 – 1911 | |
1947 | |
1956 | |
1958 | |
1962 | |
1966 | |
1966 | |
1967 | |
1967 | |
1967 | |
1969 | |
1970 | |
1971 – 1972 | |
1972 | |
1972 | |
1973 | |
1974 | |
1975 | |
1977 – 1981 | |
1983 | |
1989 | |
1989 | |
1989 | |
| Unpublished Catalogues Total: 1 | 1840 |
| Union Catalogues & Surveys Total: 12 | 1884 |
1910 | |
1947 | |
1955 | |
1956 | |
1958 | |
1967 | |
1967 | |
1967 | |
1971 | |
1976 | |
1990 | |
| Bibliographical appendix Total: 14 | 1947 |
1949 | |
1958 | |
1967 | |
1972 | |
1977 | |
1978 | |
1980 | |
1982 | |
1984 | |
1986 | |
1986 | |
1989 | |
1989 |
Cities surveyed
Libraries surveyed
Catalogues surveyed
