Islamic Heritage Foundation Research Articles

Catalogue of the Private Collections of Manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ

Reviewed by: Catalogue of the Private Collections of Manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ Elias G. Saba Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ. Catalogue of the Private Collections of Manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library. 8 volumes. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub wal-Wathāʾiq al-Qawmiyya; London: Muʾassasat al-Furqān li-l-Turāth al-Islāmī, Markaz Dirāsāt al-Mukhṭūṭāt al-Islāmiyya, 2015. 6762 pp. £280. ISBN: 978-1-905-12261- The Catalogue of the Private Collections of Manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library published by the al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation is an important contribution to Arabic bibliographic literature. This eight-volume catalog is the result of a larger project by the Egyptian National Library to better catalog and digitize their holdings, much of which is being done in cooperation with the al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation. These eight volumes are the second part of the al-Furqān series of catalogs on the National Library, the first part being the Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in The Egyptian National Library (Dār al-Kutub alMiṣriyyah): Collections (Majāmīʿ), edited by ʿAbd al-Sattār ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq Ḥalwajī in 2011. Like the first catalog, the present catalog includes only the individual works in volumes of collected works (majāmīʿ), not individual works that are volumes in themselves. It also represents the prolonged efforts of a team of three scholars, Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Sattār ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm, Ikrāmī Muḥammad Abū al-ʿAlā, and Aḥmad al-Sayyid al-Ṣādiq, led by the general editor Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ. This catalog covers only a small portion of manuscripts in the private collections in this library. An important aspect of this catalog, which is clear in the Arabic, has gotten lost in the English translation. Majāmīʿ [End Page 253] (sing. majmūʿa) refers to particular Arabic codices that contain a collection of various distinct works. These codical collections, sometimes written intentionally as one volume and sometimes the result of binding together smaller manuscripts and scattered pages, are a particularly important part of Islamic book history. Majmāmīʿ are very common in manuscript and perhaps the most common way to preserve shorter books, letters, pamphlets, and more. Since they contain many different texts, these collections are usually given short shriftin manuscript catalogs and bibliographies. Thankfully, ʿAbd al-Bāsiṭ has overseen the production of a wonderful catalog that does justice to all 6,993 works in these collections. It is a pleasure to see such detailed entries for all of the works covered by this catalog. The catalog is arranged alphabetically by title of the work. This arrangement makes for easy consultation when searching for a particular text. Each entry is numbered and gives a full description of the larger manuscript in which this work is found. In addition to the title of the work, every entry also contains the name and death date of the author, the copyist, the date of copy, the number and size of pages (in centimeters), a brief physical description of the manuscript, the incipit and explicit, descriptions of ownership marks and other paratextual elements, further references for the work and author, a note on the physical condition of the manuscript, the topic of the work (i.e., grammar, law, prosopography, etc.), and the call number of the physical manuscript and of its microfilm copy. Each entry is meticulously documented. One gets a relatively complete sense of the works in question. In this regard, this catalog will undoubtedly be a useful research aid for those interested in the history of the book. Although it covers only a very limited portion of the library's vast holdings, it is a marked improvement over the earlier catalogs of the Egyptian National Library, such as the catalogs discussed by Noah Gardiner for Dissertation Reviews (http://www.dissertationreviews.org/archives/7355). In spite of the praise this catalog deserves, there are some shortcomings to this work that are all the more noticeable given how much effort went into compiling this catalog. In particular, it...

The Manuscripts that Never Were: In Search of the Tārīkh al-Fattāsh in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana1

Abstract:This article presents a fieldwork report conducted by the authors to locate certain manuscripts – namely copies of the chronicle titled Tārīkh al-Fattāsh – listed in recent catalogues of Islamic manuscripts from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana published by the al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation and prepared by Bābā Yūnus Muḥammad. Unfortunately, after ten days of enquiry in the two countries, it became evident that the catalogues are inaccurate and that at least some of the manuscripts described do not exist.

World-Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca. Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. By David A. King (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Text and Studies 36). pp. xxviii, 638. Leiden and London, Brill and al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1999.

World-Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca. Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. By David A. King (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Text and Studies 36). pp. xxviii, 638. Leiden and London, Brill and al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1999. - Volume 12 Issue 3

The Near and Middle East - Catalogue of the Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Bosnian Manuscripts, Tome VI. Prepared by Mustafa Jahie. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation; Sarajevo: The Riasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1999. 563 pp.

The Near and Middle East - Catalogue of the Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Bosnian Manuscripts, Tome VI. Prepared by Mustafa Jahie. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation; Sarajevo: The Riasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1999. 563 pp. - Volume 63 Issue 2

Yusuf Ibish (gen. ed.)and Atiyeh George (co-ed.): The conservation and preservation of Islamic manuscripts: Proceedings of the third Conference of al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 18th-19th November 1993. (Publication no.19.) xiv, 213 pp. London: al-Furqān Heritage Foundation, 1417/1997. £12.

Yusuf Ibish (gen. ed.)and Atiyeh George (co-ed.): The conservation and preservation of Islamic manuscripts: Proceedings of the third Conference of al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 18th-19th November 1993. (Publication no.19.) xiv, 213 pp. London: al-Furqān Heritage Foundation, 1417/1997. £12.

Yasin Dutton (gen. ed.): The codicology of Islamic manuscripts. Proceedings of the second Conference of al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 4–5 December 1993. (Publication no. 15.) x, 145 p. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £9.

Yasin Dutton (gen. ed.): The codicology of Islamic manuscripts. Proceedings of the second Conference of al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 4–5 December 1993. (Publication no. 15.) x, 145 p. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £9.

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. IV. (Supplement.) Edited by Geoffrey Roper, pp. ix, 489. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. NLG 250. US $143.00.

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. IV. (Supplement.) Edited by Geoffrey Roper, pp. ix, 489. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. NLG 250. US $143.00.

Baba Yunus Muhammad (comp.): Fihris makhṭūṭāt Dār al-Wathā'iq al-Qawmiyya al-Nījīriyya bi-Kādūnā/Handlist of manuscripts in the Nigerian National Archives of Kaduna, Part 1. Ed. by John Hunwick. (Publication no. 13.) [ii], 342 pp. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £24.

Baba Yunus Muhammad (comp.): Fihris makhṭūṭāt Dār al-Wathā'iq al-Qawmiyya al-Nījīriyya bi-Kādūnā/Handlist of manuscripts in the Nigerian National Archives of Kaduna, Part 1. Ed. by John Hunwick. (Publication no. 13.) [ii], 342 pp. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £24. - Volume 59 Issue 2

Stoyanka Kenderova (comp.): Catalogue of Arabic manuscripts in SS Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, Bulgaria: Hadīth sciences. Ed. by Muhammad Isa Waley. (Publication no. 7.) xxix, 459 pp. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £32.

Stoyanka Kenderova (comp.): Catalogue of Arabic manuscripts in SS Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, Bulgaria: Hadīth sciences. Ed. by Muhammad Isa Waley. (Publication no. 7.) xxix, 459 pp. London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1995. £32.

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. III. Edited By Geoffrey Roper, pp. vi, 716. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. NLG 250, US$143.00

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. III. Edited By Geoffrey Roper, pp. vi, 716. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. NLG 250, US$143.00 - Volume 6 Issue 1

A. Stoilova and Z. Ivanovna (comp.): The holy Qurān through the centuries. A catalogue of the Exhibition of Manuscripts and Printed Editions Preserved in the SS Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, February 1995. 66 pp., 2 plates [on inside covers]. Sofia: SS Cyril and Methodius Library, 1995. (Sponsored by al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, London. £32.)

A. Stoilova and Z. Ivanovna (comp.): The holy Qurān through the centuries. A catalogue of the Exhibition of Manuscripts and Printed Editions Preserved in the SS Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, February 1995. 66 pp., 2 plates [on inside covers]. Sofia: SS Cyril and Methodius Library, 1995. (Sponsored by al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, London. £32.)

ՙAbadallāh Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī (comp.): Fihris makhṭūṭat baՙḍ al-maktabāt al-khāṣṣa fī՚l Yaman (= Catalogue of the manuscripts of some of the private libraries of the Yemen). Edited by J. Johansen. (Publication no. 12.) [ix], 506 pp. London: al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. £24.

ՙAbadallāh Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī (comp.): Fihris makhṭūṭat baՙḍ al-maktabāt al-khāṣṣa fī՚l Yaman (= Catalogue of the manuscripts of some of the private libraries of the Yemen). Edited by J. Johansen. (Publication no. 12.) [ix], 506 pp. London: al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. £24. - Volume 59 Issue 1

Al Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation: Its Goal, Scope and Achievements

Depuis 1989, la Fondation Al Furqan pour le Patrimoine islamique a cherche a ameliorer l'acces a la localisation et aux contenus des manuscrits islamiques, ou qu'ils soient. Ce travail s'est acheve par la publication d'un Reperloire couvrant 105 pays. Les listes manuscrites de 22 pays d'Afrique furent selectionnes en premier, car leurs collections sont particulierement en danger. Ces listes sont arrivees du Kenya, du Mali et des Iles des Comores et le recensement avance au Mali, en Mauritanic et au Nigeria. Les catalogues de Lituanie et Lettonie sont termines et commandes dans le Tatarstan et en Belarus

The Significance of Islamic Manuscripts: Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference of Al‐Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation (30th November‐1st December 1991)., John Cooper, editor

The Significance of Islamic Manuscripts: Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference of Al‐Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation (30th November‐1st December 1991)., John Cooper, editor

World Survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. II. Edited by Geoffrey Roper, pp. vi, 724. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1993. Distributed by E.J. Brill, Leiden. Dfl. 250. US $143.00.

World Survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. II. Edited by Geoffrey Roper, pp. vi, 724. London, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1993. Distributed by E.J. Brill, Leiden. Dfl. 250. US $143.00.

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. I. Edited by Geoffrey Roper. pp. xvi, 269. London, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1992. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. Dfl. 250. US $143.00.

World survey of Islamic manuscripts. Vol. I. Edited by Geoffrey Roper. pp. xvi, 269. London, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1992. Distributed by E. J. Brill, Leiden. Dfl. 250. US $143.00. - Volume 3 Issue 3