Muslims – Founders of great libraries in history

The human tendency of preserving the records of their achievements in various fields of life is very primitive and dates back to the beginning of civilization. Before the invention of paper, such records were laid down on stone slabs, clay tablets, parchments, leather and pieces of wood. The temples and State archives of Assyria and Babylon contained clay tablet libraries.

The first library in Greece owes its existence to Pesistratus, who established it in Athens in 600 BC. The largest library, before the advent of Islam was founded by Ptolemy in 287 – 84 BC at Alexandria, which is alleged to contain about a quarter of million books.

he birth of Islam provided great impetus to human pursuits of knowledge. The necessity of preserving the Quran and the Traditions (Hadith) awakened the spirit of collecting such writings in various forms, paving the way for the establishment of the earliest libraries in the world of Islam. The mosques which formed the nerve centers of all political, religious and educational activities, housed valuable libraries comprising books on religion, philosophy and science.

Soon Muslims distinguished themselves as the greatest patrons of learning, established during their glorious day. The great intellectuals of their age including Avicenna the encyclopaedist, Ibn Miskawayh the historian-philosopher, Al-Fadl-Ibn Naubakht and Humayun Ibn Ishaq the renowned translator were entrusted with the responsibility for the organization and maintenance of libraries. The Caliphate Raashidah and that of the Omayyads were the periods of conquests, consolidation and organization,

Abbasids

Under Mamun, the Muslims formed the vanguard of civilization. During the time of the early Abbasid, caliph Mansur was the first who took an active interest in the pursuits and propagation of learning. He founded a translation department in which classical and scientific works were translated from various languages into Arabic.

The philosophical, mathematical and scientific works of Greek masters, which otherwise would have remained buried in the dark recess of the Greek Imperial Palaces, were brought within reach of the common man by translating them into Arabic.

According to the celebrated Urdu historian Maulana Shibli Nomani, the Darul Hukama (House of Wisdom) founded by Harun-ar-Rashid which was divided into two sections-one was concerned with the translation work and the other related to the collection of books and housed a big library. Yahya Barmeki, the famous grand vazier of Harun had summoned scholars from distant lands, who adorned the literary gatherings of the great Caliph.

Harun-ar-Rashid who had founded a big library at Baghdad had appointed Al-Fadl Ibn Naubakht, a renowned scholar and translator, as head of his library – containing a large number of books efficiently arranged and catalogued. Harun had a good taste for books and even carried large number of books on his military and other expeditions. Once, when he had gone to Riqqah, he took eight boxes of books with him. His pleasure resort built on the bank of the Qatul canal, had a library containing about 1,060 books.

The reign of Mamun-ar-Rashid (Augustus of the Arabs), formed the most glorious period in the field of intellectual achievements of the Muslims. He was the moving spirit behind the House of Wisdom employing the best brains of the age and acquired astounding success in a short span of 20 years. The library attached to the House of Wisdom was enlarged and managed by Sahl bin Harun and Saeed bin Harun, the Persians. A large collection of books of the pre-Islamic-era were added to the library.

The well-known book binder Ibn Abi-ul-Huraish was employed in the library for binding work. Chief of the translation department Humayun Ibn Ishaq was also made the librarian of this famous library. Among the rare manuscripts preserved in the library were a document written on parchment by Abdul Mutallib bin Hashim (grand-father of the Prophet) and a few writings of Hazrat Ali and Imam Hasan.

The interest taken by the Caliph in the accumulation of literary treasures created a taste for books not only in his associates but also among the common man. A number of ministers, officials and wealthy people established big libraries by spending large sums. Yahya Barmeki, grand vazier of Harun, owned a big library which contained a large collection of Persian and Greek manuscripts.

Three copies of each book were kept in his library, which after the downfall of Barmekids were added to the Imperial library of Mamun. Fateh bin Khakan, the vazier of Mutawakkil Billah founded a grand library which contained rare books on astronomy.

Muhammad bin Abdul Malik Ziyat Prime Minister of Caliph Wasiq Billah established a private library on which he spent ten thousand rupees. A library was owned by Allama al-Waqidi, which was alleged to have contained 600 camel loads of books mainly on historical subjects. The libraries gained so much popularity that by the close of the 11 Century AD there existed a network of libraries throughout the vast Abbasid Empire and before the Mongol invasion, Baghdad alone had 36 big libraries.

Public library
The first public library in Baghdad was opened by the Prime Minister of the Buwayhid monarch Bahal al-Daulah Sabur bin Ardeshair. This was attached to the academy built by him in Baghdad in 991 AD. Before the establishment of this library, all libraries were privately owned, and not open to the common man. This library of Sabur contained more than ten thousand books. This led to the opening of private libraries in the big cities of the Muslim countries including Baghdad, Cairo, Merv, Mosul and Tripolis.

The big colleges and universities of Baghdad, Neshapur, Merv, Cairo, Damascus, Isfahan and Ghazni including the world famous Nizamiyah and Mustansariya of Baghdad housed’ splendid libraries. The principal mosques of the big cities-of the world of Islam, which served as teaching institutions, also had sections of libraries attached to them.

Egypt
The Rise of Cairo under al-Muiz-li-dinillah added a spirit of rivalry in the patronage of learning between the caliphs of the Houses of Abbas and Fatimah. Al-Muiz has been acclaimed as the Mamun of the west and the Maecenas of Muslim Africa. The Fatimid caliphs Aziz and Hakim Billah were also great patrons of learning.

Aziz has the distinction of adding an academy of higher education to the famous Al-Azhar mosque which housed a big library containing valuable books on Muslim theology, jurisprudence and philosophy. Caliph Aziz is also credited with founding one of the biggest libraries ever opened in the world of Islam. Allama Maqrizi has given its details in his well-known work Kitab Al-Khatat-wal-Aasar.

This library was housed in a part of the Imperial palace and comprised forty chambers. There has been difference of opinion among writers about the total number of books possessed by this library. According to the estimate of Ibn al-Tanvir it had 200,000 volumes, according to Ibn Ali Wasli it had 160,000 and according to Ibn Abi Tai it contained 600,000 volumes.

This famous library contained 18,000 books on ancient philosophy and 24,000 copies of the Holy Quran. Once there was a reference of Kitabul Ain in the durbar of the Caliph Aziz, sent for from the library and the librarian presented 30 different copies of the required book. One of these copies was written in the hand of Khalil bin Ahmad Basri (author of the book), this library possessed a globe made by Ptolemy which was 2,250 years old and another globe made by Abul Hasan Sufi for Azud-al-Daulah which was purchased for 15 thousand rupees.

Among the rare manuscripts were specimens of the artistic writings of the renowned calligraphist Ibn Muqlah and an autographed copy of the history of Tabari. The Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim laid the foundation of Darul Ilum on the lines of Darul Hukama (House of Wisdom) of Mamun. It was rather a rival institution and was equipped with a splendid library on whose upkeep large sums were spent by its patron. Great scholars and scientists were attached to the library, which was open to the public. Students were encouraged in research work and special apartments were reserved for the purpose. They were supplied with stationery free of cost.

To be continued