LIBRARIES
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 B.C. The largest library, before the
advent of Islam was founded by Ptolemy in 287--84 B.C. at Alexandria, which is alleged to
contain about a quarter of million books.
The 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, which paved the way for the establishment of the earliest
libraries in the world Of Islam. The mosques which, during the early decades of Islam
formed the nerve centres of all political, religious and educational activities, housed
valuable libraries comprising books on religion, philosophy and science. Soon, however,
Muslims who distinguished themselves as the greatest patrons of learning, established
during the days of their glory some of the biggest libraries of mediaeval times. 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 organisation and maintenance of libraries.
The Caliphate Raashidah and that of the Omayyads were the periods of conquests,
consolidation and organisation,
Omayyads
Khalid bin Yazid, a learned scientist of the Omayyad dynasty is credited with being the
originator of libraries in Islam. But historical opinions differ on the point. The
celebrated Tunisian Historian Ibn-Khaldun categorically denies the existence of any
library during the time of Khalid bin Yazid, while Ibn Nadim in his well-known Fihrist
ascribes the opening of the first library of Islam to Khalid. Hazrat Omar bin Abdul Aziz,
the pious Omayyad Caliph had made available to the public the Royal library which he had
inherited from his ancestors. This clearly shows that the foundation of the library was
laid long before his time, probably by the learned Khalid bin Yazid. Thus during the
Omayyad Caliphate the literary treasures were properly arranged, catalogued and preserved
in a systematic way. Hisham Bin Abdul Malik collected a large. number of rare manuscripts
on various subjects in eluding an illustrated copy of the ancient history of Persia. A
large number of books on theology had been collected by Shahab-al-Zuhri, a well-known
traditionalist of his age. Besides the above, Abu Qullabah, Abu Umrao bin al-Alla and Kreb
bin Muslim had private libraries.
Abbasids
Under Mamun, the Muslims formed the vanguard of civilization. During the time of the early
Abbasid caliphs, every part of the globe was ransacked by the agents of the caliphs for
the hoarded wealth of antiquity. Mansur was the first Abbasid caliph 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 bv 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 well-known scholars
from ditsant 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, The library contained
a large number of books, which were 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, known as the 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, which employed the best brains of the age and
acquired astounding success is a short span of 20 years. The library attached to the House
of Wisdom was immensely enlarged and was 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. Humayun Ibn Ishaq, the chief of the translation department 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 big 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 11th century A. D. 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 Sabur bin Ardeshair, the Prime Minister
of the Buwayhid monarch Bahal al-Daulah. This was attached to the academy built by him in
Baghdad in 991 A.D. 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 G-hazni 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 oflibraries 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 an imperial library, 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 Holy Quran. Once there was a reference of Kitabul
Ain in the durbar of the Caliph Aziz, which was 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 the 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.
Spain
The Omayyad Caliphate of Spain attained a standard of civilization which was only rivalled
by the Abbasids in the East. Their intellectual achievements reached its zenith in the
reign of Al-Hakam, who himself being a renowned scholar patronised learning and granted
munificent bounties to the scholars. He founded a library of first magnitude in his
capital Cordova. According to Philip K, Hitti, "Al-Hakam was a bibliophile; his
agents ransacked the book-shops of Alexandria, Damascus and Baghdad with a view to buying
or copying manuscripts. The books thus gathered are said to have numbered400,000, their
titles filling a catalogue of 44 volumes, in each one of which 20 sheets were devoted to
poetical works alone" Al-Hakam, himself being an outstanding scholar, personally used
a large number of these books and wrote marginal notes on most of the manuscripts which
made them very valuable to later scholars. The celebrated Caliph paid extraordinary prices
for the rare manuscripts and according to Ibn Khaldun he purchased the first copy of
Aghani, written by al-Isfahani for a thousand dinars (four thousand rupees). According to
Ibn al-Aabar, the poetical works of the library were catalogued in 880 pages. There were
employed more than 5,000 calligraphists in the Royal library for copying the manuscripts.
The books were most systematically arranged in the library. There were more than seventy
libraries and one thousand institutions of higher education in Andalusia alone. Besides
the Imperial and academic libraries there were libraries owned by scholars and nobles. It
had become fashionable to own a library and the celebrated historian al-Maqqari has
related a humorous story from Allama Hizri who was in search of a book. He found the book
at a shop, but he could not purchase it as the price offered by another bidder was
exhorbitant and was much above the actual price. The Allama questioned the rival bidder if
he was much interested in the book. The reply given will sound strange these days. He said
that he was not literate, but he wanted to buy the book for his library which he had
established.
Morocco
In the beginning of the 17th century A.D. Sharif Zaidan, Sultan of Morocco, who had to
leave his capital,sent his library on a ship which was not delivered at the proper place,
and on its way to Marseilles, fell into the hands of Spanish pirates. The booty comprising
about four thousand volumes were placed by the order of Philip III, the Spanish Monarch,
in the Escurial library which made this library the richest in Arabic manuscripts in the
West.
Persia and Turkistan
The love for preserving and arranging books in the form of libraries had become universal
in the vast Islamic domains. The possession of a good library was taken to be a great
honour in those days.
Abu Masr Sahl bin Murzaban had spent his entire wealth on his library and had undertaken
several trips to Baghdad to purchase books. One of the best libraries of the period was
one owned by Muhammad bin Husain of Baghdad. Allama Ibn Nadim Baghdadi pays high tribute
to the taste of its founder. The library contained a copy of the Quran written by Khalid
bin Ali Alhayaj, a companion of Hazrat Ali, besides the letters written by the Prophet and
his family members. Aziz-al-Daulah (977--82 A.D.) a great monarch of Iran founded a
splendid library named Khazinat-al-Kutub at Shiraz in which he endeavoured to place all
books written since the birth of Islam till his own time. The library was specially known
for its fine building and artistic equipments. There were 360 rooms in the building and
each subject was alloted a separate room with its own catalogue. The books were neatly
arranged in almarahs and the library employed a large supervisory staff. Another library
known as the Home of books was founded by Minister Fazl bin Amir at Rayy, near modern
Teheran. It was supervised by the famous writer Ibn Miskawayh. It contained 400 camel
loads of books listed in a 10 volume catalogue and was frequently visited by the
celebrated geographer Ibn Yaqut, who received great help from this library in compiling
his world famous geographical enclyclopaedia. According toYaqut, Merv had ten big
libraries, one which called Azizia had more than 12,000 books. Books were liberally issued
to the readers and once Yaqut himself got 200 books issued in his name.
Mosques also functioned as repositories for books, says Philip K Hitti, Through gifts and
bequests mosque libraries became specially rich in religious literature. The famous
historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (1002-71A.D.) had willed his books as a waqf for Muslims,
but those were placed in his friends home. Al-Mausil, before the middle of the 10th
century had a library built by citizens in which paper was supplied to the student, who
wanted to take notes from the books.
The Samanid King of Bukhara, Nub bin Mansur owned a magnificent library, which according
to Ibn Khalikan possessed rare books on almost all subjects specially on philosophy. Ibn
Sina(Avicenna), the re-known intellectual luminary of Islam was given access to this
library as he had cured the king of a fatal disease. Later on, Avicenna was appointed its
librarian and he was much indebted to this library for his encyclopaedic knowledge. The
library was housed in a big building in which a room was allotted to each subject. The
books were systematically arranged in boxes and shelves.
Iraq
Saif-al-Daulah of Alleppo, the Hamadanid ruler had equal hold over the sword and the pen.
He was a great patron of learning and had collected round him such intellectual giants as
Abu Nasr Farabi, al Isfahani and Al-Mutanabbi. He ruled from 944 to 967 A.D. and founded a
splendid library containing rare books on literature. The famous poet Muhammad bin Hashim
and his brother were in charge of his library.
The great library of Tripolis (Syria) contained more than three million volumes, including
50,000 copies of the Holy Qur’an.
A number of special libraries had sprung up dealing with particular subjects. Cairo has
the distinction of establishing the first hospital library containing a large number of
books on medicine, which was attached to the hospital founded by Ibn Tulun. The
Bimaristan, founded by the celebrated physician Zakariya
According to Nasir-ud-din Toosi, Hulagu Khan established a big library at Maragha with the
books looted from Islamic countries. The library contained more than 400,000 books.
Decay
There were several causes for the decay of libraries in the world of Islam. With the
downfall of the Abbasids, their vast empire was divided into small principalities, who for
sometime kept up the tradition of their great predecessors. But their resources were
limited. The greatest threat presented to the intellectual life of the Islamic world was
the destruction wrought by the Mongol hordes. Changiz Khan, better known as the
"Scourge of God" effaced all traces of Muslim civilization in Turkistan, Iran,
Afghanistan and Asia Minor. He burnt remorselessly all the intellectual treasures of
Bukhara, Merv, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ghazni and Rayy accumulated through centuries by the
Muslims. The greatest single blow to Islamic civilization was struck by Hulagu Khan the
Mongol, who destroyed Baghdad in 1258 A.D., and reduced to ashes the greatest literary
treasures found in the Islamic world. It is said that millions of books were thrown in the
River Tigris and its water turned dark.
The Muslim civilization had attained such a high standard that it served as a beacon light
to the West. The Christian conquerors of Spain tried to efface all traces of Arab
civilization from their sacred land. In 1499 all literary treasures of the Muslims were
collected from different libraries of Spain and burned by Cardinal Ximens, Archbishop of
Toledo. Writing in the Spirit of Islam, Ameer Ali says, that in Spain, "Christianity
destroyed the intellectual life of the people. TheMuslims had turned Spain into a garden;
the Christians converted it into a desert. The Muslims had covered the land with colleges
and schools; the Christians tranformed them into churches for the worship of saints and
images. The literary and scientific treasures amassed by the Muslim sovereigns were
consigned to the flames"
It has been propagated by western historians that the Arabs destroyed the famous
Alexandrian library. The latest historical researches have established beyond doubt that
the said library was destroyed by the Romans themselves long before the advent of Islam.
Writing in the Glimpses of World History, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru says: "There is a
story that the Arabs burnt the famous library of Alexandria, but this is now believed to
be false. The Arabs were too fond of books to behave in this barbarious manner. It is
probable, however, that Emperor Theodosius of Constantinople was guilty of this
destruction or part of it. A part of the library had been destroyed long before, during a
siege at the time of Julius Caesar. Theodosius did not approve of the old pagan Greek
books dealing with the Greek mythologies and philosophies.
He was too devout a Christian. it is said that he used books as fuel with which to heat
his bath".
On the contrary, it was the Christian crusaders who burnt the great Muslim library of
Tripolis (Syria) containing more than three million books.
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