Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Organized by
Arewa House and the United State Embassy,
Abuja – Nigeria
(2007)
Presenter
January, 2007
2
Abstract:
This paper defines Arabic Manuscripts in a broad cultural discourse. It also conceives
Arabic documents as a public property. Again, the paper contends that authorship in
Islam is considered as a community service and that it does not suggest any ownership of
intellectual heritage by individual other than the entire community. Therefore, the paper
explains that knowledge in Islam, just like the case with justice, is a distributive
phenomenon. The two should be obtained and maintained in order to create a healthy
The intellectual development of human intellect had made it possible for the
The past leaders sought knowledge and dispersed it across. The inherited political and
sociological mastery accredited to the North was acquired through knowledge. Thus the
notion 'knowledge is power' is only possible because the leaders of thought were able to
encourage the public to embark on learning. They personally took it a duty to mobilize
the public to read and think. The general guiding principle behind this attitude was the
theory that knowledge is conceived to be distributive by nature the same as the economic
Equally, depositories should not be an end purpose in themselves. One should not
house any intellectual property and guard it jealously to the detriment of the public
development. The archives are only important in the sense that they serve as a
3
bibliographical transit terminus. Therefore, research findings can only acquire academic
authenticity and scholarship reverence if they are published and circulated. The point,
here, is that ideas are never static the same as the society which produced them. On the
classification and adjustment. This is only possible if they are widely distributed and thus
further that any attempt at examining Arabic Manuscripts in Nigeria stirs up another
country.
Some conclusions are drawn from the facts that for a society to develop it must
evolve strategies for preserving and protecting its cultural heritage. It provides
properties.
We may need, in what follows, to define what constitutes Arabic manuscripts and
explain how they are being generated. We shall also account for their social import by
analysis of their function in cultural framework. The point, here, is to show how relevant
are these manuscripts to our culture? Thus, emphasizing the imperative of protecting
them.
4
They contains discourses on various subjects Law, Theology, Qur’nic and Hadith
Iloriyyu, 1978; Aliyu: 1972 and Galadanci: 1993). Babalola (1993:19) describes Arabic
Muslims’ languages of Nigeria, such as Hausa, Fulfulde, Kanuri or Yoruba which are
written in Arabic script, and generally called Ajami, may also be classified as Arabic
manuscripts. The inclusion of other languages besides Arabic may have been necessitated
by social function of text in a given context. Again, it may have been projected on the
construct which `pieces together' the various parts of a text. The parts, thus mentioned,
are the expressed notions, thoughts, feelings, etc. as the conceptual background of the
text and the linguistic parts which include the lexical, syntactic, phonological and
5
morphological items put together within the constraints of Arabic language led to a
textual reality called here, Arabic Manuscripts (Umar, 2004). Such a linguistic
application is called 'Texturization'. The notion ‘…to piece together’, means to ensure the
textual coherence, cohesion and thematization ‘both linguistically and conceptually'. For
'connectivity between its surface elements'. And to maintain its themes means to 'be
arranged in such a fashion as to draw attention to those parts of its contents'. (Basil, H.
and Ian M., 1992:192) Arabic Manuscripts were written in the standard Arabic language
as a result of matured learning effort. Strict observation of its linguistic rules and
convention is clearly demonstrated by the texts. And the conclusive nature of its
discussion on its pragmatics will reveal. In this sense, the process of texturing is seen as a
mechanistic:
The other textual features in text make include the extra-linguistic factors such as the
socio-cultural, historical process, psychological state of both the authors and their
audience. That means texts are motivated by socio-linguistic and intellectual realities.
and context-dependant. Some of the contextual factors which motivated the compilation
of Arabic Manuscripts include the prevailing social injustices, political insecurity, moral
decency and other forms of human rights violation in our society. Therefore, Arabic
Manuscripts were never a linguistic accident in this nation. The question how Arabic
In other words, this is called inter-textuality. It is a discoursal component that shows how
authors, readers and listeners recall their past textual experience with other text worlds.
(Umar, 2000 :?). Again, inter-textuality, as perceived in this paper, is about how texts, of
which Arabic Manuscripts sustain, evoke and stimulate early textual familiarity.
Familiarity in this place means knowledge. And on this account, other texts are recalled
and situationalized as a dependent textual variable. This suggests the universality and
linkage of scholarship as data are always shared regardless of time, place, school of
Three important points are noted here: One, inter-textuality is a dependent textual feature.
For instance, Arabic Manuscripts rhetorical intent and the communicative thrust largely
rely on the works produced by early scholars as documented in the manuscripts; Two,
attribute linking past with present. Therefore: "the semiotic value of citation undergoes
form and value in the host text is equally motivated by "a variety of socio-psychological
only suggest the notion that Arabic Manuscripts are motivated socio-linguistic
consequence, but they are also unique Arabic texts peculiar to their own communicative
environment and the 'circumstances which led to their production. Therefore, the
contention on how cultural are Arabic manuscripts in Nigeria must have been established
now. It may have also been projected by our contention that Arabic manuscripts are
Thus far, the relevance of Arabic Manuscripts as qualifying to be cultural materials that is
between its objective and context. Therefore, texts of which manuscripts are made are not
only recognized, as linguistic events, which perform some actions in the historical
development of a nation. That is to contend the practical intellectual evidence of the texts
as signifying the level of culture and civilization. In other words, Arabic Manuscripts
have pragmatically created "the relations between language and its context of utterance."
(Ibid:59) for instance a specific Arabic is used in an applied Fiqh convention for socio-
cultural reform in the 19th century Hausa society. Such an application of language in the
aspect of its function and which is to focalized "the effect of the utterance on the
hearer/reader." That refers to the purported end result of the text. For instance, to what
extent Arabic Manuscripts make impact on manners and behaviors of the people of
Nigeria? The answer is a one sentence: the establishment of a culture based on Islamic
tenets. In fact, Arabic Manuscripts as a texts are aimed at consolidating and promoting
that the cultural gains. They have tremendously taught and inculcated some social values
and world views of Islam. One may not need to explain the processes of how the Islamic
culture has been introduced to this country at this occasion. It suffices to assert that
Islamic culture had taken the place of old African world views of African Muslims.
culture which has no conflict with Islamic teaching are retained as Islamic. 2) Aspects
which contradict the Islamic teaching are rejected.3) In between the two there are aspects
manuscripts. Besides, to what extent their impact on the behavior and intellect of listener
and reader are felt? It has been explained earlier the effect of Arabic Manuscripts are
and its categories. One may need to read Kitab Najm al-Ikhwan by Sheikh Usman ralize
the extent of our contention, here. The Sheikh makes issues clear relating to some
theocratic concepts of Islamic State and its structure. Such concepts of Caliphate,
Kingdom, Imamate, Wilayate and Sultanate are all brought to attention, hereby.
Giving the fact that Islam makes knowledge a necessary tool for establishing a
sound society, it becomes imperative for authorities to show interest and invest in
generation, preservation and dissemination of scholarly heritage. Many past Caliphs had
protect intellectual properties. Thus, the legacy of Baghdad, Basra, Samarqand, Cordova,
Qairawan, Fez, Timbuktu, Azhar, Sokoto, ‘Yandotto, Katsina, Zaria Borno, Kano and
other centers of excellence around the world. Therefore, establishing depositories and
documentation houses has never new development in Islamic world. What is new is the
10
fact that, individual private collections become the practice. This may not be unconnected
to the historical movement in Muslims societies after the collapse of Caliphate system
due to colonial intervention. The fact which made individual scholars and their families
However, the colonial power realized the importance of those documents the same as it
understood that it can only succeeded in its adventure if the culture of the colonized is
fully understood. And was only possible through study and analysis of those documents.
According to Babalola (1993, Ibid), the practical ‘Archival activities’ began in the
Northern Nigeria ‘on June 14th, 1959’. The search was led by S.S Waniko:
About 4,000 works were retrieved from Sokoto province by then. Subsequently, four-
department of History, A.B.U., Zaria. The scheme was “Launched in 1964 as an inter-
disciplinary” research project”. The take up grant was provided by the then Government
University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello University. (N.H.R.S Report No.1, p.2, 1966)
More efforts to house Arabic Manuscripts were made later by some institutions in
University, Kano; Centre for Islamic Studies, Usumanu Danfodio University; Centre for
Interestingly, these documentation centers share one common goal and objective.
That includes:
The most alarming here is that there has no closed contact, or coordination and co-
operation among these centers. Each seems to exist and operate as an island of itself. This
is contrary to what is taking place in other documentation centers and units, both
individual and cooperates, in America and Europe where there is a concern on Arabic
The interest, thus far, shown by international individual and institutions in Arabic
Manuscripts, for whatever reason, have evidently underscored the importance of these
documents culturally, historically, politically and otherwise. One interesting point which
is practical is the existing cooperation among the so many international depositories and
libraries aimed at protecting Arabic manuscripts. There are also evidence of effort at
preserving and circulating them scientifically. One may not need to emphasize the
Computer aided programs, which very much friendly, are being used to protect and
disseminate corpus of data in their massiveness. It is so easy and much organized to store
manage and manipulate data with computer than to keep them on shelves. The following
pages provide us instances where electronic devices are being employed to secure
In Egypt, for example, Arabic manuscripts are, in the first place, defined as
cultural indicant. They are the treasury of heritage. It is also focalized as a pier of cultural
bridge and pillar or backbone of national historical pride. For this realization, it becomes
necessary to take proper measures to protect them in concrete terms. The most immediate
step taken by the authorities toward achieving that is identifying the locations where the
manuscripts are housed? Who is having them? How they acquired them? One fact
emerged apparent that manuscripts are found scattered in so many places and cities.
Some are kept by individual families in a poor condition. We gathered that there are about
33 locations where Arabic manuscripts are housed in Egypt. A total sum of 132000
manuscripts are said to have been indexed thereat. In such a situation, it is increasingly
difficult for researchers to visit all these locations in order to have access to the
13
documents. In fact one may not know where to start from. In an attempt to arrest the
situation, the authorities devised strategies to arrest the situation from escalating by
transferring the documents into electronic forms at each location. Then a network was
created linking them at one terminal called Central Information and Documentation Unit.
It was later developed into the Egyptian Library website. By this measure, manuscripts
are not only protected but they are also made easy to world. (Refer to Egypt library web
site). Going by its content, the website provides information on Arabic manuscripts from
Egypt is not the only country which is demonstrating interest in protection and
preservation of scholarly cultural heritage. Earlier developments in the late 20th century
some efforts were made in investing in this kind of project around the world. For
configured microcomputer, keyboard and display terminal’ (See Anees M.A., 1987:25).
Siamwalla and Company, Bangkok, Thailand has also produced software called Qur’an
Database which enjoys “…high-resolution graphics and display with English translation
… It enables the user to retrieve any particular verse in any Surah of the Qur’an…”
(Ibid.)
London, England. The company has devised software called Salsabeel . “… The
database can be searched through a number of strategies including, name of the Surah, an
Ayah, word search, and search by phrase or even character string…” (Ibid.)
14
The Islamic Bibliographic Data Service, Chicago, USA, created database and
Other scientific progress made in this endeavor, and which we can equally use to protect
our manuscripts is the production of Islamic Law Database. The device was made by
the Islamic Research Institute, Islamic International University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Observations:
procuring, classifying, cataloguing and analyzing the Arabic Manuscripts of Nigeria were
cultures, and literatures of the diverse nationalities in the country, we want to put project
proposal conceiving the idea of preserving, reconstructing and disseminating our history,
cultures, languages and literatures more. This informs the need to recover all the
manuscripts for the purpose of documentation, study and translation. The process of
case has been contrary. It is also observed that, there is no any attempt to study edit
and/or translate the works. The most alarming state of the matter is the poor condition of
15
preservation at present. On the other hand, most scholars and students do not pay
Recommendations:
In order to arrest the situation not to result into a total damage and subsequent lost,
there is needed to use the available modern technological facilities to preserve the
materials. This can be achieved by transferring individual work into electronic form.
(i.e. computerizing).The materials will be more protected and made easy to access if are put
into a disc plates. To do this, there is need for acquiring machines and computer literate
personnel. (To determine how many or what machines and personnel needed we should
upgraded. There is need to develop the entries to contain more details on works. Thus, the
primary objective of housing such important materials is to give them publicity nationally
and internationally. The most effective way of creating such publicity is by embranchment
on research on the materials. In this respect, there is need to invite write scholars to
appreciate what we have in scholarship. Besides, data should be studied, analyzed, and
distributed in a publication. The public need to know the past in order to build the present.
16
The fact that data have not been publicized for this long, the contribution of our past leader of
thought is also being denied to public. And this may also lead to intellectual
underdevelopment. The other danger is that, the failure to study those works has offered a
room to unqualified persons to engage in reprinting and circulating the works in poor forms
Results of research findings should be made public. This means to start publication. To
publish the results of the research means to establish a serial circulation. It may be in
A.B.U. Arabic Historical Sources Series. However, a sequence of other academic activities
(editing, translating and textual analysis) on the Arabic historical materials may also be added.
Serial media means a sustained publication of the results of research findings in books or journal
forms. It shall be conducted under a supervision of senior academic workforce. Such a publication
For its effective end-result, an editorial board constituted. The board shall serve as a technical
academic organ. It shall be responsible for initiating research themes, supervision and completion of
works. The proposed board shall not be over crowded. It shall consist of competent and committed
specialists.
Conclusion:
17
human being’s channel of development and texts and their constituent discourses are social reality
and means of mobilization and intellectual contribution. It may not be adequate enough to continue
describing both the relevance and significance of Arabic scholarship to the history of our land by
mere adjectives or attributive phrases. The discursive paradigmatic, which is established by means of
socio-political interaction with text, is the practical definition of the contribution made by Arabic
The legacy has not stopped by the period of Sokoto Jihad or by the colonial intervention in
the 19th century. It is a continuous effort in the history and development of scholarship. To this date,
scholars are still writing in Arabic language as a representative of the other side of our national and
Finally, the organizers of this International Conference may wish to consider the idea of
REFERENCES:
Basil. H. and Ian, M., (1992), Discourse and the Translator, London: Longman.
Buhairy, S.H., (2003), Madkhal ila Lughghati al-Nass, al-Qahirah: Mu’assasatu al-
Mukhtar.
Nour, A.N. Hajj, ‘An Elementary Study the Fiqh of Dan Fodio’, in Usman, Y.B., ed.
(1979), Studies in the History of Sokoto Caliphate: The Sokoto Seminar Papers, Zaria:
A.B.U. Press.
Umar, M. A., (2000), The Linguistic, Political, Religious and Historical Significance of
Najm al-Ikhwan of Danfodio’ , unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria.
Umar, M.S. ( ), ‘Arabic Source Materials for the History of the Struggle for Nigeria’s
Independence: A Preliminary Inquiry’, in
Further Readings:
1Hiskett, M., (1957), ‘Material Relating to the State of Learning among the Fulani
before their Jihad’, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol.xix.
1Lewick, T., (1974), Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South
of Sahara, Lagos, Pilgrims Books.
Preliminary Checklist
of
Uncatalogued
Islamic Manuscripts
Compiled by William M. Blair,
Mohammad H. Faghfoory,
and Karl R. Schaefer
Manuscripts Division
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Princeton University Library
2004
• Preface
• ARABIC TEXTS
o Garrett Collection
Barudi Series
Littmann Series
Yahuda Series
Yahuda Oversize
Garrett Additional Series
o New Series
New Series Oversize
o Third Series
• PERSIAN TEXTS
o Garrett Collection
21
Barudi Series
Garrett Series
Littmann Series
Widgery Series
Yahuda Series
Yahuda Series Oversize
o New Series
New Series Oversize
o Third Series
• OTTOMAN TURKISH TEXTS
o Garrett Collection
Garrett Series
Barudi Series
Barudi Series Oversize
Houtsma Series
Littmann Series
Yahuda Series
Yahuda Series Oversize
Garrett Additional Series
o New Series
o Third Series
• MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS
o Garrett Collection
Littmann Series: Malay texts
Widgery Series: Hindustani, Punjabi and Urdu texts
Garrett Additional Series: Malay texts
o New Series: Various texts
• APPENDICES
o I. The Scheide Library
o II: Mrs. Dumont Clarke Collection of Islamic Calligraphy
o III: William J. Tresize Collection of Arabic Calligraphy
o IV: Third Series Recent Accessions (Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish
Manuscripts acquired since 1995)
PREFACE
attention was given to the correct Romanization of the Arabic names, substituting a large
portion of the names with the authorized versions, according to LC standards, wherever
possible.
While the checklist represents the work of a team, the project catalogers specialized to
some extent: Blair (Ottoman Turkish), Schaefer (Arabic), and Faghfoory (Persian). The
project focused on manuscripts that had not been described in four printed catalogs
covering about 9,500 texts found in some 11,000 volumes of Islamic manuscripts in the
Princeton University Library: (1) Philip K, Hitti, Nabih Amin Faris, and Butrus ‘Abd al-
Malik, Descriptive Catalog of the Garrett Collection of Arabic Manuscripts in the
Princeton University Library, Princeton Oriental Texts, vol. 5 (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1938; (2) Mohammed E. Moghadam and Yahya Armajani, under the
supervision of Philip K. Hitti, Descriptive Catalog of the Garrett Collection of Persian,
Turkish and Indic Manuscripts Including Some Miniatures, Princeton Oriental Texts, vol.
6 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1939); (3) Rudolf Mach, Catalogue of Arabic
Manuscripts (Yahuda Section) in the Garrett Collection, Princeton University Library,
Princeton Studies on the Near East (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977); and (4)
Rudolf Mach and Eric L. Ormsby, Handlist of Arabic Manuscripts (New Series) in the
Princeton University Library, Princeton Studies on the Near East (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1987). These four printed catalogs superseded earlier catalogs compiled
by Enno Littmann (1904), Nicholas N. Martinovich (1926), and Ernest Cushing
Richardson and Nabi Amin Faris (1934). Other Islamica at Princeton not described either
in the published catalogs or in this preliminary checklist include Arabic papyri in the
Manuscripts Division, early Arabic and Turkish printed books in the department's Rare
Books Division, and Persian miniatures in the Princeton University Art Museum. For
descriptions and selected digital images of Arabic papyri at Princeton, go to the Princeton
University Library Papyrus Home Page. Early printed Islamica in the Rare Books
Division may be searched online in the Princeton University Library Main Catalogue.
For digital images of 277 Persian miniatures in five illustrated Shahnamah manuscripts,
dating from 1544 to 1674, in the Manuscripts Division, go to “The Princeton Shahnama
Project” at
< http://www.princeton.edu/~shahnama/>. The manuscripts include Garrett Islamic MSS.
56G, 57G, 58G, and 59G, which were the gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897; and the
“Peck Shahnamah” (Islamic Manuscripts, Third Series, no. 310), which was bequeathed
to Princeton in 1983 by Clara S. Peck, the sister of Fremont C. Peck, Class of 1920.
The entries in this preliminary checklist are arranged by language and series in shelf
number order. Each entry includes brief bibliographic descriptions giving (whenever
available) author, title or uniform title, date of copy, folios, and shelf number. Appendices
list Islamic manuscripts in The Scheide Library, the Mrs. Dumont Clarke Collection of
Islamic Calligraphy, the Willima J. Tresize Collection of Arabic Calligraphy, and Third
Series Recent Accessions of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish manuscripts acquired
since 1995. The cataloging policy of the project was to follow Library of Congress
transliteration rules. The 650 or so entries (chiefly Third Series) which have been fully
cataloged in the Voyager database uniformly follow NACO standards for name authority,
and most represent the authorized version of the name. There may be some discrepancies
23
between the authorized version in the Name Authority File and the version in the
manuscript itself.
Top
24
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Princeton has the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts in North America and one
of the finest such collections in the Western world. The Princeton University Library holds
some 11,000 volumes of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish manuscripts. While the
world of Islamic learning is the chief emphasis, there are also illuminated Qur’ans, Persian
illustrated manuscripts and miniatures, and other examples of Islamic book arts. Among
the most famous examples of Persian painting are the 16th-century Peck Shahnamah and
Muin Musavvir's 1673 portrait of the Safavid-era painter Riza ‘Abbasi.
For published descriptions of manuscripts, see (1) Philip K. Hitti, Nabih Amin Faris, and
Butrus ‘Abd al-Malik, Descriptive Catalog of the Garrett Collection of Arabic Manuscripts
in the Princeton University Library, Princeton Oriental Texts, vol. 5 (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1938); (2) Mohammed E. Moghadam and Yahya Armajani, under the
supervision of Philip K. Hitti, Descriptive Catalog of the Garrett Collection of Persian,
Turkish and Indic Manuscripts Including Some Miniatures, Princeton Oriental Texts, vol.
6 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1939); (3) Rudolf Mach, Catalogue of Arabic
Manuscripts (Yahuda Section) in the Garrett Collection , Princeton University Library,
Princeton Studies on the Near East (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977); and (4)
Rudolf Mach and Eric L. Ormsby, Handlist of Arabic Manuscripts (New Series) in the
Princeton University Library, Princeton Studies on the Near East (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1987). These four printed catalogs and the unpublished checklist
supersede earlier printed catalogues or descriptions by Enno Littmann (1904), Nicholas N.
Martinovich (1926), and Ernest Cushing Richardson and Nabih Amin Faris (1934).
Princeton in 1983 by Clara S. Peck, the sister of Fremont C. Peck, Class of 1920.
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