Islamic manuscripts

. The development of scripts in the Islamic empir, demonstrates the transition from an oral culture to convey information to a written form. Traditionally speaking in the Islamic empire, Arabic calligraphy was the common form of recording texts. Calligraphy is the practice or art of decorative handwriting. The demand for calligraphy in the early stages of the Islamic empire (circa 7–8th century CE) can be attributed to a need to produce Qur'an manuscripts. During the Umayyad period, Kufic scripts were typically seen in Qur'an manuscripts. The specific form of this script was exclusively used by Nizari Ismailis, who were known as Khwajahs or Khojas. Recording religious literature in this script had the added benefit of preserving it from potentially hostile eyes. == Genres ==

Islamic manuscripts include a variety of topics, such as religion, medicine, astrology, and literature. Religious Manuscripts , 9–10th century manuscript A common religious manuscript would be a copy of the Qur'an, which is the sacred book of Islam. The Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be a divine revelation (the word of god) to Muhammad, revealed to him by Archangel Gabriel. Qur'anic manuscripts can vary in form and function. Certain manuscripts were larger in size for ceremonial purposes, others being smaller and more transportable. An example of a Qur'an manuscript is the Blue Qur'an. The Blue Qur'an is ceremonial in nature, which a Hafiz would utilize. It has gold Kufic script, on parchment dyed blue with indigo. Many Qur'an manuscripts are divided into 30 equal sections (juz) to be able to be read over the course of 30 days. The Chinese practice of writing on paper, presented to the Islamic world around the 8th century CE, enabled the writing of the Qur'an on paper. The decrease in production costs of Qur'an manuscripts due to the transition from parchment to paper enabled Qur'ans to be utilized more frequently for personal use or worship, rather than just ceremonial settings. Over the course of this period, copies of Qur'anic manuscripts were produced in Damascus and were named the "Damascus papers." Under the reign of Umayyad caliph, Abd-al-Malik (685–705), Qur'anic script was standardized and inserted onto other surfaces such as marble as a way to promote Arabic in the region. A set of key ratios was also used to determine the box's width and height. Early illuminators had to create the perfect sense of symbolism and ornamentation to represent each section of text while keeping the text as the main focal point. The development of early illustrated scientific manuscripts began under the Islamic Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad in approximately the mid-8th century. The development of new scientific work starting to translation of old Greek scientific and learned works, and the make pure original scholarship in science, medicine, and philosophy in Arabic. An example of an Arabic scientific manuscript is the Book of the Fixed Stars by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi. This manuscript is a catalog of stars and their constellations, commissioned by the patron the Buyid prince Adud al-Dawla. The Scientific Manuscripts of Timbuktu One of the most significant examples of scientific Islamic manuscripts comes from the Timbuktu Manuscripts. The creation of these manuscripts range from the 13th to the 20th century, with most of them being made during the Mali Empire (1230–1672). Within these manuscripts, there is discussion of several scientific concepts including mathematics, astronomy, astrology, and medicine. Although these are scientific manuscripts, many of them include poetic structure. One example of these scientific manuscripts is Manuscript no. 2262, a work that discusses ideas about astronomy. This manuscript discusses the intersection between solar and lunar calendars. More specifically, this manuscript instructs the reader on how to determine January first of the Islamic Lunar Year 1023. Additionally, the manuscript discusses the process of determining whether or not it is leap year. Another example is Manuscript no. 1045, entitled by scholars as "The Treatment of Illnesses, Internal and External." In this manuscript, the author discusses medical ideas such as: the use of plants for treating illnesses, the use of minerals and their medicinal powers, and the use of animal organs in certain healing processes. Timbuktu Manuscripts are unique due to the sheer volume of manuscripts discovered and their wide range of concepts including concepts of philosophy that contradicted common ideas about Islamic framework. == Collections ==

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library has a collection of 25,000 Islamic Manuscripts including Padshahnama, Tareek ke khandan e timuriya, Divān of Hafez, Safinatul Auliya and Sahih al-Bukhari, It is also the only library in the world to have the original manuscripts from the Caliphate of Cordoba. Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library The Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library is a collection of thousands of Islamic manuscripts from Timbuktu. They were moved to Bamako for safekeeping due to the Mali War. Cambridge University Library In the 1630s Cambridge University founded a Professorship in Arabic. The Cambridge University Library collection started with the donation of the Quran by William Bedwell. Since then it has grown to over 5,000 works. It includes collections of Thomas Erpenius, J.L.Burckhardt, E.H.Palmer and E.G. Browne. The British Library The British Library hold a collection of almost 15,000 works in 14,000 volumes. In 1982, the collections of the India Office Library were transferred to the British library. University of Michigan One of the largest collections in North America is at the University of Michigan which holds 1,800 texts contained in over 1,100 volumes. Leipzig University Library The Oriental Manuscripts of the Leipzig University Library are around 3,200 oriental manuscripts in the Leipzig University Library in Leipzig, Germany. ==See also==