“The Book Treasures” navigates the visitor of the cultural edifice among rare Qurans and original collectibles
Treasures of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library... Inlaid with history and gold
“Thakir al-Kutub” is a cultural museum that houses a unique collection of ancient books, atlases and manuscripts.
Photography: Ahmed Ardeti
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The Mohammed bin Rashid Library, the new cultural beacon in Dubai and the UAE, which opened its doors to the public yesterday, contains one of the cultural and human wonders, which is the Library’s Treasures exhibition or what is known as “Books Relics”, and it is a cultural and civilized museum that includes a unique collection of books, atlases and manuscripts. Rare and ancient, some of which date back to the 13th century AD.
The library, which was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is divided into nine main libraries, along with vital facilities, theaters and various sectors.
The Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, Dr. Mohammed Salem Al Mazrouei, said: "The Museum of Book Relics includes historical collections and rare treasures of Islamic civilization, writing tools, folders and clippings in all languages, travel literature, maps and atlases, and also includes rare religious books and volumes on religions." He invited visitors of all kinds to enjoy the important cultural tour.
Among the rare collections of documents and volumes, the first edition of the Noble Qur’an in Arabic was issued in Hamburg in 1694. The library also revealed one of its rare treasures, the first edition of the “Description of Egypt” volumes, original from the Egyptian Committee for Science and Arts, an encyclopedic record of Egyptian antiquities and history. The Egyptian in the 18th century, printed in the years 1809 - 1828, and was written and assembled during the French campaign against Egypt by the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, and contains many drawings depicting Egypt, ancient and modern, in addition to reports on various topics such as language, agriculture, music and natural history, and later commissioned A huge team of more than 2,000 artists and engravers to complete the work in order to enrich and diversify the content more and more, the first edition of it was deposited in an exceptional cabinet designed in mahogany in a style inspired by the work of the famous Parisian cabinetmaker Charles Morel.
precious antiques
The Museum of Books Relics houses the first editions of many travel books to Arabia, books describing the Middle East, and a valuable collection of European and Ottoman maps of Arabia from the 15th to the 19th centuries, including a gilded and colored Ptolemaic map of Arabia printed in 1482, in addition to a variety of carefully curated atlases, including a rare star atlas, a naval atlas, and an atlas of horses and falcons.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Library revealed a number of the most prominent original holdings and rare books, including Sahih Al-Bukhari from the Mamluk era, by the updated Imam Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Bukhari, and this copy is written in the Naskh script, at 13 lines per page.
And the copy of Ahmed bin Al-Badr bin Muhammad bin Uwais Al-Maari the distinguished, who used red and blue ink for the main words on the pages, while the titles were executed in gilding, and the manuscript has an opening decorated with gilding and multiple colors and preserved with a sealed brown cover.
The museum contained a special corner telling the story of the “calligrapher’s tools.” Historically, Arabic calligraphy occupied a high position among Muslims as the primary means of preserving and disseminating the Noble Qur’an, which made calligraphers occupy a prominent position in the Islamic world.
The artworks displayed in this section are also transferred to the environment in which calligraphers worked at the time, including pens, knives, cutting boards, scissors, storage boxes, pencil boxes, pens, and inkwells.
The process of developing Arabic calligraphy in which the verses of the Noble Qur’an were written is considered the most important artistic achievement that distinguished the Islamic civilization in its formative stages.
The oldest Qur’anic copies of the Qur’an during the first three centuries of the Islamic era were written on parchment in kufic script. These manuscripts reached us in fragmentary form, often consisting of single patches arranged in a horizontal arrangement, written in black or brown ink with a minimum of diacritical marks. The Qur’anic texts passed Presented in this section are gradual developments in terms of aesthetics and diversity with the spread of Islam, which has left us with a valuable and immortal heritage.
lines and decorations
Among the most prominent holdings of “The Books Relics” are copies of the Qur’an from all over the world, including a Qur’an from Golconda, the Deccan Sultanate in central India, the 11th AH / 17th century AD, and a Qur’anic scroll of five surahs, Qajar era, Iran, 1394 AH / 1877 AD, and includes Surat Yasin and Rahman Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Malik and Al-Muzammil, written in Naskh script by the calligrapher Muhammad Hassan bin Muhammad Ali Al-Isfahani. The verses were written within circular frames in the form of winding clouds on mulches of a gilded floor, and each page is crowned from the top with multi-colored gilded floral decorations, and the names of the surahs are written in red ink inside decorative shapes. Rectangular gilded on the floor as a motif decorated with multiple colors.
The Museum of Books Relics is an opportunity for visitors to view a leather patch from the Holy Qur’an, likely dating back to the Umayyad state in Andalusia, the third to fourth centuries AH / ninth to tenth century AD. The patch included (verses 41-44) of Surat Al-Nisa, written in Kufic script in ink. Black in 14 lines, while diacritics are executed in red ink, and verse breaks in gilding.
In addition to five parties from a Qur’an from the Qajar era, Iran, the 13th AH / 19th century CE, written in the Naskh script with a Persian translation. The complete manuscript consists of 60 parties, each representing half a part of the Holy Qur’an, where the front of each part is decorated with two golden panels. Decorated inside with Surat Al-Fatihah and the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah, and another patch of leather from the Holy Qur’an, Abbasid era, fourth AH / tenth century AD. The patch includes (verses 18-19) from Surat Al-Anftar, followed by Surat Al-Mutaffifin (verses 1 - 83).
paper scissors
In one of the corners, the museum visitor draws the attention of selected models of paper shears from the Ottoman era (18th century AD), which are a group of scissors with long blades, used to cut paper made of copper, steel and iron, where some surfaces were inlaid or covered with gold or other metals .
Many of the handles were cast in the form of two opposite inscriptions for the word "Ya Fattah", one of the names of God.
The exhibits include selected models of pen knives from the Ottoman era (18th century AD), and the calligrapher's knife was used to cut, shape and maintain reed and bamboo pens.
The blade is usually made of stainless steel, with ornate or plain handles, and is often inlaid with jade, coral, ivory, flint, stone and rosewood.
The visitor can also see a panel on one page with text written in Persian calligraphy, depicting an old man sitting on the ground, to the right of a tree in the middle of the panel surrounded by a variety of students and disciples, in addition to a miniature from the Mughal era (late AH 13th / AD 18th century) which is a painting on One page of an outdoor lesson, in which the teacher is shown sitting on the ground in the middle of the painting, giving a lesson to an Indian princess, accompanied by her maids, and decorating the frame of the painting with leafy gilded carvings.
The painting “Lord is easy” in Arabic calligraphy, 1438 AH, which is designed in the form of a “draft” or what is known in Turkish as “Qarlameh” is also attracting attention. A prayer: “Lord is easy and not difficult, Lord complete with goodness” signed by Aidan Ghazi, and the frame of the painting is decorated With lush carvings in a traditional Ottoman style.
The library also displayed a skin patch from the Noble Qur’an from Central Asia dating back to the 14th century AD, Surat Hud (from verse 28) written in Rihani script.
Tajweed marks were placed in red ink. Verse breaks were executed in the form of multi-colored gilded hexagonal rosettes defined in dark ink. The areas of the text’s Kharijites were filled with decorative gilded ornaments numbered in Kufic script to indicate fifths and tenths.
The Library of Books presents the “Prophetic Tree in the Ratio of the Goodness of the Wilderness” from the Ottoman era, between the 12th and 13th centuries / 17th and 18th century AD. 909 AD) in Naskh script, decorated with gilded rosettes defined in dark ink, and the facade was sweetened with colorful decorations.
The collection also contains many distinctive Persian lacquer bindings that were first produced in the city of Herat at the end of the 15th century, and a skin patch from the Holy Qur’an from the Mamluk era, 8th AH / 14th century CE Surat Maryam (verse 74) written in Rihani script on floral paper It is a color rarely used in the Mamluk Qur’an.
The tajweed marks are in red ink, and the verse dividers are executed in the form of multi-colored gilded rosettes.
In the middle of the museum, there is a calligrapher’s box from the Ottoman period, AH 12th / AD 18th century, used to store the calligrapher’s tools of pens, ink and knives, in addition to tortoiseshells and pearl shells in the form of interlocking squares and triangles, covered with hinges and rounded edges, as well as a gold pencil case inlaid with emeralds, rubies and diamonds. From the Deccan Sultanate in central India, late AH 10th / AD 16th century, a luxurious pencil case designed to be attached to the waist scarf.
Mohammed Salem Al Mazrouei:
The Book Repository Museum includes historical collections, rare treasures of Islamic civilization, writing instruments, volumes and clippings in all languages, travel literature, maps and atlases.
early releases
The exhibition "Relics of Books" at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library on the Dubai Creek includes early versions of a number of literary classics, as well as Latin translations of scientific works from the Islamic Golden Age, as well as rare Arab magazines and periodicals from the Arab world and beyond, in addition to an impressive collection of signatures International personalities.
• Among the most prominent collections are Qurans from all over the world, including a Quran from Golconda, the Deccan Sultanate in central India, the 11th AH / 17th century AD.
• A rare copy of Sahih Al-Bukhari from the Mamluk era, written in Naskh script, at 13 lines per page.
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