Karbala-

Ibrahim al-Shaibani - known as Ibrahim al-Ketbi - stands with his brown face in front of his library in Karbala, as proud as one who stands in front of his fields of cultivation, contemplating the books crowded on shelves that reach the ceiling of the room, to be the largest personal library in Iraq. Books upon his departure from the world.

Al-Shaibani has thousands of books, manuscripts and magazines in his private library (Al-Jazeera Net)

Nicknames and old versions

He is called the Sheikh of the Kitabis in Iraq because his library contains anecdotal books and manuscripts, which are considered a great wealth, and exceeded 20 thousand books, magazines and manuscripts.

Al-Shaibani bestowed on her hundreds of millions of dinars, including more than two thousand books that are more than 100 years old, including an old manuscript copy of the Holy Qur’an that is more than 250 years old.

This library has turned into a reference for university professors and graduate students because it contains resources that are not available in other libraries.

Al-Shaibani was born in 1962 and likes to be called Al-Ketbi. He talks about the beginning of the project in 1976 with religious books. Then the library developed to include various types of literary, philosophical and historical books, memoirs, trips and politics, in addition to books with a purely academic framework.

As for the number of books, it is believed that it is difficult to count them because they are constantly increasing, but they are in the thousands, along with manuscripts and magazines.

A page from a 250-year-old Quran (Al-Jazeera Net)

Al-Shaibani reviews a number of the valuables in his library - as he describes them - besides the old copy of the Qur’an, there is also the book “The History of Baghdad”, the first edition of Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, at the age of 100 years, and the Diwan of Al-Khansa, which is more than 120 years old, as well as the book “The Exegesis of the Meanings of the Download”. Written by the scholar Sheikh Imam Ala Al-Din Ali bin Muhammad Al Ibrahim Al-Baghdadi Al-Sufi, known as Al-Khazen, at the age of 125 years.

He stated that he keeps many manuscripts in a safe place, noting that they deal with several topics in astronomy, language and literature with varying dates.

As for the magazines, Al-Shaibani says that he has “Al-Muqtaf”, “Al-Risala”, “Al-Hilal” and “Al-Arabi” and many other magazines from the first issue, as well as Iraqi magazines such as “Al-Mawred”, “Popular Heritage”, “Sumer” and “Arabia Horizons”. And other journals issued by Iraqi universities.

He is proud that his library has turned into a forum for scribes and many graduate degree holders and graduate students.

Leadership and precious books

Al Shaibani Library has become an almost daily destination for many academics, researchers and historians.

Professor of Abbasid and Fatimid literature, Dr. Muhammad Hussein al-Mahdawi, says, "This library is one of the precious libraries because it contains expensive copies. Every rare item has been collected with good classification and classification, and whoever goes to it has increased love, knowledge and culture."

Al-Mahdawi added in his description that for academics and students, "they are the fruitful orchard and the leafy branches, and many have been lavished on them for 30 years and more, whether by students or even professors, who do not find what they want in other libraries and find them in Al-Shaibani library, especially the old one."

Dr. Mortada Al-Andalusi describes Al-Shaibani as a shining star because he possesses a culture, awareness and knowledge of the book that surpasses some specialists in the science of the book.

He adds that this fame "is not only in Karbala, but is the leader of the book on Al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, so he has become a beacon for students and scholars, receiving them in his home and providing them with everything they need."

And about his personal benefit, Andalusi says, "It helped me a lot in finding references that I did not find in other libraries, as was the benefit of my postgraduate students, especially in the branches of literature, history, law, translation, comparative literature, Andalusian and Moorish literature," noting that this library helped in completing hundreds of letters. Theses.

Al-Rubaie: Al-Shaibani Library is even larger than government libraries and has valuable, rare and historical books (Al-Jazeera Net)

Old book obsession

Many bookstore owners refer some book seekers to go to the Al-Shaibani library. The owner of the oldest library in Karbala, historian Taha Al-Rubaie, says that the library is a very big legacy and has cognitive and material value.

According to his belief - who has worked in libraries for more than 40 years - the Al-Shaibani library is the best home library, and it is even larger than government libraries and has valuable, rare and historical books.

However, Al-Rubaie expresses his disappointment that this library may one day become just stacked papers if Al-Shaibani left the world, as no one knows the value of these books and manuscripts like him.

Al-Rubaie mentions what he secretly considers that Al-Shaibani, as a result of his poverty during the days of the American siege in the nineties of the last century, was forced to sell some books in order to live and his family, and then returned them again, indicating that what Al-Shaibani is doing is “a strange obsession as he buys the book without thinking about its price.” ".