久久久福利国产

To celebrate World Book Day,聽Naureen Ali, Cataloguer and Adlib Officer in the Ismaili Special Collections Unit, showcases some of the unique and beautiful manuscripts and printed material housed at the IIS.

Featured below is a selection including manuscripts, a rare book and a bookmark, ranging from the 14th to the 20th century, which gives a taste of the range and richness of the聽Special Collections housed at the Institute.聽A number of these are also now accessible via聽.

Known as one of the most influential聽early Ismaili聽诲补鈥榠s (missionaries),聽Hamid聽al-Din聽al-Kirmani possessed knowledge of Hebrew and Syriac languages and was well acquainted not only with Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophies but also with metaphysical systems of Muslim philosophers such as his contemporary, Ibn-Sina.

滨苍听Kitab al-riyad (Book of Meadows),聽al-Kirmani acts as an arbiter from the viewpoint of the Fatimid聽dawa聽in a theological debate among the聽诲补鈥榠s聽Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Nasafi, Abu Hatim al-Razi and Abu Ya鈥榪ub al-Sijistani.

This text also preserves fragments of聽Kitab al-mahsul聽by al-Nasafi and聽Kitab al-nusra聽by al-Sijistani, which have not survived.聽Part of the Hamdani Collection, most of this manuscript was copied in the year 765 AH/1364 AD and is the oldest known copy of the work in public collections.[i]

Abu 鈥樷�嶢li al-Husayn ibn 鈥樷�嶢bd Allah ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) was born in 980 AD near聽Bukhara聽(present day Uzbekistan) and is renowned for his contributions to not only the field of philosophy but also medicine. His five-volume encyclopaedia,聽al-Qanun fi al-tibb聽(The Canon of Medicine), which includes and builds on medical knowledge from Hippocrates and Galen, is among the most famous books in the history of medicine.

Featured here is a 17th-century Latin translation of this encyclopaedia, with a historiated (decorated with historical scenes) title page.

Qur鈥檃n聽manuscripts represent a unique endeavour where various artistic styles such as calligraphy and illumination come together to preserve an aesthetically adorned text.

This 19th-century Qur’an manuscript from Kashmir is a fine example of such an endeavour, which combines calligraphic styles, marginal translation as well as brilliant illumination. Written in elegant聽naskhi聽hand (a style of Arabic calligraphy) and transcribed in 1298 AH/1891 AD, the manuscript features Persian translation and commentary in the margins. The featured folios have blue and gold illumination, which is a typical aesthetic feature of Kashmiri manuscripts.[ii]