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The British Library presented the BA with three
sets containing 46,165 microfiches. This collection comprises the
exhaustive copies of the Arabic, Persian, and Turkish manuscripts in the
British Library numbering 14,000. It is considered the biggest collection
in Europe, and the largest manuscript donation to the BA to date. The
collection owes its weight to the fact that it was carefully selected by
British orientalists from different Islamic countries throughout the last
three centuries. It remained during the preceding century in the library
of the British Museum and the India Office in London, until the British
government decided to bring the two collections together in the British
Library.
The manuscript collection in the British Library varies in the nature of
its subject matters and languages (Arabic, Persian and Turkish). It
includes exquisite copies of the Holy Qur’an, works on Quranic sciences,
Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, Kalam, philology and its branches,
medicine, pharmacy, astronomy, philosophy, logic, to name but few.
The Microfilm Unit is currently cataloging and documenting this
invaluable collection of manuscripts to be available for the public in
the near future.
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