The Alexandria Municipal Library is one of the oldest public libraries in Egypt. It opened for the public a century ago, in particular in 1892. From that time on, its content has vastly developed to include thousands of books, periodicals and manuscripts. Its manuscript collection amounting to six thousand (though the official number is two thousand less!) renders it the richest manuscript library in Alexandria. The content has gradually increased due to the donations that continued for six successive decades. The largest collection that has ever come into the possession of the Municipal Library of Alexandria is the collection of Ibrāhīm Pasha (foster son of Muhammad ‘Alī Pasha and the General of his army). We have come to this conclusion after the examination of the total content of the library, as it appeared that more than 1200 manuscripts bear the signature and sometimes the seal (ex libirs) of Ibrāhīm Pasha, always written in the formula: Ibrāhīm Sar‘askar (the title of general in the army of the Ottoman Empire). As for the rest of the manuscripts, neither they nor the records of the Municipal Library include bear any reference to the donators!

The BA undertook the administrative and technical supervision over the cataloging of the manuscripts of the Alexandria Municipal Library after 65 years of the first cataloging process, when Gen. Muhammad Abdel-Salam al-Mahgoub, Governor of Alexandria donated this valuable collection to the BA. The Manuscript Cataloging staff is currently working on the cataloging of the aforementioned manuscripts. With the publication of five volumes of the BA’s general catalog behind, more are to follow.

The rarities among the Alexandria Municipal Library collection are numerous covering assorted fields of knowledge and different centuries. Chief among them are:
• al-Jāmi‘ al-Sahīh- ‘The Comprehensive Corpus of Accurate Hadith’ (Prophetic Traditions) by Imam Muslim bin-al-Hajjāj al-Naysābūrī, d.261 AH (875 AD). Transcribed by Khalaf bin-Hakīm in kufic script in 368 AH (978 AD). 233 folios. It is considered the oldest manuscript of the collection.
• al-Mudawana fī Fiqh al-Mālikiyya- ‘Maliki Jurisprudence Corpus,’ one of the most invaluable manuscripts in four gazelle’s hide volumes, each in a sumptuous red leather box. Transcribed in maghribi script at different dates (from 499 to 530AH, 1106 to 1136 AD).
• al-Jāmi‘ li-Akhlāq al-Rāwī wa Ādāb al-Sāmi‘- ‘The Comprehensive Book on the Narrator’s Ethics and Audience’s Discipline’ by al-Khatīb al-Bahgdādī (d. 463 AH, 1071 AD). A note, at the end of the manuscript, states that this copy was revised and approved by Abūl-Qāsim al-Mubarrid bin-Muhammad bin-al-Hasan (Ibn al- Buzūrī) who had previously recited this book for its author, al-Khatīb al-Baghdādī in 529 AH (1135 AD), i.e., the manuscript was written close to the date of the author’s time.
• al-Hudūd- ‘Definitions’ by the physician Abūl-Hasan Sa‘īd bin-Hibatillāh (d. 495 AH, 1102 AD). An old worn-out manuscript transcribed during the author’s lifetime. 40 folios.
• Ghāyat al-Maqsid fī Zawā’id al-Musnad- ‘The Ultimate Goal in the Musnad’s Supplementary’ by Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī (d. 807 AH, 1404 AD). Transcribed by ‘Āsim bin-Muhammad bin-Ishāq in naskh script during the author’s lifetime (793 AH, 1391 AD).
• Islāh al-Mantiq- ‘Refinement of Pronunciation’ by Ibn al-Sikkīt (d. 244 AH, 858 AD). Transcribed in old maghribi script probably in the 4th century of the Hijra (10th c. AD). 107 folios.
• Kulliyāt al-Hisāb- ‘Principles of Arithmetic’ by Šams al-Dīn al-Zarkasī , transcribed by Hasan bin-Tayab- the author’s student- in naskh script in 677 AH 23 folios.
• Dīwān Salāma bin-Jandal, the divan of the pre-Islamic poet Salāma bin-Jandal, (as told by al-Asma‘ī) transcribed by ‘Alī bin-Muhammad in thuluth script in 494 AH (1101 AD). 26 folios.
• al-Wāfī- ‘The Adequate’ by Imam al-Nasafī (d. 710 AH, 1310 AD). Transcribed in common script in 691 AH (1292 AD), i.e., during the author’s lifetime. 146 folios.
• Kāšif al-Rumūz wa Muzhir al-Kunūz- ‘Decipherer of Symbols and Discoverer of Treasures’ by al-Tūsī (Diyā’ al-Dīn al-Adhkānī, d. 706 AH, 1306 AD). Transcribed by Salāh al-Dīn al-Jīlī in naskh script in 680 AH (1281 AD). 243 folios.
 

2. Donated Manuscripts

In addition to the Alexandria Municipal Library collection, the Manuscript Reading Room houses a number of invaluable manuscripts covering assorted fields of knowledge. These manuscripts were generously donated to the BA by indivduals in acknowledgment of the Library and the Manuscript Center’s leading role in the preservation of Arabic heritage.

3. References

The Manuscript Reading Room comprises a host of printed references to assist researchers to carry out their work. It consists of biographies, Hadith and Qur’an interpretation corpuses, manuscript catalogs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and many others.