Al-Furqan Library: Introduction

Al-Furqan Library was built to support and enhance the Foundation's research activities.  The Library was founded in July 1990, and houses a carefully selected collection in various Islamic languages, including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Swahili, as well as in Western languages.

Priority is given to a comprehensive collection of printed catalogues of Islamic manuscripts and to important primary and secondary sources in the field of Islamic studies. The major subjects covered are Quranic studies, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic theology, philosophy and literature, Islamic history and sciences.  Perhaps unique to al-Furqan’s Library is its comprehensive collection of catalogues of collections of Islamic manuscripts from over 70 countries. 

The Library also stocks Fuat Sezgin’s complete encyclopaedic works which encompass the entire Islamic civilization and include facsimile reprints of manuscripts in the Middle Ages on subjects of cartography; mathematics and astronomy; Al-Khwarazmi’s geographical works, and Numismatics (study of coins) of the Islamic world.

Although the Library does not collect manuscripts, it holds microfilms and CD-ROMs of several thousands of manuscripts in the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Bosnian and Indonesian languages. The Library also holds a microfilm copy of the Islamic manuscripts of Makkah el-Mukarama Library and the Gazi Husrev Bey Library collections.