al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya

al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Library) is a bibliographical guide and introductory reference work on Islamic scholarly literature by Imad Ali Jumaa, completed in 1424 AH (2003 CE) al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. The book surveys classical and modern bibliographical reference works and provides structured overviews of primary sources across the central Islamic religious disciplines al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.

Purpose and Overview

The author composed the work to introduce students of Islamic knowledge to major reference works and bibliographical compendia necessitated by the vast heritage of Islamic literature al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. The author completed the preface to its first edition on 1 Rajab 1424 AH in al-Qasim, Saudi Arabia al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. In its second edition, the author revised the arrangement of topics to reflect their chronological emergence, particularly reorganizing the genres of Hadith transmission into a sequential progression al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya.

Structure and Contents

The book consists of an introduction followed by two main parts al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1:

Preliminary Overview (al-Tamhid)

Divided into four subsections, this introductory section examines:

• Islam's emphasis on knowledge and contemplation al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• The tolerance of Islam and the principle of equality among Muslims, which motivated newly integrated populations to embrace Islam and master the Arabic language al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• The era of codification (asr al-tadwin) and the shared intellectual contributions of non-Arab and Arab scholars al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• The richness of the Islamic library across diverse disciplines of Islamic heritage al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.

Part One: Bibliographical Compilations of Islamic Sources

Comprising two chapters, the first part introduces the science of bibliography (ilm al-bibliyujrafya) and Muslim contributions to it al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. The second chapter examines major classical and modern bio-bibliographical works, including al-Farabi's Ihsa' al-Ulum, Ibn al-Nadim's al-Fihrist, Tashkubri Zadah's Miftah al-Sa'ada, Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun, Isma'il Pasha al-Baghdadi's Iydah al-Maknun and Hadiyyat al-Arifin, Carl Brockelmann's Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, Fuat Sezgin's Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, Umar Kahhala's Mu'jam al-Mu'allifin, Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli's al-A'lam (along with its supplementary continuations), and al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.

Part Two: Islamic Sources

The second part examines representative primary texts divided across four distinct fields al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1:

• Quranic Sciences: Surveys concordances and lexical dictionaries of the Quran, treatises on the virtues of the Quran (fada'il al-Qur'an), dotting and vocalization of the mushaf (naqt al-mushaf), qira'at (readings), and general Quranic sciences al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• Hadith Sciences: Covers works of narration (riwaya) arranged by genre—comprehensive compilations (jawami'), muwatta'at, masanid, sunan, sound collections (sihah), and later compendia (majami')—as well as works of critical understanding (diraya), such as obscure vocabulary (gharib), reconciling conflicting narrations (ikhtilaf al-hadith), and biographical dictionaries of transmitters al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• Jurisprudence (Fiqh): Outlines foundational legal treatises across the four Sunni legal schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali) and works of comparative jurisprudence (al-fiqh al-muqaran) al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.
• Legal Theory (Usul al-Fiqh): Surveys fundamental texts and manuals of Islamic legal methodology and jurisprudential principles al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya+1.