Collections of Manuscripts and Lithographs

Manuscripts

The Foundation’s library commands a priceless collection of manuscripts. This collection was built up through the acquisition of documents through different ways including through the acquisition of private libraries of some Moroccan personalities: Mohamed Abed Al Fassi, Curator of Al Qaraouiyine Library during the period between 1956 and 1962, (453 manuscripts), Mahjoub Ben Issa Lamrabet (144) and Mohamed Al Ouafi Al Iraqui (524). Presently, this collection includes 643 original volumes, 4 manuscripts on parchment, 16 microfilms and 29 photocopies. These 698 volumes correspond to 1958 titles.

The following list shows the breaking down of this collection in terms of disciplines:

Usul al Fiqh: 474; Sufism and Ethics: 363; Language: 225; Education and Composition: 113; Sciences of Quran: 111; Literature: 100; Tawhid (Uniqueness of God): 96; Arithmetic and Geometry: 94; Sciences of Hadith: 85; Chemistry: 68; History: 59; Sira: 43; Muslim Political System: 39; Medicine and Pharmacology: 37; Religious Doctrines: 18; Philosophy and Logic: 17; Archives: 7; Geography and Voyages: 7; Chess: 1; Hunting: 1

Lithographs

Currently, the library’s collection of lithographed books reaches 453 titles (244 are original, 6 are xeroxed). The Foundation has managed to save up a number of lithographed books via the acquisition of some private libraries, namely the libraries of Mohammed Al Ouafi Al Iraqui (137 titles) and Mahjoub Ben Issa Lamrabet (32 titles). The main part of the collection of lithographs consists of the Moroccan production followed by the Egyptian (70 titles), the Nigerian (2 titles) then the Algerian (1 title). According to the publications bearing the date of publication (285 titles), this collection covers the period between 1858 and 1932. It can be sorted by discipline as follows:

Usul al Fiqh: 175; Language: 71; Arithmetic and Geometry: 32; Sufism and Ethics: 29; Sciences of Hadith: 25; Tawhid (Uniqueness of God): 22; Logic: 20; History: 19; Literature: 16; Divers: 15; Sciences of Quran: 11; Sira: 10; Medicine and Pharmacology: 3; Religious Doctrines: 3; Muslim Political System: 1; Voyages: 1.

Printed catalogs of these manuscripts and lithographs are available at the Foundation's library.