"The Best of Arabic Literature and the Finest Works of Islam": The Islamic Manuscript Collection at the NLI

Sacred texts, scientific innovations, conveyors of tradition, literary masterpieces, mystical revelations, and works of art: in all these roles and more manuscripts are central to Islamic civilization.

The Islam and Middle East Collection of the National Library of Israel includes more than 2,500 Arabic, Persian, and Turkish manuscripts. These handwritten books date from the 9th to the 20th centuries and include manuscripts copied across the Islamic world, spanning all major Islamic disciplines and literary traditions, as well as Christian, Druze, and Baháʼí religious writings.

The collection also houses copies of important scientific, mathematical, and medical treatises; lavishly illustrated poems in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish; and legal and commercial documents. This gallery talk will reveal the surprising histories, intricate craftsmanship, and fascinating stories behind the Islamic manuscripts included in the Library's permanent exhibition. 

This Gallery Talk is sponsored by Rosalie and Richard Alter, in memory of their dear friend David Kolitz