And of those texts that have been published, there is a sizeable proportion of which printed editions do exist but are not satisfactory – whether because of the choice of sources, the editing itself, the production, or a combination of these. That is to say, if they survive at all it is only in the form of one manuscript copy or more. works of creative literature) are unpublished. A great many works of Islamic literature (in the wider sense, not just meaning belles-lettres, i.e. That being so, the number one reason why manuscripts are important for research is a straightforward one. Manuscripts as sources for the Muslim cultural and scientific heritageįor the purpose of rediscovering and analyzing the Islamic cultural and scientific heritage there is a wide range of subjects that depend upon texts. It may perhaps help to convince readers that an area of academic research is intellectually respectable if one can walk them through the experience, so to speak. This will involve three things: giving examples of kinds of information that can only be gleaned from manuscript sources outlining how one goes about trying to extract such information and describing some research, undertaken in spare moments during a career spent helping others to pursue their research. I will try to illustrate the intellectual challenges involved in the study of manuscripts and some ways in which they contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the cultural and literary heritage of Islam. After that will come a discussion of aspects of the academic study of handwritten books with reference to the Islamic cultural domain – codicology, palaeography and textual criticism – their uses and (very briefly) the state of the art. I will outline the importance of manuscripts in Muslims’ intellectual life what we can learn from them and some ways in which one can and should benefit from research in this field in future.
The main aim of this article is to try to show that research on the form and content of manuscripts is not only an essential adjunct to Islamic studies but a significant field of Islamic studies in its own right. Muhammad Isa Waley on Februat the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University. *Above is a recording of a lecture delivered by Dr.
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