The Islamic Manuscripts House at Al Qasimia University in Sharjah, which was inaugurated by H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, contains some 1,500 rare and valuable manuscripts in the Arabic language, with the average age of these manuscripts ranging between 300 to 400 years old.

The manuscripts include drawings, gold designs, plant colours and writings in various categories and classifications, including Quranic sciences, Islamic Fiqh, and Arabic language, along with history and geography. These manuscripts are among the most important and valuable possessions of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed.

In an exclusive statement to the Emirates News Agency, WAM, Dr. Rashad Salem, Director of Al Qasimia University, said these rare manuscripts were selected for display in a permanent exhibition at the Islamic House of Manuscripts, while adding that 11 of these manuscripts document the suffering of Muslims in Andalusia. They also include an authentic coloured edition of the Holy Quran from the fifth Hijri century that belonged to Othman, may Allah Almighty be pleased with him, which was written in the Kufi font. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed instructed the university to reprint and publish 1,000 copies of this work, to be distributed to academic centres and universities around the world, he added.

The collection of manuscripts also includes a handwritten Quran by calligrapher Moustafa Al Humaidi from the Hijri year, 1289.

Dr. Salem explained that staff are currently working to create a catalogue for the university’s manuscripts and for those in the Islamic Manuscripts House, to assist researchers and students from both the UAE and abroad. They will also make the manuscripts available in digital form, to serve scientific research and promote their valuable Islamic heritage, he continued.

He added that Islamic Manuscripts House will provide a new service which allows for digital copies of selected manuscripts to be sent out to researchers and students based abroad.