Islamic Civilization

Islamic Libraries

According to Yaqut, when Nuh Ben Mansur offered a governorship to al-Sahib b. Abbad (938-995), the latter declined it. He justified his decision on the ground that it would be difficult to transport his books, estimated at 400 camel-loads. Obviously, he much preferred the company of his books to the appointment.[1] For Al-Hakam II (Caliph in Spain from 961 to 978), books were ‘a more consuming passion than his throne.’[2] In the 10^th century we hear of autograph hunters, and book collectors who paid great sums for rare manuscripts.[3] The book loving mentality of early Islam noted by Erbstosser through an episode in which a Muslim figure, whose ship had been wrecked and plundered on the coast of the crusader states, complained that:

‘The well being of my children, the children of my brother and of our wives allowed me to accept the loss of my wealth with ease. What distressed me was the loss of my books. These were four thousand volumes, all precious works. Their loss was the cause of life long sorrow for me.’[4]

A passion for books in early Islam well expressed by the words of al-Jahiz (776-868):

‘The book is the companion with whom you do not get bored; it is the friend who does not tire you; it is the colleague who does not deprive you of what you possess through his flattery… If you study the book, it will increase your store of knowledge, sharpen your wit, add to your power of speech, increase your vocabulary, broaden your mind, accord you the respect of people and confidence of kings. Moreover you can learn from books in only a month’s time what you cannot learn from people’s mouths in ages…. As long as you associate yourself with them (books), you do not need anybody else and you are not forced to prefer loneliness over bad companionship; it relieves you of your worries regarding scarcity of wealth and material prosperity and absence of joy and merriment in your life. In fact, the one who keeps company with books has been bestowed with great privilege and highest favour.’[5]

A Muslim scholar, of the 8^th century, az-Zuhri, possessed a huge collection of books, to which he devoted himself, and so much so, his wife lamented, ‘I would prefer three rival co-wives to his love for books.’[6]

Thus, just as it had a passion for gardens, early Islamic society had a passion for books, which contrasts sharply with the generalised contempt for reading amongst most Muslims today, a passion for books in early Islamic society that attracted the interest of many historians of Islam such as Quatremere and Hammer Purgastall;[7] a passion, whose basic inspiration was the faith, and which led to two revolutionary changes: the public library, and book production on a large scale.

The Islamic Library: Foundation, Rise and Scope

Islam the faith was, once more, central to the demand for books. Reichmann notes how God created the pen as His great gift to humanity, and all past and future actions of humans are noted in the heavenly books, (as evidenced by the term maktub, (it is written).[8]

There are many quotations from the Qur’an in praise of writing, for instance, ‘writing is the tongue of the hand.’ The word Qur’an stems from qara’a: to read, or Qur’an ‘recitation’.[9] The writing of Islamic books was a religious commitment, the reading of the Qur’an was a sacred duty demanded from every believer, and to know the entire Qur’an by heart was meritorious and highly rewarded.[10] This accounts for Islamic civilisation becoming a book culture.[11] A culture of the book could only result in the institutionalisation of book collection and distribution, hence, the library.

The origin of the Islamic library could go as far back as to the early Umayyad rule (661-750), when Caliph Mu’awiya (661-80) established at Damascus  in the early period of his reign a library called Bayt al-Hikma  (House of Wisdom), housed in a large building, and containing a large collection of books.[12] His successor, Khalid Ibn Yazid followed suit, and also established a special library that accumulated a large number of books, including his favourite subject, chemistry.[13] Successive caliphs, whether East or West, did the same at different times in the history of early Islam.  Abu Yaqub, the Almohad ruler of Morocco  and Muslim Spain (r. 1163-1184), Deverdun says, ‘had a great soul and love for collecting books.’[14] He founded a great library, which was eventually carried to the Casbah, and turned into a public library, under the management of erudite Moroccan scholars. Their service, says Ibn Farhun, was one of the privileged state positions, for which only the best scholars were selected.[15] Some books in the library even constituted part of the Almohad treasury, and were as prized as precious metals.[16]

Libraries  were densely spread throughout medieval Islamic society, from one end of the realm to the other.[17] Baghdad , for instance, prior to the Mongols, had 36 public libraries[18] and over a hundred book-dealers, some of whom were also publishers employing a corps of copyists.[19] The last such libraries in the city was that of the vizier Ibn al-Alkami (who connived with the Mongols, in fact, and was eventually killed by them).[20] He owned 10,000 books, a library, which perished in 1258 when the Mongols destroyed it alongside the others.[21] In Marrakech , the Kutubiya Mosque  was so named, because around 200 Kutubiya or book sellers had assembled their booths around that Mosque erected by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mumin.[22] In the 10^th century, Fes , one of the chief seats of Islamic learning, had a library of 300,000 volumes.[23] Muslim Spain alone had seventy public libraries.[24] In Merw, around 1216-1218, there were 10 libraries, two in the chief mosque and the remainder in the madrasas,[25] which were also to perish following the first Mongol invasion of 1219-1221.[26] The geographer Yaqut (d.1229), who lived through the episode, in fact narrowly escaped the Tartar advance, and fled, wearing no clothes, but clutching his manuscripts, across Persia  to Mosul.[27] He tells us:

‘I remained there (in Merw) three years… Were it not for what happened after the coming of the Tartars to that land and its devastation… I surely would not have left it till death because of the people’s generosity, kindness, and sociability, and the multitude of sound fundamental books there. For when I left it there were in it ten endowed libraries, the like of which, in numbers of books, I had never seen. Among them were two libraries in the mosque, one of them with 12,000 volumes… and there is the library of Sharaf al-Mulk, the accountant; and the library of Nizam al-Mulk in his mosque; and two libraries  (belonging to the Samani faculty), and another library in the Amiduia College. And a library belonging to Majd al-Mulk, one of the later viziers there; and the Khatuniya (princess) libraries in the mosque-college; and the Damiruja.’[28]

And so it was through the land of Islam; so widespread were public book collections, that it was impossible to find a mosque or a learning institution of any sort without a collection of books placed at the disposal of students or readers.[29] And the medieval Islamic public library, Eche states, did not just serve the parent institution in the accomplishment of its scientific purpose, which it reflected scrupulously, as a place for permanent storage; it perpetuated the best scientific works, kept the most precious documents, and even scientific instruments.[30]     

One of the most famed libraries of Islam was that of Tripoli  (northern Lebanon, today).[31]  Tripoli was a natural port in what was then Syria , and was very prosperous thanks to its farm products and its manufacture. When the first crusaders sacked it in 1109, it had a population of 20,000 chiefly engaged in the making of glass and paper; it possessed a splendid mosque, rich bazaars, and houses from four to six storeys high.[32]  According to Michaud, it had four thousand workmen involved in textile manufacturing,[33] and also had a large paper workshop, which helped spread the making of books.[34] Already, at the time of Al-Ma’ari, cited above, the city had many public libraries organised under waqf endowments.[35] The largest library in the city was founded some time in the 11^th century.[36] It was one of the richest and best endowed the Muslims ever had, and according to Ibn Abi Tay, it included 3 million works (which is much higher than the figure given by Al-Nuwayri) and it employed 180 copyists, who were remunerated for day and night work.[37] The city’s ruling dynasty, the Banu Ammar gave all their attention and support to this library, and they sent their agents to all places to acquire works to place in their library.[38] Under their rule, Tripoli became the centre of attraction for scholars, who worked in their service.[39] This library also sheltered an active scholarly life involving students and scholars, but this life was cut short following the crusades.[40] In 1109, the crusaders besieged the city, and it surrendered to them. The outcome was looting and devastation, and the thorough destruction of its great library by flames, and the great loss of many scientific works of immense value.[41]

Rulers and leading figures played a crucial part in the life of the libraries. The university of Al-Mustansiriya of Baghdad  had a rich library composed largely of books transferred from the very private library of the Caliph.[42] In Damascus , Nur Eddin Zangi gave large collections of books to the many libraries of the city,[43] whilst in Cairo , al Qadi al-Fadil presented his schools with 100,000 volumes on various subjects for the use of students.[44] In Spain, Al-Hakam II’s (r.961-976) collection was estimated at 400,000 to 600,000 books.[45] The list of catalogues recording only the names of the authors and the titles of the books consisted of 44 volumes.[46] He engaged copyists and bookbinders, and had agents sent to every province to procure books for him by purchase and by transcription.[47] In Western Christendom, four hundred years later, Charles the Wise could gather in his royal library of France, nine hundred volumes, of which only a third were not dealing with theology.[48] The Reyes of Tayfas, princes who succeeded the Umayyad in Spain (early 11^th century), also became celebrated for their libraries at Saragossa, Granada, Toledo , and elsewhere.[49] Back in the East, Adud al-Daula (d.983), founded a library in Shiraz, which, in the words of al-Muqaddasi was:

‘A complex of buildings surrounded by gardens with lakes and waterways. The buildings were topped with domes, and comprised an upper and a lower story with a total, according to the chief official, of 360 rooms.... The library, which contained much scientific literature was in the charge of a director, a librarian and a superintendent. The books were stored in a long arched hall, with stack rooms on all sides. Against the walls stood book-presses, six feet high and three yards wide, made of carved wood, with doors which closed from the top down, each branch of knowledge having separate book cases and catalogues. In each department, catalogues were placed on a shelf... the rooms were furnished with carpets...'[50]

A considerable number of private libraries thrived, too, especially amongst scholars. Amongst the scholars of Islam, there was none who could be found without a collection of books of his own, Shalaby, thus, concluding, that the number of these libraries equalled the number of learned people.[51] This collection was an indispensable tool for the scholar, and it included, in general, all the works that his never interrupted studies allowed him to buy or copy.[52] There are countless instances of such libraries. Al-Waqidi, at his death, in the year 823, left 600 boxes of books, each so heavy that two men were needed to carry it[53] Al-Baiqani (1033) had so many books that it required sixty three hampers and two trunks to transport them, whilst a 10^th century scholar, Mohammed ben al-Husain of Haditha had a collection of rare manuscripts that was so precious that it was kept under lock and key.[54] The library of the physician Ibn al-Mutran, had, according to Ibn Abi Usaybi'a more than 3000 volumes; and three copyists worked constantly in his service.[55] And we hear of a private library in Baghdad , in the 9^th century, which required 120 camels to move it from one place to another.[56] Under Almohad rule, in Morocco , there was the famed 13^th century Maktaba (Library) of Ibn Tarawa, who was a great lover of chroniclers, besides being a manuscript writer.[57] Also famed were the Maktaba of al-Qaysi and the Maqtaba of Ibn as-Suqr, the main librarian of the imperial library, his collection requiring five full camel loads to be carried.[58] Eche notes how the richness of any scholar’s library was valued according to its scientific content, a collection, which nearly always ended in public libraries, thus enriching them considerably.[59]  

Private libraries were numberless amongst other groups, for it was a fashion among the rich to have an ample collection of books.[60] Among such libraries, the library of Abu al-Mutrif (d. 1001), a Cordovan judge, was sold at auction in the mosque for a whole year, bringing in 40,000 dinars.[61] Al-Maqqari quotes this passage from Ibn Said who held:

‘To such an extent did this rage for collection increase that a man in power or holding a situation in the government considered himself obliged to have a library of his own and would spare no trouble or expense in collecting books merely in order that people might say ‘such a one has a very fine library.’[62]

Muslim scholars’ bequests of books, and the establishment of waqfs for the purpose, served to enrich the libraries considerably. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 1070) constituted into a waqf all his works and writings for the benefit of Muslims. Some such works are known to us.[63] The Faqih al-Humaydi (d. 1095), also known as man of letters,  loved books so much that he worked at night copying them. He also constituted his collection into a waqf  for the benefit of those engaged in scientific work.[64] This must have been a rich collection, for he copied much and gathered plenty of notes. Al-Mustazhari (d. 1115), a very pious and generous figure, also constituted as a waqf for the learners of Tradition , a good number of books, which included the masnad of Ibn Hanbal.[65] Al-Katib (d. 1218), the last representative of the family of writers of Banu Hamdan, constituted as a waqf for the benefit of students a good part of his collection, made up of many original works.[66] Ibn Harit (d. 1322), a Faqih, a reader and lexicographer constituted his book collection as well as his properties into a waqf.[67] The chief of physicians, Al-Muhaddab Ibn Ali al-Dawhar (d. 1230) made of his house south of the Umayyad Mosque  in Damascus  a madrasa devoted to medicine. He had himself copied a large number of works in his meticulous hand-writing, and these books, estimated at over a hundred volumes on medicine and other sciences, were constituted into a waqf for the madrasa for the use of Physicians.[68]  

One of the most notable traditions long held by the Muslims was to bequeath their manuscripts and book collections, sometimes thousands of volumes, to mosques.[69] As Pedersen notes, because mosques were not just devoted to worship, but were also seats of learning, it was normal that people should give their libraries to mosques, and an entire book collection might be transferred to a mosque as a self contained library or dar al-kutub.[70] Al-Jaburi reported that Naila Khatun, a wealthy widow of Turkish  origin, founded a mosque in memory of her deceased husband, Murad Afandi. She attached to the mosque a madrasa and a library for which she reportedly bought many valuable books and manuscripts.[71] In Iraq , the Abu Hanifa mosque had an impressive library, which benefited from the gifts of private collections, amongst which was one by the physician, Ibn Jazla (d 493H/1099) and the writer historian al-Zamakhshari (d 538H/1143).[72] In Aleppo , the largest and probably the oldest mosque library, the Sufiya, located at the city's Grand Umayyad Mosque , contained a large book collection of which 10 000 volumes were reportedly bequeathed by the city's most famous ruler, Prince Sayf al-Dawla.[73] The famed historian, Abu’l Fida, built in the city of Hama a beautiful mosque and constituted into a waqf a collection of books, numbering seven thousand volumes, of all sorts of sciences, a collection, which it is said, was without equal.[74] It included works he had collected with considerable effort from various parts of the East and the West.[75] Yaqut, the famed geographer, also left his collection as waqf to the Zaidi mosque library.[76] In Al-Qayrawan , the manuscripts were endowed to students by those who sought Allah's favour and pleasure, as was recorded on many such manuscripts.[77] In the year 1548, the Qarawiyyin teacher, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Ajmawi, bequeathed his large work, al-Qawl al-Mutabar to the students of the mosque,[78] which came after Ibn Khaldun  had bequeathed to the same Mosque library his Kitab al-Ibar, to be lent only to trustworthy men for the period of two months.[79] Most often, this gesture is a mark of gratitude by the scholar towards the mosque for their upkeep and support.[80]

Muslim Libraries: Their Public Role and their Management

Mackensen notes that the contrast between the Christian West and medieval Islam was not just in terms of size of book collections, but also extended to the fact that whilst Western Christendom restricted access to books, Islam encouraged it.[81] The Islamic attitude, again, derives from the Prophet’s summons:

‘The first blessing that accrues to a person occupied with the transmission of traditions consists of the fact that he has the opportunity to lend books to others.’[82]

This summons permeated all echelons of Islamic scholarship and society; the scholar abided by it, and elaborated on it. Ibn Jammah's advised his students in his Books as the Tools of the Scholars, written in 1273:

‘Books are needed in all useful scholarly pursuits. A student, therefore, must in every possible manner try to get hold of them. He must try to buy, or hire, or borrow them, since these are the ways to get hold of them. However, the acquisition, collection, and possession of books in great numbers should not become the student's only claim to scholarship.... Do not bother with copying books that you can buy. It is more important to spend your time studying books than copying them. And do not be content with borrowing books that you can buy or hire.... The lending of books to others is commendable, if no harm to either borrower or lender is involved. Some people disapprove of borrowing books, but the other attitude is the more correct and preferable one, since lending something to someone else is in itself a meritorious action and, in the case of books, in addition serves to promote knowledge.’[83]  

Many libraries were founded for the sole purpose of lending books.[84] We even find in the waqf stipulations the basic rule for book lending. Thus, in luga 42 of the Zahiriya Library, the following rule stipulated by the waqf said:

‘Gifted for the profit of all Muslims and deposited at the madrasa al-Gawziyya of Damascus . Those who require such works can use them and then after use must return them back to the madrasa.’[85]

In Islam, in fact, caliphs, viziers, and scholars, were extremely generous in supporting access to, and use of libraries, including their own. In the Grand Palace of Ali b. Yahya al-Munajjim (897) in Iraq , there was a great library with the name Khizanat al-Hikmah visited by people who travelled from different places to study. Accommodation was available for those amongst them who sought to live in the library wing, and food too was made available.[86] In the 900s, a Dar al-Ilm (House of Learning ) was established in Mosul, northern Iraq, by Mohammed Ibn Hamdan al-Mawsili (854-934).[87] Ibn Hamdan was in the habit of visiting this library every day.[88] It included books in all sorts of sciences, especially philosophy and astronomy,[89] and was open  to all seekers of learning who were supplied with paper as well as books.[90] The geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) adds that the library was bequeathed in favour of all seekers of knowledge, and no one was denied access to it: even if a stranger wished to enter it he was allowed to do so.’[91] Admission was not just granted to everyone, but poor students could be financially supported, too.[92] The scholar Ibn Abbad (938-995) had a library, whose book list filled ten catalogues.[93] He was interested in philosophy, science and techniques, and was very generous with scholars; he gave each, it was said from 100 to 500 dirhems and a garment.[94] At Basrah (Basra ), Abu ‘Ali b. Sawwar, a learned man and a patron of learning, founded two libraries, where students could read and copy books, and could also be fed.[95] Ibn Hibban (d. 965), the qadi (judge) of Nishapur, bequeathed to the city a house with a library and quarters for foreign students and provided stipends for their maintenance.[96] In Ispahan, a rich landowner established a library in 855, and is said to have spent 300,000 dirhems on books.[97] In Morocco , the Merinid sultan Abu Inan, avid reader and book collector, founded at the Qarawiyyin of Fes  the Abu Inan Library, in which he deposited books on various subjects for the readers, who found not only room for consultation of such books but also items such as paper, pens etc.[98]

The organisation and management of Muslim libraries was quite remarkable, and descriptions of both public and private libraries speak of the classification of books and their arrangement in separate cases or even in separate rooms in the Baghdad  libraries.[99] ‘Great care,’ says Olga Pinto, ‘was taken concerning the buildings which were to serve as public libraries. Some of them, like those of Shiraz, Cordova and Cairo , were placed in separate structures, with many rooms for different uses: galleries with shelves in which the books were kept, rooms where the visitors could read and study, rooms set apart for those in charge of making copies of manuscripts, rooms which served for literary assemblies etc.'[100]

There was accurate cataloguing of all contents to help readers, whether the library was private or public. One single private collection required 10 volumes,[101] whilst in Spain, the catalogue for the works in al Hakkam's library is alleged to have consisted of 44 volumes.[102] The contents of each section of a bookshelf were also registered on a strip of paper attached to the shelf outside; which bore indications of works which were incomplete or lacking in some part.[103] Book lending, too, followed strict regulations, such as that readers were urged to take great care of borrowed books, not to write comments or correct any mistakes found in the book, but instead to report them to the librarian; and return the borrowed items by a given date.[104]

It was the practice to appoint a librarian to take charge of the affairs of the library,[105] but such duty was only for the most learned amongst Muslims; only men ‘of unusual attainment’ were allowed the privilege to be custodians of the libraries.[106] The Sufiya of the Grand Mosque  of Aleppo  library, for instance, had in charge of it Muhammad al-Qasarani, an accomplished poet and a man well versed in literature, geometry, arithmetic and astronomy.[107] The Nizamiya library of Baghdad  had as one of its earlier custodians Abu Yusuf Ibn Dawud, who was a faqih, a methodologist, a man of letters, calligrapher and poet.[108] Another of its custodians was Abu Zakaria al-Tabrizi, a man of letters, author of many masterpieces, who was also appointed as teacher of literature and philosophy in the Nizamiya madrasa itself.[109] In Spain, in the provinces, the custody of the assembled manuscripts was entrusted to a noble of distinction; but at the capital the charge of the magnificent library of A1-Hakem was considered an employment worthy of royalty itself, and was committed to Abd-al-Aziz, a brother of the caliph.[110] Such men, Mackensen notes, were themselves pleased to act as librarians. ‘It speaks highly for the generosity of the patrons as well as for the really important work carried out in these libraries that men of marked ability in various fields felt it worth their while to undertake the duties of custodian.'[111]

Equally intensely sought after were copyists and it was the generalised rule in Muslim libraries to employ many of them together with calligraphists, and to employ the most illustrious of them.[112] Caliph al-Hakam II of Spain gathered around him men with great skills in the art of copying,[113] including the famed Zifr al-Baghdadi, whom he had brought specially from Baghdad .[114] The Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta’sim did the same in the search of copyists for his library at the Mustansiriya.[115] Abu al-Mutrif (d.1001), a Cordovan judge, possessed a magnificent library, largely of rare books and masterpieces of calligraphy.[116] He employed six copyists, who were constantly at work, and bought books in large quantities.[117] The judge never lent a manuscript, but had copies made as gifts.[118]

Generally, Watts explains, a master would slowly read out a scholarly work and scribes would copy down what he said.[119] Depending on how many scribes he employed, ten or fifteen or more copies of a 300 page book could be produced in a few weeks.[120] It was in this way that, by 1236, when it was burnt by the crusading Christians, the great Library in Islamic Cordoba , had built up a collection said to number 400,000 books.[121] To conform to the original, the work of the copyist, however meticulous he was, necessitated not just skills in writing, but also exactitude, and once the text was copied, other scholars checked it.[122] Often, a famed scholar took on this task, and corrected copies; al-Farisi (d. 983), for instance, was employed two days a week in the correction of the Tadhkira of Sahih Ibn Abbad, which was copied for the library of Kafi al-Kifaya.[123] The search for exactitude also prompted the search for the copyist who knew best the work to be copied, or the person owning the best of the manuscripts.[124]  

From the point of view of their role in Muslim society and their place in human civilisation, their organisation and functions, their size and impact, and their innovative character,  Islamic public libraries, Eche concludes, did not just surpass by far any similar institution that might have existed elsewhere, but they were only surpassed by modern libraries by around the 17^th century after mass printing made possible the distribution of books on a grand scale.[125] Most certainly, Islamic private libraries could be ranked on the same level of importance.

The Rise of the Book Industry

The early Muslim passion for books did not just lead to the rise of one of the greatest institutions of human civilisation, it also led to the advent and advancement of some essential functions, crafts and trades, which had dramatic effects on the worlds of intellect and industry.

Muslims were great book collectors, and this stimulated a flourishing book trade.[126] At its foundation was the Warraq profession (waraq being the Arabic word for paper), which developed considerably.[127] The Warraqeen (plural Warraq) traded mostly in paper, but also copied rare manuscripts they managed to obtain from often distant places, and made them available to the public at reasonable prices.[128] The manuscripts that the warraqs transcribed during public dictations had little value unless they carried the ijaza (licence), they were copies authorized by their authors.[129] The function of getting the ijaza and distributing the approved manuscripts was performed by the warraqs, a process, which was long and complicated, but which ensured that the rights of the author were preserved and plagiarism was kept at bay.[130] Once the warraq made a copy of the author's work, it was read back to him three or more times in public; each time, the author making amendments or additions which required further readings.[131] Only when the author was finally satisfied, did he place the ijaza on the copies that he approved; the ijaza signifying that he granted permission 'to transmit the work from him' in the form as approved. If the author of a particular work was dead, then the copy was read out by a distinguished scholar, who charged an honorarium for his service and gave his ijaza to the manuscript.[132] The ijaza did not give the warraq copyright over the work; it was simply an assurance that he passed the book in the form determined by the author and was empowered to transmit the book in the same form to others. [133]

Baghdad , most probably, was the first place where the Warraqeen bookshops appeared,[134] Yaqubi (d.897) says that in his time Baghdad had over a hundred booksellers.[135] The bookshops were often situated around the town's principal mosque; scholars and men of letters used them as places where they could gather.[136] It was in these shops that al-Jahiz would pay for the privilege of being locked in all night in order to read a copy that he wanted.[137] From Iraq , bookshops spread westward. In the bazaars of Cordova, which possessed the largest book market in Spain, manuscripts were bought and sold like any other commodity.[138] In Cairo , according to Ibn Zulaq, under Tulunid and Ikhlisid rule (9^th century), there was a special bazaar for the Warraqeen where books were sold and debate took place.[139] The intellectual role of such places in Egyptian life was subsequently studied by al-Makrizi (d.1442).[140] Such an intellectual role was not strange to Muslim Spain, where Zainab and Hamda, the daughters of Zaid, the bookseller who lived at wadi al-Hima in the neighbourhood of Grenada , were ‘excellent poetesses, thoroughly versed in all branches of learning and science.'[141]

The profession of warraq also stimulated a diversity of trades, here well outlined by Durant. The Warraqs, he said:

‘Made ever lovelier Kurans for Seljuk, Ayyubid, or Mamluk mosques, monasteries, dignitaries, and schools, and engraved upon the leather or lacquer bindings designs as delicate as a spider's web. Rich men spent small fortunes in engaging artists to make the most beautiful books ever known. A corps of papermakers, calligraphers, painters, and bookbinders in some cases worked for seventeen years on one volume. Paper had to be of the best; brushes were put together, we are told, from the white neck hair of kittens not more than two years old; blue ink was sometimes made from powdered lapis lazuli, and could be worth its weight in gold; and liquid gold was not thought too precious for some lines or letters of design or text.’[142]

Paper, a Chinese invention, was turned by the Muslims into an industry that led to the massive production of books. The literary necessities of a highly educated population, the multiplication of manuscripts, the requirements of innumerable institutions of learning, and the need to stack the shelves of libraries, in turn stimulated the industry.[143] The use of paper rather than papyrus or parchment, in turn, made books relatively cheap.[144] Thus, whilst elsewhere books were ‘published' only through the tedious labour of copyists, in the Muslim world hundreds, even thousands of copies of reference materials were made available to those wishing to learn.[145] All this had decisive impacts subsequently, when transmitted to the West. The Europeans of the Middle Ages wrote only on parchment but its high price was a serious obstacle to the multiplication of written works.[146] By making use of this new material, paper, and manufacturing it on a large scale, in the words of Pedersen, the Muslims ‘accomplished a feat of crucial significance not only to the history of the Islamic book but also to the whole world of books.’[147]