Primary Sources: Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library

The Library has recently acquired Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library (1475-1900), a full-text searchable digital library of early printed books in Arabic script. It includes works on law, the sciences, religion, history, geography, travel, mathematics, and many other subjects. There are some European translations of Arabic works included, as well as Arabic translations of European works.

The resource is divided into three subject modules, though all can be searched simultaneously.

 

Module 1: Religion and Law
The Qu’ran, traditions (Hadith), tafsir, theology, commentaries on religious texts, religious teaching and practice, biographies of religious figures; law, fiqh and statutes, fatwas and rulings

Module 2: Sciences, History, and Geography
Natural history, medicine, physiology, other science, classical sciences, philosophy, logic, politics, ethics, mathematics, arithmetic, geometry, mechanics, astrology, chemistry; history, early caliphs and conquests, modern history, genealogy, biographies; geography and travel, regional geography, and topography

Module 3: Periodicals, Literature, Grammar, Language, Catalogues and General Works
Periodicals, folktales, pre-Islamic literature (Antar, Bani Hilal, Imru’l qays), Islamic poetry and prose (al-Burdah), poetry and prose (maqamat), Kalilah wa-dimnah, Luqman, proverbs and sayings, Thousand and one nights, later literature, poetry and prose, general literature; language and lexicography, dictionaries, grammar, syntax, rhetoric, ‘ilm al-bayan, catalogues, manuscript catalogues, etc.

Searches can be done in Arabic (using a built-in keyboard tool), transliterated Arabic, or Latin script.