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INTRODUCTION
The present catalogue describes the collection of
Arabic manuscripts held at the Library of the School
of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London.
The collection consists of over 400 items grouped
in 394 entries, and embraces, in addition to such
traditional Islamic disciplines as Tafsīr, Ḥadīth,
Fiqh, etc., works on Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine,
Falconry, Archery, and Military Equitation.
A sizeable proportion of the collection constitutes
Shī’ah literature, with its 17 Ismā’īlī manuscripts
of Indian provenance. The Shaikhī sect is represented
by 37 tracts and responsa of Kāẓim al-Rashtī (no.277).
Among the manuscripts described in the following
pages the reader will find some with parallel or
interlinear translation into a number of languages
such as: Coptic (nos 46, 187), French (no.376),
Italian (no.29), Malay (nos 35, 77, 230, 231, 287, 312,
378), Persian (nos 25, 64, 102, 248, 251, 287, 341),
and Swahili (nos 201, 246, 255).
The entries are arranged alphabetically by title,
with references (see, =) grouped together and directly
preceding the letter sequence. The alphabetical order
has been adjusted in order to accommodate the system
of transliteration, the additional letters being
placed as follows: d, dh, ḍ: g, gh: h, ḥ: k, kh: s, sh,
ṣs: t, th, ṭ. * The definite article (al) has been
replaced by a hyphen (-) at the beginning of an entry,
in the reference section and index of persons' names,
and it has been disregarded as far as alphabetization
is concerned. Abbreviated names such as ‘Al., Ḥ., M.,
etc., have been alphabetized as ‘Abd Allāh, Ḥasan,
Muḥammad, etc.
* This does not apply to the sequence of letters
within a word.
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