アレッポのイスラム・ワクフ図書館写本目録と「写本の考古学」

抄録

In fear of the extinction of the knowledge and the death of scholars, Umayyad Caliph Umar II is reported in hadith to have said, “Pick up the traditions of the Messenger of God and write them down” (Sahin al-Bukhari, Chap. of 'Ilm, §34). This report makes clear the fact that manuscripts of Islamic religious sciences are media for preserving records and also means for transmitting knowledge to the next generation. Many studies are now beginning to stress the peculiar nature of the person-to-person style in Muslim traditional education and regard Muslim education as a cultural practice. As a result, written material (i. e. the manuscript) has not attracted broader interest among modern historians of Muslim education except for the revision and compilation of certain texts. Although, when we focus on how learners receive educational contents of the religious sciences, we can say, even in the above-mentioned hadith, that written material does not necessarily lose its importance. Rather, we should be aware that it is indispensable material in Muslim education.
First of all in this brief article, I will introduce information about the Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts that was accumulated in Aleppo up until the mid-20th century. The Manuscripts were kept in the library called Dar al-Maktabat al-Waqfiyya al-Islamiyya, which was located in al-Madrasa al-Sharafiyya next to al-Jami'al-Kabtr. Its catalogue consists of 8 collections; each had been historically collected in religious waqf institutions (jami', masjid, madrasa etc.). The catalogue was arranged finally by the hand of a religious scholar of Aleppo, Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Saradar, and the collections were administered under him until they were transferred to the Asad Library in Damascus by governmental decree in 1986.
In addition to providing a short history of the manuscripts and libraries, I will try to indicate a few possibilities about the “archaeology of the manuscript.” Through a short survey of Islamic writing and book history, while considering the study of historical sources, I would like to emphasize as a hypothesis that the manuscript could be regarded as being document-like evidence reflecting the actual learning activities of scholars and students. This research would open a way, beyond our lack of historical sources, to understand the curriculum in pratique at the place of education in Islamic history.