Omani Manuscripts

The Ministry of Heritage and Culture’s Manuscripts Department has a collection of some 4,600 manuscripts from Oman and elsewhere covering a diverse range of topics. It continues to collect and purchase manuscripts through the Manuscripts and Archives Valuation Committee. Recently the Department acquired a number of superbly illuminated rare manuscripts including ‘Takhmis al Burda’ by al Busiri, ‘Khizanat al Akhyar’ and ‘Bayan al Shara’’

The manuscripts on medicine, chemistry, hadith, Qur’anic sciences, along with critical interpretation of the text, have been catalogued as part of a scheme that aims to index all the manuscripts in the department’s possession.

The Manuscripts Department offers facilities for scholars and post-graduate students to study the manuscripts and details of its published and printed material can be accessed on the internet. The process of documenting and preserving them is ongoing.

Many of the manuscripts are in poor condition and need to be carefully restored and preserved, so a special department has been set up for this purpose, staffed by Omani nationals, trained by experts.

The Department also publishes manuscripts it considers to be of particular value. So far 750 have been published covering such fields as fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), history and literature, as well as several other disciplines. Copies are presented to academic and cultural institutions at home and abroad and displayed at book fairs and exhibitions.

For additional information and current research have a look at Manuscripts Department of Ministry of Heritage & Culture : http://www.mhc.gov.om/english/scripts.asp