Three Fatw on "Lending Libraries" in North Africa and Spain Author(s): Avner Giladi Reviewed work(s): Source: Arabica,

T. 44, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1997), pp. 140-143 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4057273 . Accessed: 22/04/2012 20:09
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Arabica.

http://www.jstor.org

NOTES ET DOCUMENTS
THREE FATAWAON "LENDING LIBRARIES"IN NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN*
BY

AVNER GILADI I. Mosques throughout the medieval Muslim world often contained collections of books mainly but not exclusivelyscriptures.Such collections offered "loan services" for the benefit of outside readers-scholars as well as students'. Some interesting details on the way these "services"worked can be gleaned from a source which has not been used yet in this respect: among the thousands of legal opinby al-mu'rib al-Waniarisi ions (fatawd) and cases (nawdzil)included in al-Mirydr (834-914/1430-1508)1, a small number are found to deal with regulatingthe lending of books. That the study of libraries in the medieval Muslim world can contribute to an understandingof Islamic cultural history has already pointed out by several scholars3.Here we would like to draw attention to the importance offatdw&in this context thereby strengtheningthe impression, shared by many Islamicists, that legal responsa and the wide range of issues they cover (al-Waniarisi'scollection being a remarkableexample) are valuable source for the study of economic, social and culturalhistory of Muslim peoples4.As Richard Bulliet puts it in a newly published book: "Islam, to a greater extent than any other major religion, has been shaped by the questions Muslims have asked and by the willingness of Muslims to seek out their own religious authorities"'.
* I would like to thank Dr Manuela Marin of the Instituto de Filologia, CSIC, Madrid for her help in locating several biographical details. ' Mohamed MakldiSibai, MosqueLibraries: Historical An Study.London and New York, 1987, 105-108. Cf. S.D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Sociey, Vol. II, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 1971, 53, 83, 111, 151, 152. 2 Abiu al-'Abbas Ahmad b. Yahya al-Waniarisi, Al-Miydr al-mu'rib wa-al-gdmi' al-murib ahl 'anfatdwad al-ifiiqyawa-al-andalus vols. I-XIII. Rabat and Beirut, 1981-83. wa-al-maghrib, 3See: Etan Kohlberg, A MedievalMuslim Scholarat Work.Ibn Tawus and his Libragy, Leiden, 1992, Bibliography, 412 ff., for instance, works by Baneth, Eche, Grohmann, Haarmann and Ibn Dohaish. David S. Powers, "Fatvas as Sources for Legal and Social History: A Dispute over Endowment from Fourteenth-Century Fez", Al-QantaraXI (1990), esp. 295-98. 5 Richard W. Bulliet, Islam. The View from the Edge, New York, 1994, p. 195, and see also pp. 182-83. ? EJ. Brill, Leiden, 1997 Arabica,tome XLIV,1

NOTES ET DOCUMENTS

141

II. Mosque collections of books were the first to serve as "public libraries"(in the fullest sense) in the Muslim world. While the old academies, like baytal-hikma, were the property of individuals-as were their book collections-mosque libraries were establishedas pious foundations(waqf)and thus enjoyed an independent legal status6.The way they developed was closely connected with the educational functions of the mosque, where teaching in many cases involved the dictating (imld') of whole volumes7. Scholars, furthermore, were in the habit of depositing their writings in the library of their town's (or quarter's)mosque8. The role of mosques as lending librariesin North Africa and Spain in the late Middle Ages is reflected in threefatdwii which I recently came across, all included in volume seven of al-Mifadr, which incidently contains many endowment deeds9. The first of these discusses the question whether it is permissible to lend out endowed books. A distinction is made, on the one hand, between two sorts of books which an endowment might include and, on the other, between two categories of institutionsto which donors usually endowed books: Wa-su'ila 'an tukbasu bi-ism bi-'aynihi bi-mas#daw (al-Wansarisz) kutub wa-masdhf qasr halyagizuli-manya'kudu sayananyam4o?a ild ddrihiyaqra'ufthi minha bihi awyansahuhu wayarudduhu'I. {al-Waniarisiwas asked whether books or copies of the Qur'an donated (as a pious bequest)to a specificstore or mosquecan be borrowedfor readingor copying at home and then be retumed}. That books used to be endowed (tukbasu)to mosques seems natural. What is less clear is the term qaWr, indicating here some sort of closet. Referring generally to "a palace or ... a kind of building wholly or for the most part isolated, sometimes on the top of a larger building.. . and generally consisting of one room if forming a part of a larger building or connected with another building","salle","chambre sup6rieure""qasrin this context may stand for any building or room, annexed to a mosque and set apart to serve as a book closet or library'2. Even more interestingfrom our point of view is the differentiationbetween two sorts of endowed books:

E.L 2, Vol. V, s.v. "Maktaba";J. Pedersen, 7he ArabicBook, Princeton, 1984, 126. Abdul Latif Abdullah Ibn Dohaish, "Growth and Development of Islamic Libraries", Der Islam, 66 (1989), 290; George Makdisi, The Rise of Colleges: Institutions Learning of in Islam and the West, Edinburgh, 1981, 17-19. 8 E.L 2, ibid. David S. Powers, "A Court Case from Fourteenth-Century North Africa", 3ournal Oriental Society,110 (1990), 231. of theAmerican 10 Al-Waniarisi, VII, 37. " Edward Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon,London and Edinburgh, 1863-93, s.v. "qasr"; R. Dozy, Supplement Dictionnaires aux Arabes,Leiden-Paris, 1927, s.v. "qasr". 12 Youssef Eche, Les bibliotheques arabes,Damascus, 1967, 272: "Voici... les formes du waqf des livres propres A caracteriser le development du fonds de la bibliotheque:
7

1. On constitue une bibliotheque dans un edifice depourvu de livres: 2. On cree une nouvelle bibliotheque A c6te d'une autre: 3. On habouse un nombre determine de livres pour augmenter le fonds d'une ancienne bibliotheque.

142

NOTES ET DOCUMENTS

a. Kutub al-'ilm, probably meaning "textbooks"or "referencebooks" such as lexicons, Qur'an commentaries, NadAt and Fiqh collections and the like. Such books were generally voluminous and thus expensive which meant that they were in high demand. This made them most appropriate for endowment: Fa-innahd min asliha min bdb al-habs13.In al-Wanlarisi's view it is essential to keep such books within the institution to which they were endowed, whereby they become, as it were, identical with that institution:

ft Fa-wad'uhd makdn bi-'aynihi innamd al-murdd minhu ta'ifu/hd (tarffkutub al-'ilm) biddlika al-makdn'4.
Also, lending out books of this sort is recommended only in rare cases of urgent need on condition that the borrower is cautious enough in dealing with them: Wa-ft'idat yaslhu al-nazar (ftfkutub man fl/ha fihi al-'ilm) (fl-al-makdn). Fa-iddintafa'a bihd gayrddlika al-mawdi'fl 4ta hattdturadda fa-md bihiba'sin Ad'a ilayhi Alldh/5. ft (The books of (religious) sciences are most advantageous, the one who can for make suitableuse of them, (whenthey remainlocated)within the place (to which they were endowed).If he (nevertheless) gains benefitfrom using them outsidethis place he shoulddo so with great care until the books are (safely) In returned. this case there is no harm, if God wills}. b. A more flexible treatment is allowed for books of the second kind, mashi;f that is, copies of the Qur'an'6. Presumably,because memorizing the text of the Qur'an was a popular practice and Qur'an copies were rather generally available, borrowing regulations in this case were less strict and depended more on the conditions set by the donator. According to al-Wansharisi'sfatwd, case a donator has in not fixed any conditions, a patron (waly) is to be nominated to look after the endowment. If the endowed masdhkfare not much in use, and therefore in danger of neglect, somebody with no personal interest in the books should be nominated as wall4 to insure that the collection is transferredto a safer place, where it can be used more efficiently: Wa-ammd 'ald in wa-inlamyu'raffasartuhu; al-masd/hfifa-hya tartmuhabbisihd 'urifa
tawalli man istagnd'anhd ahsan wa-law innahd bi-makdn yuhdfu 'alayhial-fasdd aw altagayyur li-qillat al-sdkintnawa-'adamal-mutafaqqid-na, lakin al-nazar 'ind ft/hd an tu'rd ild makdnhirz lahd wa-husnintifja'bihd huwa =aWi7.

III. Two cases of books donated to a closet (kizdna) the Great Mosque of in Granada are discussedin anotherfatwd issued by Muhammad b. Muhammad Abii al-Qasim b. al-Sarrag,the Mufti of the city'8.Here we have an even more detailed example of loan regulations stipulated by donators of books. In one case borrowing was absolutelyprohibited and readers could use books in the closet only, while
13 Al-Waniarisi, VII, 37: "In their very nature books like these are most appropriate for pious bequeth". 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 17

Al-Waniarisi, ibid. 18 Died 848/1444 or 1445. See: Ahmad al-Wansharisi, Wafayat,ed. in Muhammad Haggi, A(f sana min al-wafaydt,Rabat, 1976, p. 143.

Cf. Eche, 18.

NOTES ET DOCUMENTS

143

in the second, the borrowing, although allowed in principal, involved, according to the stipulation, a guarantee or deposit to insure the safe return of the books"9. 1. Fa-ishtarata al-muhabbisftha tuqra'a alla illdafi al-hiizana al-madkuira; 2.... an likin ba'da wad'rahnaw tiqa20. md iftarata yakhruja Wa-minhd

The Mufti, for his part, approved the legitimacy of both stipulationsand expressly forbade that these could be ignored: LayajazuanyutaCaddd al-muhabbis idniki,lili-annahu tasarnuf al-gayr mulk sart bi-ghayr annaal-intf ' bi-al-habs dimmat al-muhabbis21. 'aia of {The transgression the donator'sstipulation forbiddensince it would mean is that free use is made of somebodyelse's propertywithoutthe latter'spermission. It is the donator'sresponsibility (decide)to what use his donationcan be most to beneficially put.} IV. As we can learn from the third relevantfatwd, donors stipulated the way books should be used even within the library, for instance, that books they had endowed could be read but not copied22.Readers were not allowed to act against any explicit condition in the endowment deed: only those of a general character could become the subject of interpretation: Wa-su'ila 'an i 'ala Ahmad al-muhabbasa nassaal-muhabbis sayyidi al-Qabbdb al-kutub ba'dwujiihal-intija' 'an wa-sakata bdqihd.Wa-ajdba: nassa'ald ba'dihd in ka-qawlihi 'ald matalan al-qira'a wa-al-mutdla'a, fa-laysali-ahadanyansahaminha anyaqula. illd ddlika wu4fih min '"wa-gayr al-intija"'23. al-Qabbab24 askedabout booksdonated(as waqf):If the was {My teacherAh.mad donor specifiedsome of the ways of using the books but remainedsilent about other ways (what should be done)? He replied:In case he (the donor) specified some ways of use, for instance,that the books (he had donated)should be read and examined,no one is allowed to copy from them. Only if he added (to the a specifications generalformulation like):"and other ways of takingadvantage(of the books)"(is one allowedto copy from them or use them otherwise)}. The notion of "public library",with relativelyfree access to books, seems to be a natural by-product of the open educational system evolved in medieval Muslim societies to become one of the most important means of social mobility. As we tried to show, fatdwd, reflecting in many cases, concrete aspects of life in Muslim societies, can be a useful source for tracing the development of this notion and its institutionalrealization.

19
20 21 22 23

Cf. EL. 2, s.v. "Maktaba". Al-Wansarfsi, VII, 227-8.

Ibid.

Cf. EL. 2, s.v. "Maktaba". Al-Waniarisi, VII, 293. 24 Ahmad b. al-Qasim b. 'Abd al-Rahman of Fez of the fourteenth century. See: Ibn al-Hatib, al-Ihata fi ahbar garnata (ed. Muhammad 'Abdallah 'Inan), Cairo, 1973-77, vol. I, p. 187.