The Islamic Research Institute (IRI) of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) hosted the lecture if His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Nizam Yaquby, a globally respected Shariah expert in Islamic Banking and Finance. His special lecture was titled the “Importance of Research on Islamic Manuscripts.”
The event drew academics, students, and researchers keen to explore the critical role of Islamic manuscripts in preserving and disseminating Muslim scholarly heritage.
The event began with welcoming remarks from Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zia Ul Haq, Director-General of the Islamic Research Institute, who underscored the significant impact of Muslim innovations in paper production, which played a crucial role in the preservation and dissemination of Islamic scholarly works.
Dr. Yaquby’s lecture highlighted the pivotal role of manuscripts as foundations of Islamic intellectual history, emphasizing their function in preserving Muslim scholarship across varied fields of knowledge. He noted the exceptional uniformity among over one million Quranic manuscripts, underscoring this as evidence of the Quran’s authenticity maintained over centuries.
Additionally, Dr. Yaquby drew attention to the consistency observed in Hadith manuscripts, particularly those of Imam Bukhari, remarking on the existence of identical texts in libraries worldwide, which illustrates the precision and credibility of Islamic scholarship. Advocating for the digitization and open access of Islamic manuscripts, including those housed in the Dr. Muhammad Hameedullah Library at IIUI, Dr. Yaquby called for greater accessibility to these resources to foster global scholarly engagement and deeper research.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks from Sahibzada Qamar ul Haq, who expressed appreciation for Dr. Yaquby’s profound insights and affirmed IRI’s commitment to preserving and enhancing access to Islamic manuscripts for future generations.