Ethiopian Researcher Collects Rare Islamic Manuscripts
According to al-ain.com, Hassan Mohammad Kav says Ethiopia has a rich heritage of Arabic manuscripts dating back to the 14th century which represent the deep relation of the African country with the Arab world.
Since Ethiopia hosted the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) at the time of Hijrah (Prophet Mohammad’s migration (622 AD) from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina)) it has a lot of Islamic treasuries some of which are kept at Bilal Museum of Addis Ababa, he adds.
The researcher says there are thousands of rare and precious Islamic manuscripts in different parts of the country most of them written in Arabic.
The Islamic texts, including the Holy Quran’s verses, interpretation of Quran, Hadiths and religious injunctions, written by Muslim Ethiopian scholars on the skin of animals are not only in Arabic but 11 local Ethiopian languages.
Islamic medicine, Islamic sciences, astronomy, and literature are the main theme of the collected manuscripts which have attracted many scholars and researchers from different countries, he notes.
The manuscripts are also an evidence of the powerful trade between Ethiopia and Arab countries particularly Yemen and Egypt, according to the researcher.
