Skip to Main Content
Research Guides

Islamic Manuscripts Collection

Information about using the Islamic Manuscripts Collection held at the University of Michigan Library.

Welcome!

This guide offers an introduction to the Islamic Manuscripts Collection at the University of Michigan. In addition to details on the collection history, size, and scope, you will find strategies for locating manuscripts of interest, instructions for viewing manuscripts in the Library, and advice on locating, viewing and downloading digitized manuscripts.

Fellowship opportunities are available to researchers whose work would benefit from onsite access to our special collections, including the Islamic Manuscripts Collection. 

Feel free to be in touch with any questions or requests for research assistance.

Featured Manuscript

illuminated manuscript page with decoration in gold, blue and other colors framing text in Arabic script
 
Illuminated opening in Isl. Ms. 246, a 17th century copy of the Dīwān, or collected poems, of Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad al-Mutanabbī (d.965), widely considered the greatest and perhaps most influential of Arab poets. In this manuscript, the poems are accompanied by marginal commentary arranged in artful geometric shapes.

Browse the full catalogue description. 

Explore a manuscript

Collaboration in Cataloging: Islamic Manuscripts at Michigan

This guide is an outcome of the "Collaboration in Cataloging: Islamic Manuscripts at Michigan" project during which full cataloging for the entire Islamic Manuscripts Collection was completed. Read more about the digitization effort which supported the cataloguing effort!

 

Last Updated: May 27, 2025 2:39 PM