Prophet’s Mosque Library Provides Expansive Access to Manuscripts, Digital Resources

Prophet’s Mosque Library Provides Expansive Access to Manuscripts, Digital Resources
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The Prophet’s Mosque Library in Medina serves as a public institution providing extensive resources for researchers and visitors interested in Islamic heritage, Iqna reported. It is one of the foremost knowledge centers in the Muslim world, combining a vast collection of rare manuscripts and reference materials with modern digital research tools to preserve Islamic written heritage.

Established in 1933 (1352 AH) on the recommendation of Obaid Madani, then-director of Medina’s endowments, the library’s origins trace back even earlier, with some books previously kept in the Rawdah Sharifah area.

The library features separate reading rooms for men, women, and children, a rare manuscripts section, an audio library preserving sermons and lessons from the Prophet’s Mosque, and a technical unit for repairing and binding materials. It also includes departments for cataloging, collection development, periodicals, and storage.

A special section houses rare books chosen for their publication history, decoration, or unique physical features. The digital section offers access to the catalog and Islamic websites via Wi-Fi-enabled computers.

The collection holds over 182,000 books in 71 academic fields across 23 languages, including more than 143,000 digital titles and 43 million digital pages. Seventy computers support academic research. Despite losses from a mosque fire in 886 AH, many valuable handwritten Qurans and manuscripts remain.

Open 24/7 near Gate 10 on the mosque’s western side, the library is managed by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.