The Book in Islamic Civilization: Between Appreciation and Reverence

Abstract

This article examines the status of the book in Islamic civilization through the dual lens of appreciation and reverence, highlighting the deep relationship between books, knowledge, and learning in Arab-Islamic consciousness. The author begins by emphasizing that the progress of nations is closely linked to their concern for culture, reading, and the preservation of knowledge sources. The article then shows how books and libraries in Islamic civilization became active institutions for education, authorship, translation, and the circulation of knowledge. It refers to historical examples such as the House of Wisdom, book collections, and institutions of learning, while also presenting the attitudes of scholars, writers, and rulers toward acquiring, preserving, gifting, copying, and safeguarding books. The article demonstrates that Muslim appreciation of books was not merely utilitarian; it also carried ethical and civilizational meaning, as the book was regarded as a companion, a source of wisdom, and a vessel of scholarly and literary memory. It concludes that reverence for books was a defining feature of Islamic civilizational flourishing and remains a cultural necessity for contemporary knowledge societies.