Bibliophilia and the Passion for Reading: Between Moderation and Madness

Abstract

This article examines bibliophilia and the passion for reading within Arab-Islamic culture, beginning with the Islamic valuation of knowledge, learning, and reading, and presenting the book as an intellectual companion and a means of refinement and reflection. It draws on historical and literary examples that demonstrate Muslims’ concern with acquiring, copying, exchanging, and gifting books, as well as the journeys undertaken in search of manuscripts, the high prices of rare books, and the flourishing of book markets and manuscript trade. The article also highlights examples of scholars and readers deeply attached to books before turning to the excessive form of this attachment, known as bibliomania, in which love of books may become a compulsive desire to possess them rather than to read and understand them. The article concludes that a balanced love of books supports knowledge and cultural growth, while unrestrained obsession may reduce books to objects of anxious possession rather than living instruments of learning.