Photos| King Abdulaziz Public Library documents the Hajj section and trips to the Two Holy Mosques

The heritage archive at the King Abdulaziz Public Library includes rare collections about Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, some of the most important knowledge materials in the world, as they consist of a group of manuscripts, books, coins, miniatures, and pictures, which are included in the library’s database assets, and demonstrate the great interest on the part of the library in the fifth pillar of Islam: Hajj.

The King Abdulaziz Public Library plays a major cognitive role in monitoring and documenting the heritage memory related to Hajj, which is the most profound and influential ritual that is most present in the meetings of Muslims from the east and west of the earth, where Mecca, the Holy Kaaba, the Holy House of God, Mina, Arafat, and Medina are the heart of the hearts of Muslims who come to perform the Hajj from various parts of the world.

The library possesses thousands of documents, manuscripts and photographs related to the subject of Hajj, highlighting the major roles played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in serving the pilgrims and visitors to the House of God, as the holy places and sites throughout the history of the Kingdom receive great care, beginning with the era of the founding King Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God have mercy on him – and passing through his righteous sons, the kings of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after him, and until the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz – May God protect him. This was accompanied by a cultural movement in order to demonstrate the civilizational and cultural value of Islam and highlight the Kingdom’s efforts in serving the guests of God, in which the King Abdulaziz Public Library has had a prominent cognitive role in this regard since its founding.

The King Abdulaziz Public Library includes a photo archive that is considered one of the rarest photographic collections in the world, numbering (6,000) individual original photographs or groups preserved in albums, about Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, taken by the most famous photographers of the East and the Arab region since the beginnings of solar photography in the year 1740 AD, in addition to photos taken by travelers, ship captains, soldiers, envoys, consuls, and politicians who visited the region from the middle of the last century until the beginning of Current century. This historical archive of photographs is one of the most important and unique sources in the world that embodies the image of the Arab region in the past.

Among the reference books in the library are the four works of Major General Muhammad Sadiq Pasha. "A summary of the exploration of the route of the Hijaz land from Al-Wajh and Yanbu Al-Bahr to Medina Al-Nabawi and an explanation of its military map (1877 AD)"And the second " Mishal al-Muhammal on the Hajj journey by land (1880 AD) "And the third " The Hajj star in the travel of the ship by sea and its journey by land (1885 AD)". As for writing the last one, it was " A guide to Hajj for those coming to Mecca and Medina from all parts of the world (1885 AD)"These books are rare and important, as they include information about the social and urban situation of the Hijaz during the last half of the last century AD.

Printed editions represented a bright aspect of the library’s work, as it issued a number of books about Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, the most prominent of which are: Mecca and Medina (rare pictures), A Japanese in Mecca, translated and commented by Dr. Samir Ibrahim and Sarah Takahashi, and the book: The Road to Mecca, by Muhammad Asad ( Leopoldweis) and the book: The Pilgrimage to Mecca written by: Lady Evelyncobald, and the book:"Watching the Two Holy Mosques and the aspects of Hajj through the lens of Hajj Ahmed Mirza" .

The library includes a large number of manuscripts about Hajj, the Two Holy Mosques, Mecca and Medina, including: Manuscript: "The apple of the eye in the descriptions of the Two Holy Mosques" and"Evidence of good things and sparks of light" and"The Book of Anecdotes (Al-Masa’iyyah), the Explanation of the Thirty Questions, the Jurgaon of Wonders and Farida Al-Gharaib, the Mazra’ Al-Hasanat, the Explanation of the Evidences of Goodness, and the Explanation of the Nearest Paths, in addition to the collection of the Qur’an written in the Two Holy Mosques."

The library also possesses a manuscript entitled:" Sajaa Al-Haram" Written by Imam Al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 AD) and copied in the twelfth century AH, the manuscript is: "A shrine called Saja’a al-Haram, in which there is pride between Mecca and Medina and fairness between them.

Among other manuscripts that the library acquires are related to the ritual of Hajj. "The golden poem in the Hajj rituals observed" By Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Rashid Al-Halabi, and "Swans of Hijaz" By Bahaa al-Din Muhammad bin Hussein al-Harithi al-Dhahani (d. 1031 AH / 1622 AD) and his manuscript as well "Epistle to the Twelver Hajj" and"Explanation of the Kantī system for the papers of the Imam of the Two Holy Mosques" By Muhammad Yahya bin Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shanqeeti (d. 1330 AH). The manuscript has many explanations that the library acquires under the title: "The apple of the eye, explaining the papers of the Imam of the Two Holy Mosques" Muhammad Al-Hattab (d. 954 AH / 1547 AD) and Muhammad Al-Mahli (d. 864 AH / 1459 AD). These are explanations of a book whose manuscript the library owns, entitled: "The papers" By Abdul Malik bin Abdullah bin Yusuf al-Juwayni, Imam of the Two Holy Mosques (d. 478 AH / 1085 AD), in addition to a manuscript "Sijilmasi rituals" By Ibrahim bin Hilal Al-Sijilmasi (d. 903 AH / 1498 AD).