| Author(s) | Abed b. Sulaiman al-Mashwakhi |
| Affiliation | Assistant Professor, Dept. of Libraries and Information Sciences, College of Arts, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Ethical Conducts and Trade Practices of Warraqs in Islamic Civilization |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Arts. Volume 15, No 2. (2003/1423) |
| Abstract | Abstract. It is understandably clear that the wiraqa profession in the Islamic world has acquired many specifications and definitions throughout its long history. Notwithstanding the diversity of meanings, it can be summarized as such in paper-making, manuscript copying, book binding and above all trading in books, including buying and selling any item that is needed in book production. It is an established fact that each profession has its own set of ethical rules and lines of conducts which are well known to its adherents and to whoever deals in such trade. In such respect, the wiraqa profession in the Arabic-Islamic world is no exception. The wiraqa profession flourished, at the moment when the art of writing was first introduced in the Islamic world while its spreading on awider and professional scale commenced at the advent of papermaking. Taking part in this profession were not only the transcribers, the binders and booksellers but many well- known scholars. Our study is mainly concentrated on these groups whose contacts were primerily with scholars and students alike and who chose such profession either to copy, transcribe, bind, buy and sell paper manuscripts copied by others or just trade in them as any commodity. A certain amount of our attention is directed at their ethical conducts and moral behavior from an Islamic angle, which is anchored in Islamic ethical doctrines and conduct. |
