Shaikh Al Shareef Mustafa Fouad Shafaee, who belongs to the family of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Mohammad Mustafa (Peace Be Upon Him) recently, visited Aligarh Muslim University’s Maulana Azad Library to see the collection of rare manuscripts and books.

During his visit, he expressed happiness over the availability of the rare documents relating to the pre 18th century particularly on the history of Islam and the cities of Makkah and of Medina.

The visitor’s family has been holding the key of the Tomb of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) for the last 14 centuries.

Shaikh Al Shareef belongs to the 41st generation of the Prophet and he has arrived in India to see the culture of the country. He had mentioned that he was interested to visit AMU and the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The AMU Librarian, Dr Amjad Ali accompanied Shaikh Al Shareef to the Manuscripts Division where he spent an hour consulting the documents relating to the geography, geology and history of Arab specially the cities of Makkah and Madina.

Shaikh Al Shareef had a look on Futuhat-e-Makkiah of Ibne Arabi and expressed joy over the method of scanning and preservation of the Islamic heritage. He added that he has visited libraries of some Islamic countries including Egypt and Turkey but could not see such a well-maintained rich collection, displayed for the visitors.

While praying for peace and prosperity of India, Shaikh Al Shareef added that this is the land where Hazarat Adam descended from Heaven and from where the human race spread all over the world. During his visit to the Manuscripts Division, the Shaikh added “I love India” and promised the Librarian, Dr. Amjad Ali to visit the Library again for a longer time.

Photo from AMU official

source: http://www.okhlatimes.com / Okhla Times / Home> Despatches / by OTNS – AMU / OT – August 23rd, 2015