Abu Dhabi Digitizes 1,000 Heritage Books
The Abu Dhabi-UAE Center for Arabic Language is preparing to release the major heritage encyclopedia A Thousand Books and a Book in digital and audio formats, opening a 3,000-page collection of Arabic and Islamic knowledge to a wider audience.
The encyclopedia, written by Syrian researcher and poet Zuhair Ahmed Dhatha, was originally published in five printed volumes and presented to visitors at the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in September 2026.
The work documents 1,000 books from the Arab and Islamic heritage, examining their historical backgrounds, authors, intellectual and literary value, as well as stories and accounts associated with them.
23 Years of Research
The encyclopedia represents the result of a 23-year research journey that began in 1998 and continued until 2021.
Dhatha examined a wide range of sources covering literature, history, biographies, medicine, science, travel, Sufism and other fields of Arabic and Islamic knowledge.
Rather than arranging the books according to chronology or conventional classifications, the researcher selected works based on what he considered distinctive or significant about each title.
His introductions to the books focus on different aspects, including rare manuscripts, publication history, the significance of the author or the uniqueness of the work itself.
Exploring Rare Heritage
The encyclopedia includes both well-known works and rare titles that remain available only in manuscript form.
Among the works highlighted are Ibn Khaldun’s The Muqaddimah and Ibn al-Nadim’s al-Fihrist. Dhatha also draws attention to rare discoveries made during his extensive research, including The Dark-haired Dune Girl, which he described as one of his most important discoveries.
The encyclopedia also examines works such as al-Ansab by al-Sam‘ani, Kitab al-Funun by Abu al-Wafa Ibn Aqil and al-Maghrib fi Hilyat al-Maghrib by the Ibn Said al-Maghribi family.
From Print to Digital
The upcoming electronic and audio editions are expected to give readers and researchers new ways to explore the encyclopedia’s extensive material.
The digital format will make the content easier to search and access, while the audio edition will allow audiences to engage with the material without relying exclusively on traditional reading.
Saeed Hamdan Al-Tunaiji, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Center for Arabic Language, said the initiative is part of the center’s wider approach to digitising Arabic content and converting books into electronic and audio formats.
He said the strategy aims to build a modern reading community, expand access to Arabic knowledge and keep pace with changes in the publishing industry, while maintaining the importance of printed books.
Expanding Digital Arabic Content
The encyclopedia will join more than 2,000 digital materials produced by the Abu Dhabi Center for Arabic Language through various initiatives.
These include the e-Book initiative, which seeks to make Arabic publications available to international readers through partnerships with global platforms, as well as Atheer Books, which provides audiobook content featuring Arab performers.
The center is also developing audiobooks using artificial intelligence technologies as part of its broader efforts to expand access to Arabic literature and knowledge.
Preserving Arabic Heritage
Dhatha has previously worked on projects involving the collection, cataloguing and study of Arabic heritage. He was also part of the scientific team responsible for the Poetic Encyclopedia at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, now part of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center.
With A Thousand Books and a Book, his decades-long research moves beyond the printed page into digital and audio formats, providing a new way for readers and researchers to explore rare and influential works from the Arab and Islamic intellectual heritage.
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