15 March 2021
The National Museum`s Board of Trustees 7th Meeting and the Inauguration of Ahmad bin Majid as-Sa’adi`s Manuscript
On Monday 15th of March 2020 CE, the Board of Trustees of the National Museum held its seventh meeting, chaired by His Excellency Salim bin Mohammed al-Mahrooqi - Minister of Heritage and Tourism and Chairman of the National Museum’s board of trustees, alongside Her Highness Dr. Mona bint Fahad al-Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for International Cooperation, His Excellency Sayyid Said bin Sultan al-Busaidi- Under Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis Ambusaidi - Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, His Excellency Sheikh Hameed bin Ali Al Maani - Head of the Department of Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moosawi - Secretary General of the National Museum.
The meeting came alongside the inauguration of the original manuscript Kitāb al-fawāʼid fī ilm al-baḥr wa-al-qawāʼid (The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship), by the Omani navigator Ahmad bin Majid as-Sa’adi in the Maritime History gallery, that is loaned from the al-Asad Library in the Syrian Arab Republic, under the patronage of His Excellency Salem bin Mohammed al-Mahrouqi - minister of culture and tourism and chairman of the board of trustees of the National Museum.
Regarding the valuable and rare manuscript, His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan al-Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum, said: “The showcasing of Ahmad bin Majid as-Sa’adi`s manuscript in the Maritime History gallery at the National Museum is an affirmation of the Omanisation of this unique scientific and historical figure. It came as a part of the existing cooperation between the National Museum and the Directorate General Authority for Antiquities and Museums in the Syrian Arab Republic. The manuscript was loaned to the Museum for two years under the purpose of preservation and conservation and the coordination was made with the National Records and Archives Authority to restore this document to its original state, through the implementation of an integrated program for preservation, conservation, indexing and revision. This manuscript is one of few preserved copies of the manuscripts of Ahmed bin Majid as-Sa’adi around the world, the oldest among them is the one which is preserved in the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg Russia.
His Excellency Dr Bassam al-Khatib, the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Sultanate stated: “We are gathered here today to emphasise on the depth of the joint relations between two countries that have had a permanent impact on the march of human civilisation. The inauguration of the readiness of Ahmad bin Majid as-Sa’adi`s manuscript titled (The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship), is an expression of an authentic, deep and long-term relationship between the Sultanate of Oman and the Syrian Arab Republic.
Therefore, professional cooperation and the diplomacy of cultural and historical brotherhood led to the issuance of a Syrian presidential decree to loan the manuscript to the sultanate, where it was preserved and restored in cooperation between the National Records and Archives Authority and the National Museum. It is ready to be presented to the public as a historical document regarding the long tradition of the Omani maritime culture, their history of roaming the seas, conveying thought, religion, trade and communication with the people’s and cultures of the world.
About the Manuscript
This manuscript was written in the 11th century AH / 16th century CE, under the ruling of al-Nabhani dynasty. It is compiled (175) sheets, (350) pages and (23) lines per page. Texts were written by Naskh script using black ink and headlines in red. The body of the manuscript is surrounded by two red frames.
This compiled collection includes the most important and best known of the works by Ahmad bin Majid`s, divided into three parts: al-Fawāʼid fī ʻilm al-baḥr wa-alqawāʻid (The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship), completed on 17th Rabi ath-Thani 984 AH/13th July 1576. This part is dedicated to 18 faida or benefits related to marine sciences and some proverbs.
The second collections: Ḥāwīyat al-ikhtiṣār fī uṣūl ʻilm al-biḥār, it is the longest section and includes 11 chapters.
The third collection consists of 14 proses in addition to eight chapters in marine sciences.
Ahmad bin Majid as-Sa’di was an Omani navigator and cartographer. Born in Julfar, he was educated in his early years by his father Majid bin Muhammad as-Sa’di, himself a renowned marine captain and navigator.
Ibn Majid is one of the best-known navigators in the Indian Ocean and among the finest scholars of the art of navigation and its history among the Arabs. He was the inventor of the magnetic needle (magnetic compass) which is used for navigation and orientation at sea. He was also the author of nearly forty works of poetry and prose. Among his many books on oceanography, the Fawā’id fī-Uṣūl ʿIlm al-Baḥr wa-al-Qawāʿid (The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship), which was compiled in the year (880-895 AH / 1475-1490 CE) at the end of his life, is considered as one of his best. He is remembered as Shihab ad-Din “Star of the Faith” and “The Lion of the Sea”.
He was a figure of interest to orientalists, such as the French orientalist Gabriel Fran (1925 CE), and the English orientalist Gerald Tebts (1970 CE) and others due to his great knowledge in topics including; shipbuilding, compasses, captain`s characteristics, knowledge of countries and their history, dates of travelling, and others.