Reflection

BITS ‘N’ PIECES

Narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud (R.A)

The Prophet (S.A.W) said, “Do not wish to be like anyone except in two cases. (The first is) A person, whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously; (the second is) the one whom Allah has given wisdom (the Holy Qur'an) and he acts according to it and teaches it to others.”

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 73

DID YOU KNOW?

The Library of Ebla was the first library in the world, but Ashurbanipal’s was the earliest built to collect and preserve knowledge.

The story of libraries begins not in the modern world, but deep in ancient history—in the Bronze Age city of Ebla, located in present-day Syria. Dating back to around 2500 BCE, the Royal Library of Ebla is widely regarded as the first known library in the world. Discovered in the 1970s by Italian archaeologist Paolo Matthiae and his team, the library consisted of more than 1,800 clay tablets and thousands of fragments, written in Sumerian and Eblaite using cuneiform script. These tablets were neatly organized on shelves and included administrative records, treaties, hymns, educational texts, and even early bilingual dictionaries. The level of organization and the range of subjects indicate that the people of Ebla had already developed a complex system of information management, making it a truly advanced center of learning for its time.

While the Library of Ebla holds the distinction of being the first, another ancient library has long captured the imagination of scholars and historians—the Library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, modern-day Iraq. Established in the 7th century BCE by King Ashurbanipal, the library was the first in history created with the explicit intention of collecting and preserving knowledge. Ashurbanipal, a learned ruler fluent in multiple languages, sent scribes across the Assyrian empire to gather texts of religious, scientific, literary, and historical importance. The library ultimately amassed tens of thousands of clay tablets, many written in Akkadian and Sumerian, including the famous Epic of Gilgamesh.

Though separated by centuries, both libraries represent monumental achievements in the history of human civilization. Ebla's library demonstrates that even in the early stages of organized society, the preservation and transmission of knowledge were valued. On the other hand, Ashurbanipal's library showcases an evolved vision: a ruler consciously collecting the world's knowledge for posterity. The two libraries reflect not only the intellectual ambitions of their respective eras but also the enduring human desire to gather, organize, and safeguard information.

Together, the Ebla Library and the Library of Ashurbanipal mark the dawn of library culture, laying the groundwork for future institutions of learning and record-keeping. While Ebla was the first to store and systematize texts, Ashurbanipal's vision shaped the library as a purposeful institution—a place not just of storage, but of scholarship. These ancient libraries remind us that the pursuit of knowledge is a timeless endeavor, one that has shaped civilizations for millennia.