ABSTRACT
An extensive bibliography of books written in, or translated into Arabic. Ibn al-Nadim also provides biographical information about the authors, mapping the social and political context of the writing. There has been an increase in the branches of sciences, the types of books and the kinds of questions, together with sources from which are derived what the stars showed. Scholars got acquainted with this knowledge and recorded it in books with their explanations. The people obeyed them and followed their commands and let them manage their affairs as they accepted their superiority in matters of knowledge and modes of living, until a prophet was sent during that time. Learning in ancient times was forbidden, except for scholars or those who were seen as able to receive it naturally. Philosophers studied the nativities of people who were seeking science and philosophy, and when, and only when, it was ascertained that someone had the gift of learning, they enlisted and taught him.
