The Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research – Timbuktu, one of the oldest heritage-focused institutions in West Africa, is dedicated to preserving African and Islamic cultural heritage and advancing scientific research. It is named for Ahmed Baba (AH 963–1036/1556–1627 CE), an eminent scholar of Timbuktu. Founded in Timbuktu in AH 1392/1973 CE by the government of Mali, the institute has amassed approximately 43,000 historical manuscripts from all over Mali and from neighboring Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Niger, and Algeria. To ensure global access to these materials, digitization efforts began in AH 1424/2003 CE, but temporarily halted during the Northern Mali Crisis in AH 1433/2012 CE, when the manuscripts were safely relocated to Bamako.

From the 6th to 11th centuries AH/12th to 17th centuries CE, the historic town of Timbuktu served as a major nexus for trade and intellectual pursuits in West Africa. Books were imported from North Africa and beyond, while local scholars wrote works on astronomy, medicine, mathematics, literature, law, and the Islamic sciences. The Ahmed Baba Institute is dedicated to preserving this heritage by collecting and protecting historical manuscripts and documents, while conducting scientific research and providing financial and technical support to researchers and students. The institute also organizes seminars, conferences, and lectures, provides training in cultural heritage, publishes books and scientific journals, and offers advanced academic programs in Islamic and African studies.

Having participated in the inaugural Islamic Art Biennale, the Ahmed Baba Institute returns to AlMadar with rare Malian manuscripts focusing on the theme of astronomy.

Mandhoumah fi Tarhil al-Shams (On Solar Movement) of Ahmed Baba al-Tikruri al-Tunbukti

Ahmed Baba was a preeminent scholar of Timbuktu. Taught by his father and paternal uncle to read and recite the Qur’an, he was later educated in law and Islamic sciences, becoming profoundly influenced by the scholar Muhammed Baghayogho al-Wangari (AH 929–1001/1523–93 CE). By the age of 30, he was already considered the most accomplished scholar of Timbuktu. A distinctive thinker, he was renowned in the fields of jurisprudence, hadith, and Arabic grammar, and is perhaps best known for his biographical compendium on Maliki scholars, Kitab Nail al-Ibtihaj bi-Tatriz al-Dibaj. His reformist views contributed to combating the spread of slavery and the slave trade in West Africa, advocating for individual freedom in light of Islamic law’s emphasis on liberating slaves. Shown here is a page from a work he composed on the movement of the sun across the sky throughout the year, illustrating its various positions.