Riyadh Bookstore Itinerary

Riyadh holds a special place in my heart because it is the city where I grew up. Returning to one’s childhood home after more than two decades away is a profoundly moving, and in some ways dislocating experience. This wonderful city, known today for its glitz and glamour, is the site of many fond memories, a simpler time when neighborhoods were communities where people knew and cared for each other. Furthermore, this is a place where Islam is deeply rooted in the social and cultural fabric of society, an experience that has been a deep loss for me as a Muslim in the West, perhaps even more than I previously realized. I still vividly remember my Qur’an teacher, a Bangladeshi fruit-seller who made extra money by coming to our neighborhood every day for an hour, where all of the kids would gather to learn from him. I was lucky enough to recite the entire Qur’an twice under his instruction.

My journey to Riyadh, then, has been an emotional homecoming. But it has also been full of wonderful surprises. One of the main purposes of my trip has been to search for books, and I am happy to report that I believe Riyadh is one of the world’s most underrated destinations for book-traveling and book-buying. As the home of many major Islamic scholars, religious universities, and book presses, and with its proximity to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Riyadh has many advantages that facilitate its position as a powerhouse of Islamic book-culture. But it is also clear that scholarly culture permeates among the general public as well, given that bookshops are always busy and books, including dense multi-volume tomes on law and theology, frequently sell out quickly.

Below I have provided a guide to the bookshops I visited in Riyadh, which I hope will be beneficial to anyone traversing continents to search for books.

Dar al-Tadmuriyya

This bookshop was recommended to me by multiple people, and it did not disappoint. I usually gravitate toward privately owned bookshops for two reasons: (1) I love to ask for recommendations, and I have found that bookshop owners or staff at smaller bookshops tend to be much more familiar with the books they sell; and (2) Independent bookstores often carry titles that are hard to find anywhere else. The tradeoff is usually that there is a smaller selection of the classics, but that was not the case at Dar al-Tadmuriyya. You will find most major book that you are looking for in the Islamic sciences, including law, theology, Qur’anic sciences, history, Prophetic biography, etc., although I should mention that many works are unavailable in Saudi Arabia due to censorship.

At Dar al-Tadmuriyya, I was happy to find Imam al-Juwayni’s “Ghiyath al-Umam,” which is essential to any library of political theory. One of my PhD colleagues requested the book, which he will need for his dissertation, and I was lucky enough to purchase the bookshop’s last copy. I was also able to pick up two copies of Maghazi Sayyid Muhammad, a new and hard-to-find three-volume publication that is one of the earliest accounts of Prophet Muhammad’s military expeditions. I also bought a few books on Qur’anic sciences, including Manahil al-Irfan, written by a major 20th century scholar from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, as well as a few books on naskh, or abrogation, which is the topic of my dissertation.

Interestingly, on my second visit there, one of the employees gifted me a copy of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab’s “Kitab al-Tawhid.” I am always honored by the generosity of the people I meet at bookstores, but the irony of this gift was not lost on me, given that my scholarship focuses on Shi‘ism, which is deemed by Wahhabis to be a heretical sect.

One drawback for foreign visitors: Dar al-Tadmuriyya does not accept regular “Visa” or “Mastercard” credit cards. Instead, the credit card must be affiliated with a service called “Mada,” or otherwise the books must be paid for in cash (USD is fine). I had to make a second trip in order to complete my purchase, which was slightly inconvenient, but happily resulted in several more books being purchased.

Al-Maktaba al-Turathiya

About ten minutes walking distance from Dar al-Tadmuriyya (on Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Road) is a collection of bookshops that sell used books. My favorite store on that street, and perhaps in all of Riyadh, is Al-Maktaba al-Turathiya. I was struck by the colorful book-covers displayed in the center of the store, which did not look anything like typical hard-cover Arabic books made up of dark covers with gold text. I realized that these were books which had previously suffered from damaged covers, and had been re-binded by the store.

Because these were mostly used books that were old editions, many of the titles were very unique, such that I had not seen them at other stores. I found several interesting collections on Arabic literature, including a five-volume book on pre-modern Najdi poetry, which I was unable to purchase, and a single volume book about 9th century Basran poets, which I did purchase. One interesting thing about book-buying in Saudi Arabia is that the books are not cheap, especially when compared to places like Iraq and Lebanon. But one of the advantages of buying used books at Al-Maktaba al-Turathiya and other nearby stores is that the prices are a lot more affordable. I also picked up a new two-volume publication on the history of Ilm al-Kalam (The Science of “Theological Disputation”).

Maktaba Dar al-Thuluthiyya

This bookstore is distinct from the rest of the shops in this itinerary in that it does not carry any books in the classical Islamic sciences. Dar al-Thuluthiyya is focused on books about modern world history, with an emphasis on the history and politics of the Arabian peninsula. Some of the more interesting titles included the memoirs of Saddam Hussein’s half brother (one of the things that is difficult for me in Saudi Arabia generally is how much people here admire Saddam Hussein), a book about King Abdulaziz in the Arab Press, and a book about poetry in Kuwait. For myself, I picked up a dictionary of terms and phrases that are specific to the Meccan dialect of Arabic. I also purchased a book about the history of Islamic libraries and authors, written by Shaykh Abdul Hayy al-Kitanni, a Moroccan scholar who, a learned friend of mine informed me, has the shortest chains of hadith narrations in the world. This is important because many believe that the shorter a hadith chain, the closer one is to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.); it also serves to strengthen the authenticity of the hadith being narrated.

Dar Maktaba al-Rushd

This bookstore is part of a larger chain of bookstores, and one can very much feel the corporate-ness of the atmosphere. The staff isn’t particularly helpful or unhelpful, but there is a huge selection for anyone interested in the Islamic sciences. There were some interesting finds, including an entire book dedicated to the letter “f” (which I purchased). For those versed in Arabic rhetoric, you will know that this particle can serve multiple grammatical and rhetorical functions. But seeing an entire book dedicated to the topic was quite humbling, and made me realize how much is left for me to study on a personal level as an aspiring scholar of the Islamic sciences.

I also bought what I thought was a book titled “Ethics Among Scholars” (which I found to be a title that was a beautiful testament to the labor of love that is Islamic scholarship). However, once I reached home, I realized I had misread the title, and that it actually said “Differences Among Scholars.” For those who know Arabic, I had misread الخلاف as اخلاق (I realize that my understanding of the word without the definite article should have made me realize that something was off). I was also able to buy “Al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassirun” by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi, a very important book in my field.

Although the selection of books is large, it was frustrating to find that some types of books are unavailable. For example, there is no section on “Sufism” or “Shi‘ism.” In fact, you would even be hard pressed to find certain books by Sunni scholars (e.g. anything by Yusuf al-Qardawi). My experience in Najaf, Iraq was quite different, where many foundational works of the Sunni tradition were carried, even though polemical Shi‘i literature admittedly existed. I have also been told by a friend that there is a certain store in Makkah and Medina that sell unsanctioned government books, including al-Ghazali’s “Ihya,” Abu Talib al-Makki’s “Qut al-Quloob,” and even certain works of Hanbali fiqh.

Maktaba Rawafid li’l Kutub

Maktaba Rafawid li’l Kutub is a small but richly stocked store that is also located on Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Road. Among the many treasures there is a 5-volume encyclopedia of Arabic tribes (Mu’jam Kaba’il al-Arab) that I couldn’t purchase due to space limitations.

When I walked into this store, I somehow had a feeling that the person staffing the store was from a South Asian background. It turns out that he is a very kind Indian Deobandi scholar (a graduate of Dar al-Uloom) who is fluent in Arabic. I had never heard of an Arabic bookstore employee in the Middle East being from South Asia, so this was shocking to me.

He helped me find a couple of important titles by the prolific 20th century Egyptian scholar Muhammad al-Ghazali. I asked him if he teaches given his scholarly background, but he told me that with the amount of hours he has to work at the shop, he has no time to teach.

Maktaba al Muhaddith

This small bookshop is the last one on Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Road. Although the books here lack thematic organization, the staff is extremely helpful. By this point, I was afraid to purchase any more books due to a lack of space, but the friendly Sudanese employee suggested that I can just throw out my clothes in order to make space for books. I had been under the impression that my habit of discarding clothes for books at various international airports around the world was a personal psychological issue, but apparently it is a common practice among book lovers. When I insisted on paying for the books here, the employee cited a Hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w.) which states that we should not refuse a gift (I will have to find the exact quote/citation). It really is a universal experience anytime I visit bookstores, I find people being extremely generous in a way that I don’t deserve.

Maktaba Dar al-Hijaz al-Khudara

This bookshop is good for anyone interested in confessional/devotional literature. I found a book of supplications in preparation for my trip to Mecca, which the employee, another Sudanese man, insisted that I take for free as a gift (in addition to two other books that he gifted to me). I also found an English-language book called “My Sincere Advice to Women” whose Table of Contents featured chapters titled “Beware of Women,” “Women Have Short Coming In Religion and Reasoning,” “Part of Women’s Plot,” “Majority of the People of Hell Are Women” and “Women’s Jealousy.” I’m not sure what compelled the author, a woman herself, to write a book like this, but I came away quite disturbed.

Maktaba Dar Ibn al-Jawzi

This bookstore is located down the street from Maktaba Dar al-Thuluthiyya. They had some interesting books, including a work on Hijazi poetry and a 10-volume book on the History of Arabic Customs, but I didn’t spend too much time here, especially as I did not find the staff to be especially helpful.

Al-Nashir al-Mutamayyiz

This bookstore is on a quiet street located close to Maktaba Dar Ibn al-Jawzi. It has an extremely rich selection of books. I was able to purchase a book on the progeny of the House of the Prophet, which is interesting since it is usually the Shi‘a who tend to be more affiliated with the Ahl al-Bayt. Unfortunately I had to rush out of the store because the owner was leaving for prayer.

Note: All religious bookshops in Saudi Arabia organize their hours around prayer times, so keep that in mind as you make your itinerary.

Dar al-Sami’i

This is the first of three bookstores located in close proximity to each other. Surprisingly, the store was staffed by an Indian man from Gujrat, which is actually where my grandparents hailed from (before the Partition of India). I was happy to find Mustafa Zaid’s classic book on Abrogation, “Al-Naskh fi al-Quran al-Karim” which I had a hard time finding anywhere else. The Indian employee insisted on getting me water from the shop next door, and he flagged down a taxi for my next stop. He also said if his Arab colleague wasn’t there with him he would have given me a bigger discount. Make of that what you will I guess!

Dar al-Asima

This bookshop is a three minute taxi-ride from Dar al-Sami’i. The shop has a nice little couch area in the back that is attached to the office. It is staffed by a super helpful employee who I believe is from Egypt (based on his Arabic accent). This was one of the few staff members that actually helped me find books (reminded me of Najaf) instead of just pointing me to random aisles. I procured a couple of well-respected books on Ulum al-Qur’an here.

Dar al-Atlas al-Khudara

This is a bookstore similar in size to Dar al-Tadmuriyya, with a very rich collection of books in Islamic sciences. You can take a taxi there from Dar al-Asima, or you can do what I did, which is walk five minutes to the left until you see a small break in the street divider, and then run across the street, duck into the hole, and then run to the other side. I would not recommend this.

If I was a bolder man, I would have purchase the 52-volume Musnad al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, but I decided to leave this to another day. There were also some other interesting finds here including a book on scholarly life in Riyadh in the 19th century. I ultimately settled for a book on my research topic, naskh.