Prof. Dr. ʿAbd al-Sattar al-Halluji defined the fields for studying the Arabic manuscript, setting them out in six pillars: 1. The history of the manuscript.
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The manuscript as a vessel among the vessels of information.
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The evaluation of manuscripts and the criteria for that evaluation.
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Preservation and conservation, and the methods of sterilization, restoration, and photography.
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Cataloguing and bibliographic control.
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Editing and publishing.
Dr. al-Halluji — I have not found anyone more caring toward his students, nor more loving of them. At the time of grading the answer papers he would call me; when setting the questions he would not interfere, but he always urged me to suit the questions to the time allowed for answering. Dr. al-Halluji — may God bless him — measured and refined in this humble servant the joy of teaching, and made me feel that it is a responsibility and a mission before it is a position.
My effort to prove my worth before this man …
was greater than my effort in building the very structure of the subject of manuscript scripts.
