List of encyclopedias in Arabic

History

The Arabic word for encyclopedia is mawsūʿah. It is derived from the word wāsiʿ, which means "wide".
The early Arabic compilations of knowledge in the Middle Ages included many comprehensive works, and much development of what would become known as the scientific method, historical method, and citation. The first Arab encyclopedist was Ibn Qutaybah, who wrote a number of books organizing the knowledge of his day, most importantly 'Uyun Al-Akhbar. About 960 AD, the Brethren of Purity of Basra were engaged in their Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity, which may be a unique example of a classical Arabic encyclopedia written by a group rather than a solitary scholar. Other notable works include Abu Bakr al-Razi's encyclopedia of science, the Mutazilite al-Kindi's prolific output of 270 books, and Ibn Sina's The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard reference work for centuries. Also notable are works of universal history from the Asharites, al-Tabri, al-Masudi, al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, Ibn Rustah, Ali ibn al-Athir, and Ibn Khaldun's Muqadimmah.
Following the conquests of much of the Arab world by the Ottoman Empire, few Arabic encyclopedias were published until the 1950s. Modern Arabic encyclopedias include the online Marefa project. In 2006, the Arab League proposed the creation of a new online encyclopedia in Arabic.