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Selections from Subh al-A'sha by al-Qalqashandi, Clerk of the Mamluk Court
Ṣubḥ al-A‘shā by al-Qalqashandī is a manual for chancery clerks completed in 1412 and a vital source of information on Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt which, for the first time, has been translated into English. The text provides valuable insight into the Mamluk and earlier Muslim eras. The selections presented in this volume describe Cairo, Fustat and the Cairo Citadel and give a detailed picture of the Fatimid (AD 969–1172), Ayyubid (AD 1172-1250) and Mamluk (AD 1250–1412) court customs, rituals and protocols, and depict how the Mamluk Sultanate was ruled. It also contains a wealth of details covering the geography, history and state administration systems of medieval Egypt. An introduction preceding the translation contextualizes al-Qalqashandī’s role and manu□script, as well as introducing the man himself, while detailed notes accompany the translation to explain and elaborate on the content of the material. The volume concludes with an extensive glossary of terms which forms a mini-encyclopaedia of the Fatimid and Mamluk periods. This translation will be a valuable resource for any student of medieval Islamic history.
Revelation and Falsification
For all Muslims the Qurʾan is the word of God. In the first centuries of Islam, however, many individuals and groups, and some Shiʿis, believed that the generally accepted text of the Qurʾan is corrupt. The Shiʿis asserted that redactors had altered or deleted among other things all passages that supported the rights of ʿAli and his successors or that condemned his enemies. One of the fullest lists of these alleged changes and of other variant readings is to be found in the work of al-Sayyārī (3rd/9th century), which is indeed among the earliest Shiʿi books to have survived. In many cases the alternative readings that al-Sayyārī presents substantially contribute to our understanding of early Shiʿi doctrine and of the early and numerous debates about the Qurʾan in general.
Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century
Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century is devoted to frontier studies and to the structures of the Arab federates of Byzantium. It deals mainly with the Ghassanids of Oriens in the sixth century, a time of transition from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages. The focus of this study is on the military, religious, and civil structures of the Ghassanids. The detailed study of these buildings contributes to our understanding of Byzantine provincial art and architecture in Oriens, as they were adopted by the federate Arabs and later adapted to their own use. As monuments of Christian architecture, these federate structures constitute the missing link in the development of Arab architecture in the region--the link between the earlier pagan (Nabataean and Palmyrene) and later Muslim (Umayyad).
Making the Great Book of Songs
This is the first systematic literary study of one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature, the fourth/tenth century Kitâb al-aghânî (The Book of Songs) by Abû I-Faraj al-Isbahânî. Until now the twenty-four volume Book of Songs has been regarded as a rather chaotic but priceless mine of information about classical Arabic music, literature and culture. This book approaches it as a work of literature in its own right, with its own internal logic and coherence. The study also consistently integrates the musical component into the analysis and proposes a reading of the work in which individual anecdotes and poems are related to the wider context, enhancing their meaning.
Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium
Table of contents
The Epistle of Salim Ibn Dhakwan
The epistle ascribed to Salim Ibn Dhakwan is a tract against 'wrong' doctrines regarding the classification and treatment of opponents. Written by an Ibadi before AD 800 and taking issue with both Kharijite extremists and Murji'ites, it was brought to the attention of Western Islamicists in the early 1970s by Amr Khalifa Ennami, and is here edited, translated, and discussed in full for the first time. The early centuries of Islamic religious thought have become a dynamic field in the last few years, and there is renewed interest in the attempt to use the early literature of the Muslim sects as windows onto the wider scene of doctrinal discussion in the period before the mainstream tradition becomes plentiful. In addition to making available a new source, this study seeks to open up the Ibadi tradition for future research on early Islamic thought, partly by making heavy use of Ibadi sources in its interpretation of Salim's epistle and by partly by offering systematic information about the Ibadi figures and literary works involved in the appendices and bibliography.
The Road To Mecca
Part travelogue, part autobiography, "The Road to Mecca" is the compelling story of a Western journalist and adventurer who converted to Islam in the early twentieth century. A spiritual and literary counterpart of Wilfred Thesiger and a contemporary of T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Muhammad Asad journeyed around the Middle East, Afghanistan and India. This is an account of Asad's adventures in Arabia, his inner awakening, and his relationships with nomads and royalty alike, set in the wake of the First World War. It can be read on many levels: as a eulogy to a lost world, and as the poignant account of a man's search for meaning. It is also a love story, defying convention and steeped in loss. With its evocative descriptions and profound insights on the Islamic world, "The Road to Mecca" is a work of immense value today.
