In Search of Ali Ibn Abi Talib's Codex
In Search of Ali Ibn Abi Talib's Codex

Author: Seyfeddin Kara

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9783959940559

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The history of the text of the Qur'an has been a longstanding subject of interest within the field of Islamic Studies, but the debate has so far been focused on the Sunni traditions about the codices of Caliphs Abū Bakr and ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān. Little to no attention has been given to the traditions on ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib's collection of the Qur'an. This book examines both Shiʿi and Sunni traditions on the issue, aiming to date them back to the earliest possible date and, if possible, verify their authenticity. To achieve this, the traditions are examined using Harald Motzki's isnād-cum-matn method, which is recognised as an efficient tool in dating the early Islamic traditions and involves analysis of both matn (text) and isnād (chain of trans-mission) with an emphasis on finding a correlation between the two. "Kara's application of hadith criticism to Shi'i sources is innovative as well as constructive. Respectful of others' contributions, he nonetheless subverts conventional sceptical and starkly sectarianised approaches to Scriptural textual history." (From the foreword by James Piscatori)

In Search of ʻAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib's Codex
In Search of ʻAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib's Codex

Author: Seyfeddin Kara

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783959940542

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The history of the text of the Qur'an has been a longstanding subject of interest within the field of Islamic Studies, but the debate has so far been focused on the Sunni traditions about the codices of Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Uthman b. 'Affan. Little to no attention has been given to the traditions on 'Ali b. Abi Talib's collection of the Qur'an. This book examines both Shi'i and Sunni traditions on the issue, aiming to date them back to the earliest possible date and, if possible, verify their authenticity. To achieve this, the traditions are examined using Harald Motzki's isnad-cum-matn method, which is recognised as an efficient tool in dating the early Islamic traditions and involves analysis of both matn (text) and isnad (chain of trans-mission) with an emphasis on finding a correlation between the two.

Nahj al-Balāghah: The Wisdom and Eloquence of ʿAlī
Nahj al-Balāghah: The Wisdom and Eloquence of ʿAlī

Author: al-Sharīf al-Raḍī

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2024-04-18

Total Pages: 1026

ISBN-13: 9004682600

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Nahj al-Balāghah, the celebrated compendium of orations, letters, and sayings of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661) compiled by al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 406/1015), is a masterpiece of Arabic literature and Islamic wisdom studied and memorized avidly and continually for over a thousand years. Showcasing ʿAlī’s life and travails in his own words, it also transcribes his profound reflections on piety and virtue, and on just and compassionate governance. Tahera Qutbuddin’s meticulously researched critical edition based on the earliest 5th/11th-century manuscripts, with a lucid, annotated facing-page translation, brings to the modern reader the power and beauty of this influential text, and confirms the aptness of Raḍī’s title, “The Way of Eloquence.”

Ali.The Well-Guarded Secret: Figures of the First Master in Shi‘i Spirituality
Ali.The Well-Guarded Secret: Figures of the First Master in Shi‘i Spirituality

Author: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-11-07

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 9004522433

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‘Alī, son of Abī Ṭālib, Muhammad’s son-in-law and cousin, is the only Companion of the Prophet who has remained to this day the object of fervent devotion of hundreds of millions of followers in the lands of Islam, especially in the East. Based on a detailed analysis of several categories of sources, this book demonstrates that Shi‘ism is the religion of the Imam, of the Master of Wisdom, just like Christianity is that of Christ, and that ‘Alī is the first Master and Imam par excellence. Shi‘ism can therefore be defined, in its most specific religious aspects, as the absolute faith in ‘Alī: the divine Man, the most perfect manifestation of God’s attributes, simultaneously spiritual refuge, model and horizon. With contributions by Orkhan Mir-Kasimov & Mathieu Terrier Translated from French by Francisco José Luis & Anthony Gledhill

Contemporary Rationalist Islam in Turkey
Contemporary Rationalist Islam in Turkey

Author: Gokhan Bacik

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-07-29

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0755636759

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Nineteenth-century Istanbul was an intellectual hub of rich discussions about Islam, in which leading reformists had a significant role. Turkey today appears to be an intellectual vacuum to anyone searching for ongoing critical engagement with Islam. The main purpose of this book is to adjust this view of Turkey by showcasing the modern Turkish theologians who challenge mainstream Sunni interpretations of Islam. Labelling these theologians as 'rationalist' rather than 'reformist', the author reveals that their theology is inherently anti-establishment and thus a religiously-oriented challenge to the hegemony of the state-sanctioned Islam: for the rationalists, Turkey's problems have their origins in the Sunni interpretation of Islam. Contemporary Rationalist Islam in Turkey analyses nine prominent scholars of Islam who provide a religious opposition to the Sunni revival in Turkey: Hüseyin Atay, Yasar Nuri Öztürk, M. Hayri Kirbasoglu, Ilhami Güler, R. Ihsan Eliaçik, Ömer Özsoy, Mustafa Öztürk, Israfil Balci, and Mehmet Azimli. These scholars' writings are almost exclusively published in Turkish, so this book makes their ideas available in English for the first time. It also examines the scope, methodology and argumentation of the scholars' theology, categorizing their theological interpretations from 'historicist' to 'universalist' and from 'empiricist' to 'rationalist'. In identifying a new 'rationalist' school of Turkish theology and outlining its different manifestations, the book breaks new ground. It fills a significant gap in the literature on Islamic studies and reveals an understudied dimension of Turkey and Turkish Islam beyond the well-known ideas of the AKP and the Gulenists.

Muḥammad and His Followers in Context
Muḥammad and His Followers in Context

Author: Ilkka Lindstedt

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2023-10-30

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9004687130

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This book surveys and analyzes changes in religious groups and identities in late antique Arabia, ca. 300-700 CE. It engages with contemporary and material evidence: for example, inscriptions, archaeological remains, Arabic poetry, the Qurʾān, and the so-called Constitution of Medina. Also, it suggests ways to deal with the later Arabic historiographical and other literary texts. The issue of social identities and their processes are central to the study. For instance, how did Arabian ethnic and religious identities intersect on the eve of Islam? The book suggests that the changes in social groups were more piecemeal than previously thought.

The Way to Isfahan
The Way to Isfahan

Author: Pierre Loti

Publisher: Gerlach Press

Published: 2021-07-02

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 3940924806

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From 17 April, 1900, to 6 June of that year, Pierre Loti travelled in a private capacity from Bushire on the Persian Gulf, northwards through Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan and Tehran, before returning via the Caspian Sea to Europe. This is the personal day-by-day account of his journey, the hardships of the mountainous terrain and the empty desert. Loti excels in his descriptions of the world around him: the sky, the mountains, the fertile plains, the deserted desert. His descriptions of the people he meets, their dress and manners are remarkable. Loti had come from India and on his way to the Gulf, he stopped off at Muscat and his account of this brief visit was published as 'En passant a Mascate' (Passing through Muscat). This is the first English translation of both texts.

Arabic Oration: Art and Function
Arabic Oration: Art and Function

Author: Tahera Qutbuddin

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-06-07

Total Pages: 659

ISBN-13: 9004395806

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In Arabic Oration: Art and Function, Tahera Qutbuddin presents a comprehensive theory of this foundational prose genre, analysing its oral aesthetics and its political, military, and religious functions in early Islamic civilization, tracing its echoes in Muslim public address today.

Islam
Islam

Author: Roberto Tottoli

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-27

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 100020619X

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Exploring complex relations between Muslim visions and critical stances, this textbook is a compact introduction to Islam, dealing with the origins of its forms, from early developments to contemporary issues, including religious principles, beliefs and practices. The author’s innovative method considers the various opposing theories and approaches between the Islamic tradition and scholars of Islam. Each topic is accompanied by up-to-date bibliographical references and a list of titles for further study, while an exhaustive glossary includes the elementary notions to allow in-depth study. Part I outlines the two founding aspects, the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad, highlighting essential concepts, according to Islamic religious discourse and related critical issues. In Part II the emergence of the religious themes that have characterised the formation of Islam are explored in terms of historical developments. Part III, on contemporary Islam, examines the growth of Islam between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern age. Advanced readers, already familiar with the elementary notions of Islam and religious studies will benefit from Islam that explores the development of religious discourse in a historical perspective. This unique textbook is a key resource for post-graduate researchers and academics interested in Islam, religion and the Middle East.

The Caliph and the Imam
The Caliph and the Imam

Author: Toby Matthiesen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-03-09

Total Pages: 961

ISBN-13: 0198806558

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The authoritative account of the sectarian division that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world. In 632, soon after the prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. The majority argued that the new leader of Islam should be elected by the community's elite. Others believed only members of Muhammad's family could lead. This dispute over whoshould guide Muslims, the appointed Caliph or the bloodline Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam. Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to thepresent day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islams two main branches, particularly after the Muslim Empires embraced sectarian identity. It reveals how colonial rule institutionalised divisions between Sunnism and Shiism both on the Indian subcontinent and in the greater Middle East, giving rise to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuseson the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, mostMuslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics. Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.