A Two-Colored Brocade

A Two-Colored Brocade
Author: Annemarie Schimmel
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 559
Release: 2014-02-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1469616378

Annemarie Schimmel, one of the world's foremost authorities on Persian literature, provides a comprehensive introduction to the complicated and highly sophisticated system of rhetoric and imagery used by the poets of Iran, Ottoman Turkey, and Muslim India. She shows that these images have been used and refined over the centuries and reflect the changing conditions in the Muslim world. According to Schimmel, Persian poetry does not aim to be spontaneous in spirit or highly personal in form. Instead it is rooted in conventions and rules of prosody, rhymes, and verbal instrumentation. Ideally, every verse should be like a precious stone--perfectly formed and multifaceted--and convey the dynamic relationship between everyday reality and the transcendental. Persian poetry, Schimmel explains, is more similar to medieval European verse than Western poetry as it has been written since the Romantic period. The characteristic verse form is the ghazal--a set of rhyming couplets--which serves as a vehicle for shrouding in conventional tropes the poet's real intentions. Because Persian poetry is neither narrative nor dramatic in its overall form, its strength lies in an "architectonic" design; each precisely expressed image is carefully fitted into a pattern of linked figures of speech. Schimmel shows that at its heart Persian poetry transforms the world into a web of symbols embedded in Islamic culture.

Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran

Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran
Author: Beatrice Forbes Manz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2007-03-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1139462849

Beatrice Forbes Manz uses the history of Iran under the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (1409–1447) to analyse the relationship between government and society in the medieval Middle East. She provides a rich portrait of Iranian society over an exceptionally broad spectrum - the dynasty and its servitors, city elite and provincial rulers, and the religious classes, both ulama' and Sufi. The work addresses two issues central to pre-modern Middle Eastern history: how a government without the monopoly of force controlled a heterogeneous society, and how a society with diffuse power structures remained stable over long periods. Written for an audience of students as well as scholars, this book provides a broad analysis of political dynamics in late medieval Iran and challenges much received wisdom about civil and military power, the relationship of government to society, and the interaction of religious figures with the ruling class.

Essay on the Origins of the Technical Language of Islamic Mysticism

Essay on the Origins of the Technical Language of Islamic Mysticism
Author: Louis Massignon
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1997
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN:

This English edition of Massignon's philological work on the origins of the technical language of Islamic mysticism incorporates the corrections from 1954 edition and updated references. It concentrates on the development of the words used by 10th-century mystic and poet al-Hallaj.

Writing Self, Writing Empire

Writing Self, Writing Empire
Author: Rajeev Kinra
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2015-09-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0520286464

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s new open access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Writing Self, Writing Empire examines the life, career, and writings of the Mughal state secretary, or munshi, Chandar Bhan “Brahman” (d. c.1670), one of the great Indo-Persian poets and prose stylists of early modern South Asia. Chandar Bhan’s life spanned the reigns of four different emperors, Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605-1627), Shah Jahan (1628-1658), and Aurangzeb ‘Alamgir (1658-1707), the last of the “Great Mughals” whose courts dominated the culture and politics of the subcontinent at the height of the empire’s power, territorial reach, and global influence. As a high-caste Hindu who worked for a series of Muslim monarchs and other officials, forming powerful friendships along the way, Chandar Bhan’s experience bears vivid testimony to the pluralistic atmosphere of the Mughal court, particularly during the reign of Shah Jahan, the celebrated builder of the Taj Mahal. But his widely circulated and emulated works also touch on a range of topics central to our understanding of the court’s literary, mystical, administrative, and ethical cultures, while his letters and autobiographical writings provide tantalizing examples of early modern Indo-Persian modes of self-fashioning. Chandar Bhan’s oeuvre is a valuable window onto a crucial, though surprisingly neglected, period of Mughal cultural and political history.

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Author: Richard C. Martin
Publisher: Macmillan Reference USA
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780028662695

The second edition of this well-received two-volume study of Islam updates and adds to its predecessor 40 percent new content. It updates and revises most of the original 500+ entries and adds new topics to reflect changes in the Muslim world since 2004, from the emergence/re-emergence of Islamic regimes to challenges to the rule of religious leaders (Iran), to continuing instability across North Africa and the Middle East. The set will build on the first edition s approach to this still-growing religion: documenting and analyzing its history, as well as its doctrinal, legal, social, and spiritual tenets, while assessing its influence on all areas of human activity in the regions where it is most established the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. KEY FEATURES: Most up-to-date Analyses. The ever-growing numbers of students matriculating in disciplines connected to the teaching and understanding of Islam need accurate, current information on this religion and its impact on the world. Balanced Coverage. Rich historical content is partnered with coverage of the issues, countries, and people that are important in today s world, allowing for an assessment of Islam s influence on all areas of human activity throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas Fully Updated Content. More than 50% new and revised content, including more than 160 new entries and 60 sidebars. Beautifully Illustrated in Full Color. This edition doubles the number of photos and maps from the first edition, all in color. WHAT S NEW: 286 new/updated entries and sidebars Now in full color More than 360 images, more than double the number of images from the first edition 60 sidebars embedded in larger entries to help readers understand the importance of a person or group in context with a key issue or country. Revamped table of contents includes entries at the forefront of current events, including entries on oil, water rights, social media, and ISIS, as well as greatly expanded coverage of Islam in specific countries."

The Triumphal Sun

The Triumphal Sun
Author: Annemarie Schimmel
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 1993-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780791416358

This is a book on Rumi's life, his poetry, his thought, and his influence. Rumi's work forms one of the pillars of the Sufi orders, particularly the Mevlevi order, better known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. In this book Rumi emerges not only as a spiritual master, but also as a fully human being grounded firmly in the Koran and in classical Islamic mysticism. The light of the Divine Sun, in its Beauty and Majesty, manifested itself for Rumi through the person of Shams of Tabriz. Transformed by this light, consumed by this fire, Mowlana Rumi saw the world in a new light. Everywhere he perceived God's Grandeur and his Grace. The book also discusses the theological premises upon which Rumi's work rests, his attitude to the problems of free will and predestination, and his analysis of the mystical stages and stations. The book not only gives a very rich analysis of Rumi's language and poetical art, but also a picture of medieval Konya, whose features the mystical poet transforms and transfigures.

History of Iranian Literature

History of Iranian Literature
Author: J. Rypka
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 942
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9401034796

Some justification seems to be necessary for the addition of yet another History of Iranian Literature to the number of those already in existence. Such a work must obviously contain as many novel features as possible, so that a short explanation of what my collaborators and I had in mind when planning the book is perhaps not superfluous. In the first place our object was to present a short summary of the material in all its aspects, and secondly to review the subject from the chronological, geo graphical and substantial standpoints - all within the compass of a single volume. Such a scheme precludes a formal and complete enumeration of names and phenom ena, and renders all the greater the obligation to accord most prominence to matters deemed to be of greatest importance, supplementing these with such figures and forms as will enable an impression to be gained of the period in question - all this is far as possible in the light of the most recent discoveries. A glance at the table of contents will suffice to give an idea of the multifarious approach that has been our aim. We begin at the very first traces of evidence bearing on our subject and continue the narrative up to the present day. Geographically the book embraces Iran and its neighbouring countries, while it should be remarked that Iranian literature in its fullest sense also includes Indo-Persian and Judeo-Persian works.

The Sufi Path of Love

The Sufi Path of Love
Author: William C. Chittick
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 448
Release: 1984-06-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0791498999

This is the most accessible work in English on the greatest mystical poet of Islam, providing a survey of the basic Sufi and Islamic doctrines concerning God and the world, the role of man in the cosmos, the need for religion, man's ultimate becoming, the states and stations of the mystical ascent to God, and the means whereby literature employs symbols to express "unseen" realities. William Chittick translates into English for the first time certain aspects of Rumi's work. He selects and rearranges Rumi's poetry and prose in order to leave aside unnecessary complications characteristic of other English translations and to present Rumi's ideas in an orderly fashion, yet in his own words. Thorough, nontechnical introductions to each chapter, and selections that gradually present a greater variety of terms and images, make this work easily accessible to those interested in the spirituality of any tradition.