Man of Wiles in Popular Arabic Literature

Man of Wiles in Popular Arabic Literature
Author: M. C. Lyons
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2012-01-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0748645039

The Man of Wiles - terrorist or saint? The Man of Wiles (otherwise known as the Master Thief, the Trickster or the Fool) appears in every hero cycle within classical Arabic literature - proof of this figure's popularity with the audiences of Arab story-tellers. He embodies views acceptable to an otherwise inarticulate part of the population, allowing Islam to be treated in a paradoxical and sometimes humorous light in contrast to conventional piety. And he shares with Odysseus not only his wiles but his function as 'the sacker of cities', redressing the idea that classical Arabic literature is unrelated to anything outside its own borders. The study of this popular form sets out in detail the recorded lives of these Men of Wiles for those to whom the original texts are not available.

The Wiles of Men and Other Stories

The Wiles of Men and Other Stories
Author: Salwá Bakr
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 1993-01-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780292708006

"Here, finally, is some writing with a genuine purchase on things of worth. The collection of pithy short stories, filled with a sad wonder, tells of contemporary Egyptians . . . timorously rebelling against the conformism of life along the Nile." —Observer ". . . Bakr emerges as a fine observer of her country's times, with a vision which remains, for all its engagement, quirky and distinctively personal." — Times Literary Supplement Set among the poor of contemporary Cairo, these thirteen stories and one short novella tell of women struggling to provide themselves with the basic necessities of life. They explore the limits of self-awareness, the pressures to conform, and some of the strange paths to escape that women resort to in a conservative society shot through with social and sexual prejudice and preconceptions.

Hikayat Abi al-Qasim

Hikayat Abi al-Qasim
Author: Selove Emily Selove
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2016-02-12
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1474402321

Hikayat Abu al-Qasim, probably written in the 11th century by the otherwise unknown al-Azdi, tells the story of a gate-crasher from Baghdad named Abu al-Qasim, who shows up uninvited at a party in Isfahan. Dressed as a holy man and reciting religious poetry, he soon relaxes his demeanour, and, growing intoxicated on wine, insults the other dinner guests and their Iranian hometown. Widely hailed as a narrative unique in the history of Arabic literature, a ikA yah also reflects a much larger tradition of banquet texts. Painting a picture of a party-crasher who is at once a holy man and a rogue, he is a figure familiar to those who have studied the ancient cynic tradition or other portrayals of wise fools, tricksters and saints in literatures from the Mediterranean and beyond. This study therefore compares a ikA yah, a mysterious text surviving in a single manuscript, to other comical banquet texts and party-crashing characters, both from contemporary Arabic literature and from Ancient Greece and Rome.

The Biblical Hero

The Biblical Hero
Author: Elliott Rabin
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2020-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0827618344

Approaching the Bible in an original way--comparing biblical heroes to heroes in world literature--Elliott Rabin addresses a core biblical question: What is the Bible telling us about what it means to be a hero? Focusing on the lives of six major biblical characters--Moses, Samson, David, Esther, Abraham, and Jacob--Rabin examines their resemblance to hero types found in (and perhaps drawn from) other literatures and analyzes why the Bible depicts its heroes less gloriously than do the texts of other cultures: * Moses founds the nation of Israel--and is short-tempered and weak-armed. * Samson, arrogant and unhinged, can kill a thousand enemies with his bare hands. * David establishes a centralized, unified, triumphal government--through pretense and self-deception. * Esther saves her people but marries a murderous, misogynist king. * Abraham's relationships are wracked with tension. * Jacob fathers twelve tribes--and wins his inheritance through deceit. In the end, is God the real hero? Or is God too removed from human constraints to even be called a "hero"? Ultimately, Rabin excavates how the Bible's unique perspective on heroism can address our own deep-seated need for human-scale heroes.

Al-Jāḥiẓ

Al-Jāḥiẓ
Author: Arnim Heinemann
Publisher: Ergon Verlag
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2009
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Die Reihe Beiruter Texte und Studien (BTS) ist die Buchreihe des Orient-Instituts fur Grundlagenforschung des historischen und zeitgenossischen Mittleren Ostens. Sie stellt Studien bereit, die auf Primarquellen in Sprachen der Region basieren und bietet thematische sowie methodische Impulse.

Religion, Mysticism and Modern Arabic Literature

Religion, Mysticism and Modern Arabic Literature
Author: Reuven Snir
Publisher: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2006
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9783447053259

One of the significant phenomena in modern Arabic literature since the 1960s has been the use of mystical concepts, figures and motifs for the expression of contemporary experiences, philosophies and ideologies. The book investigates this phenomenon mainly with regard to the creative poetic process and the use of literary masks. It also deals with the complicated relationship between Arabic literature and Islam as well as with the literary activities by religious traditional circles. In a welter of publications committed Muslim authors try to prove that there is no inherent contradiction between art and Islam, and at the same time to lay the theoretical foundations for an "Islamist" poetics encompassing the various branches of literary production. Within the secular canonical circles, however, these activities and texts are considered extremely marginal and none of the authors concerned has gained any canonical status. The growing number of cases, in which attempts at censorship on religious and moral grounds have been challenged, prove also that Arabic literature has become more and more secular.

The Man from Bashmour

The Man from Bashmour
Author: Salwá Bakr
Publisher: American Univ in Cairo Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2007
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9789774161094

Egypt in the ninth century ad: an Arab, Muslim ruling class governs a country of mostly Coptic-speaking Christians. After an exorbitant land tax imposed by the caliph's governors sparks a peasant revolt, Budayr is dispatched to the marshlands of the Nile Delta as an escort for a church-appointed emissary whose mission is to persuade the rebels to lay down their arms. But he is soon caught up in a swirl of events and concerns that alter the course of his life irrevocably, setting him on a path he could never have foreseen. The events that befall him and the insights he gains from them bring about a gradual but inexorable personal transformation, through which his eyes are opened to the fundamental commonalities-- practical, spiritual, and existential--that bind Muslims and Copts, and he emerges as an emissary of a new sort. Hailed as a groundbreaking treatment of otherwise neglected aspects of medieval history, The Man from Bashmour is an exploration of the Egyptian character past and present, and offers insights into Egyptian thought on everything from love, philosophy, and religion to life and death.

Mothers and Daughters in Arab Women's Literature

Mothers and Daughters in Arab Women's Literature
Author: Dalya Abudi
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2010-11-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004181148

This study explores the mother-daughter relationship as the most fundamental and most intimate female relationship. It draws on both early and contemporary writings of Arab women to illuminate the traditional and evolving nature of mother-daughter relationships in Arab families and how these family dynamics reflect and influence modern Arab life.

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia [2 volumes]
Author: Ulrich Marzolph
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 950
Release: 2004-08-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 185109640X

The most comprehensive treatment of the Arabian Nights ever published, with more than 800 detailed encyclopedic entries and a wealth of authoritative essays and resources. The tales of the Arabian Nights have long been the focus of scholarly research and critique, but no English language work has ever attempted an all-embracing treatment of them. The fruit of years of research, The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive reference work introducing both the Arabian Nights and the context of their genesis and aftermath in Near Eastern, European, and world culture. Editors Ulrich Marzolph, one of the world's foremost scholars of Near Eastern narrative culture, and Richard van Leeuwen, a prominent scholar of the Arabian Nights, present detailed, authoritative, and up-to-date research on virtually all aspects of the tales, including major protagonists, themes, important translations, textual history, adaptations, reworkings, works inspired by the Arabian Nights, and aspects of literary theory, and provide extensive bibliographies for each tale. In addition to the 800+ encyclopedic entries and numerous essays, the work introduces research that has not previously been published, making it an invaluable resource to scholars, educators, students, and the general public, as well as an essential addition to the core collection of academic and public libraries.