Böcker i Library of Arabic Literature-serien

A merchant¿s remarkable travel account of an African kingdomMüammad al-T¿nis¿ (d. 1274/1857) belonged to a family of Tunisian merchants trading with Egypt and what is now Sudan. Al-T¿nis¿ was raised in Cairo and a graduate of al-Azhar. In 1803, at the age of fourteen, al-T¿nis¿ set off for the Sultanate of Darfur, where his father had decamped ten years earlier. He followed the Forty Days Road, was reunited with his father, and eventually took over the management of the considerable estates granted to his father by the sultan of Darfur.In Darfur is al-T¿nis¿¿s remarkable account of his ten-year sojourn in this independent state, featuring descriptions of the geography of the region, the customs of Darfur¿s petty kings, court life and the clothing of its rulers, marriage customs, eunuchs, illnesses, food, hunting, animals, currencies, plants, magic, divination, and dances. In Darfur combines literature, history, ethnography, linguistics, and travel adventure, and most unusually for its time, includes fifty-two illustrations, all drawn by the author.In Darfur is a rare example of an Arab description of an African society on the eve of Western colonization and vividly evokes a world in which travel was untrammeled by bureaucracy, borders were fluid, and startling coincidences appear almost mundane.An English-only edition.

Maq¿m¿t Ab¿ Zayd al-Sar¿j¿ is a scholarly, Arabic-only edition of the celebrated work by al-¿ar¿r¿, which is also available in English translation from the Library of Arabic Literature as Impostures. Al-¿ar¿r¿'s text consists of fifty stories about the adventures of the itinerant con man and master of persuasion Ab¿ Zayd al-Sar¿j¿, as told by the equally itinerant and often gullible narrator al-¿¿rith ibn H¿mmam. Al-¿ar¿r¿ was a virtuoso writer of the rhymed prose narrative genre known as the maq¿mah, which would continue as a popular literary form into the twentieth century.An Arabic edition with an Arabic foreword and English scholarly apparatus.

Collecting 635 meticulous recipes, Scents and Flavors invites us to savor an inventive cuisine that elevates simple ingredients by combining the sundry aromas of herbs, spices, fruits, and flower essences. This popular 13th-century Syrian cookbook is an ode to what its anonymous author calls the "greater part of the pleasure of this life," namely the consumption of food and drink, as well as the fragrances that garnish the meals and the diners who enjoy them. Organized like a meal, it opens with appetizers and juices and proceeds through main courses, side dishes, and desserts, including such confections as candies based on the higher densities of sugar syrup--an innovation unique to the medieval Arab world. Apricot beverages, stuffed eggplant, pistachio chicken, coriander stew, melon crepes, and almond pudding are seasoned with nutmeg, rose, cloves, saffron, and the occasional rare ingredient like ambergris to delight and surprise the banqueter. Bookended by chapters on preparatory perfumes, incenses, medicinal oils, antiperspirant powders, and after-meal hand soaps, this comprehensive culinary journey is a feast for all the senses. With the exception of four extant Babylonian and Roman specimens, cookbooks did not appear on the world literary scene until Arabic speakers began compiling their recipe collections in the tenth century, peaking in popularity in the thirteenth century. Scents and Flavors quickly became a bestseller during this golden age of cookbooks, and remains today a delectable read for epicures and cultural historians alike.

Represents an important testimony to the earliest Muslims' memory of the lives of Muhammad and his companions, and is an indispensable text for gaining insight into the historical biography of both the Prophet and the rise of the Islamic empire.

Authoritative and reliable editions of the Arabic and modern, lucid English translations introducing treasures of the Arabic literary heritage

Includes a survey of the importance of Arabic as the language of revelation, principles of textual interpretation to be applied to the Qur'an and prophetic traditions, techniques for harmonizing apparently contradictory precedents, legal epistemology, rules of inference, and discussions of when legal interpretation is required.

A collection of sayings, sermons, and teachings attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40H/661AD), cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, first Shi'a Imam and fourth Sunni Caliph. Through proverbs and aphorisms, sermons and speeches, prayers and supplications, and more, it provides instruction on how to be a decent human being.

Presents classical Arabic poems and literary prose, from pre-Islamic times until the 18th century, with short introductions to guide non-specialist students and informative endnotes and bibliography for advanced scholars. This book contains anecdotes, a fairy-tale, a bawdy story, and samples of literary criticism.

This is the very first English translation of the work and reproduces the original edition, published under the author's supervision in 1855

This is the very first English translation of the work and reproduces the original edition, published under the author's supervision in 1855

Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (d. 414/1023) was a prominent litterateur and philosopher inBaghdad.Abu 'Ali Miskawayh (ca. 320/932-421/1030) was a philosopher and historian born in Rayy.

Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (d. 414/1023) was a prominent litterateur and philosopher inBaghdad.Abu 'Ali Miskawayh (ca. 320/932-421/1030) was a philosopher and historian born in Rayy.

Al-Muhassin ibn 'Ali al-Tanukhi (327¿84/939¿94) lived in Basra and Baghdad. As a judge and man of letters belonging to a family with many connections, he was well placed to record the literary trends of his day. Deliverance Follows Adversity is one of two anthologies he compiled.

Known as "one of the most complex and unusual texts in Arabic literature" (Banipal Magazine), The Epistle of Forgiveness is the lengthy reply by the prolific Syrian poet and prose writer, Abu l-'Ala' al-Ma'arri (d. 449/1057), to a letter by an obscure grammarian, Ibn al-Qari. With biting irony, The Epistle of Forgiveness mocks Ibn al-Qari's hypocrisy and sycophancy by imagining he has died and arrived with some difficulty in Heaven, where he meets famous poets and philologists from the past. In al-Ma'arri's imaginative telling, Ibn al-Qari also glimpses Hell and converses with the Devil and various heretics.Al-Ma'arri-a maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretic himself-seems to mock popular ideas about the Hereafter. Among other things, he introduces us to hypocrites, poets, princes, rebels, mystics, and apostates, with asides on piety, superstition, wine-drinking, old age, and other topics. This remarkable book is the first complete translation of this masterpiece into any language, all the more impressive because of Al-Ma'arri's highly ornate and difficult style, his use of rhymed prose, and his numerous obscure words and expressions. Replete with erudite commentary, amusing anecdotes, and sardonic wit, The Epistle of Forgiveness is an imaginative tour-de-force by one of the most pre-eminent figures in classical Arabic literature. An English-only edition.

A merchant''s account of his travels through an independent African state Muhammad ibn ''Umar al-Tunisi (d. 1274/1857) belonged to a family of Tunisian merchants trading with Egypt and what is now Sudan. Al-Tunisi was raised in Cairo and a graduate of al-Azhar. In 1803, at the age of fourteen, al-Tunisi set off for the Sultanate of Darfur, where his father had decamped ten years earlier. He followed the Forty Days Road, was reunited with his father, and eventually took over the management of the considerable estates granted to his father by the sultan of Darfur. In Darfur is al-Tunisi''s remarkable account of his ten-year sojourn in this independent state. In Volume One, al-Tunisi relates the history of his much-traveled family, his journey from Egypt to Darfur, and the reign of the noted sultan ''Abd al-Rahman al-Rashid. In Darfur combines literature, history, ethnography, linguistics, and travel adventure, and most unusually for its time, includes fifty-two illustrations, all drawn by the author. In Darfur is a rare example of an Arab description of Africa on the eve of Western colonization and vividly evokes a world in which travel was untrammeled by bureaucracy, borders were fluid, and startling coincidences appear almost mundane.

A merchant''s account of his travels through an independent African state Muhammad ibn ''Umar al-Tunisi (d. 1274/1857) belonged to a family of Tunisian merchants trading with Egypt and what is now Sudan. Al-Tunisi was raised in Cairo and a graduate of al-Azhar. In 1803, at the age of fourteen, al-Tunisi set off for the Sultanate of Darfur, where his father had decamped ten years earlier. He followed the Forty Days Road, was reunited with his father, and eventually took over the management of the considerable estates granted to his father by the sultan of Darfur. In Darfur is al-Tunisi''s remarkable account of his ten-year sojourn in this independent state. In Volume Two al-Tunisi describes the geography of the region, the customs of Darfur''s petty kings, court life and the clothing of its rulers, marriage customs, eunuchs, illnesses, food, hunting, animals, currencies, plants, magic, divination, and dances. In Darfur combines literature, history, ethnography, linguistics, and travel adventure, and most unusually for its time, includes fifty-two illustrations, all drawn by the author. In Darfur is a rare example of an Arab description of Africa on the eve of Western colonization and vividly evokes a world in which travel was untrammeled by bureaucracy, borders were fluid, and startling coincidences appear almost mundane.

Trenchant and witty critiques of life in Cairo under British ruleWhat ''Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is a masterpiece of early 20th-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Muhammad al-Muwaylihi, this highly original work was first introduced in serialized form in his family’s pioneering newspaper Misbah al-Sharq (Light of the East) and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and mordant wit, What ''Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt’s burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of school students.Bridging classical genres and modern Arabic fiction, What ''Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the first part of the book relates the excursions of its narrator, ''Isa ibn Hisham, and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly westernizing Cairo and provides vivid commentary on a society negotiating—however imperfectly—the clash between traditional norms and imported cultural values. The second half takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwaylihi casts a critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.Paving the way for the modern Arabic novel, What ''Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is invaluable both for its insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.

With What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us, the Library of Arabic Literature brings readers an acknowledged masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Müammad al-Muwayli¿¿, this exceptional title was first introduced in serialized form in his family¿s pioneering newspaper Mi¿b¿¿ al-Sharq (Light of the East), on which this edition is based, and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and its mordant wit, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us was embraced by Egypt¿s burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of Egyptian school students.Bridging classical genres and the emerging tradition of modern Arabic fiction, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us is divided into two parts, the second of which was only added to the text with the fourth edition of 1927. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the book relates the excursions of its narrator ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly Westernized Cairo at the height of British occupation, providing vivid commentary of a society negotiating¿however imperfectly¿the clash of imported cultural values and traditional norms of conduct, law, and education. The ¿Second Journey¿ takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwayli¿¿ casts the same relentlessly critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.Paving the way for the modern Arabic novel, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us is invaluable both for its sociological insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

With What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us, the Library of Arabic Literature brings readers an acknowledged masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Müammad al-Muwayli¿¿, this exceptional title was first introduced in serialized form in his family¿s pioneering newspaper Mi¿b¿¿ al-Sharq (Light of the East), on which this edition is based, and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and its mordant wit, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us was embraced by Egypt¿s burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of Egyptian school students.Bridging classical genres and the emerging tradition of modern Arabic fiction, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us is divided into two parts, the second of which was only added to the text with the fourth edition of 1927. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the book relates the excursions of its narrator ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly Westernized Cairo at the height of British occupation, providing vivid commentary of a society negotiating¿however imperfectly¿the clash of imported cultural values and traditional norms of conduct, law, and education. The ¿Second Journey¿ takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwayli¿¿ casts the same relentlessly critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.Paving the way for the modern Arabic novel, What ¿¿s¿ ibn Hish¿m Told Us is invaluable both for its sociological insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Combines two exceptional exemplars of Arabic travel writing, penned in the same era but chronicling wildly divergent experiences. This book offers a description of the Viking Rus, including their customs, clothing, tattoos, and a striking account of a ship funeral.

Features an almost entirely different set of stories, however, each one more thrilling, amusing, and disturbing than the last. This book includes tales of epic warriors, buried treasures, disappearing brides, cannibal demon women, fatal shipwrecks, and clever ruses, where human strength and more.

The ninth and tenth centuries witnessed the establishment of a substantial network of maritime trade across the Indian Ocean, providing the real-life background to the Sinbad tales. An exceptional exemplar of Arabic travel writing, Accounts of China and India is a compilation of reports and anecdotes about the lands and peoples of this diverse territory, from the Somali headlands of Africa to the far eastern shores of China and Korea. Traveling eastward, we discover a vivid human landscape¿from Chinese society to Hindu religious practices¿as well as a colorful range of natural wilderness¿from flying fish to Tibetan musk-deer and Sri Lankan gems. The juxtaposed accounts create a kaleidoscope of a world not unlike our own, a world on the road to globalization. In its ports, we find a priceless cargo of information. Here are the first foreign descriptions of tea and porcelain, a panorama of unusual social practices, cannibal islands, and Indian holy men¿a marvelous, mundane world, contained in the compass of a novella.An English-only edition.

Written in mid-17th centuryEgypt, Risible Rhymesis in part a short, comic disquisition on “rural” verse, mocking thepretensions and absurdities of uneducated poets from Egypt’s countryside.The interestin the countryside as a cultural, social, economic, and religious locus inits own right that is hinted at in this work may be unique in pre-twentieth-centuryArabic literature. As such, the work provides a companion piece to its slightlyyounger contemporary, Yusuf al-Shirbini’s Brains Confounded by the Ode of AbuShaduf Expounded, which also takes examples of mock-rural poems andsubjects them to grammatical analysis. The overlap between the two texts mayindicate that they both emanate from a common corpus of pseudo-rural verse thatcirculated in Ottoman Egypt.Risible Rhymes also examines various kinds of puzzlepoems—another popular genre of the day—and presents a debate between scholarsover a line of verse by the tenth-century poet al-Mutanabbi. Taken as a whole, RisibleRhymes offers intriguing insight into the critical concerns of mid-OttomanEgypt, showcasing the intense preoccupation with wordplay, grammar, andstylistics that dominated discussions of poetry in al-Sanhuri’s day andshedding light on the literature of this understudied era.