Arabian Satire
Satirical verse on society and its hypocrisies A master of satire known for his ribald humor, self-deprecation, and invective verse (hijāʾ), the poet Ḥmēdān al-Shwēʿir was an acerbic critic of his society and its morals. Living in the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, Ḥmēdān wrote in an idiom widely referred to as "Nabaṭī," here a mix of Najdī vernacular and archaic vocabulary and images dating to the origins of Arabic poetry. In Arabian Satire, Ḥmēdān is mostly concerned with worldly matters and addresses these in different guises: as the patriarch at the helm of the family boat and its unruly crew; as a picaresque anti-hero who revels in taking potshots at the established order, its hypocrisy, and its failings; as a peasant who labors over his palm trees, often to no avail and with no guarantee of success; and as a poet recording in verse how he thinks things ought to be. The poems in Arabian Satire reveal a plucky, headstrong, yet intensely socially committed figure--representative of the traditional Najdī ethos--who infuses his verse with proverbs, maxims, and words of wisdom expressed plainly and conversationally. Ḥmēdān is widely quoted by historians of the Gulf region and in anthologies of popular sayings. This is the first full translation of this remarkable poet. An English-only edition.
The Hungry Stones And Other Stories
The Hungry Stones And Other Stories is a classic collection of Rabindranath Tagore stories that contains the following Tagore classics: The Hungry Stones; The Victory; Once There Was A King; The Home-coming; My Lord, The Baby and The Kingdom Of Cards.Contents: The Hungry Stones The Victory Once There Was A King The Home-coming My Lord, The Baby The Kingdom Of Cards The Devotee Vision The Babus Of Nayanjore Living Or Dead? "We Crown Thee King" The Renunciation The Cabuliwallah [The Fruitseller from Cabul]Preface: The stories contained in this volume were translated by several hands. The version of The Victory is the author's own work. The seven stories which follow were translated by Mr. C. F. Andrews, with the help of the author's help. Assistance has also been given by the Rev. E. J. Thompson, Panna Lal Basu, Prabhat Kumar Mukerjii, and the Sister Nivedita.
Be Beautiful Inside Out
Beauty is pure consciousness. It is an absolute truth of your health, happiness and inner peace of mind. According to Ayurveda, there are three pillars of beauty, inner beauty, outer beauty, and lasting beauty. Your inner confidence, Intelligence, and kindness, when it is balanced, it makes you the world's most beautiful person. Your health and intelligence reflect on your outer appearance and attitude. This book reveals the secrets of ancient Ayurvedic therapies, rituals, and eating habits to maintain your beauty inside out.
The Quran
The aim with the present volume, The Quran: In Transcription, is to make the Quran available in a scientific transcription. The present transcription is not meant to replace the Arabic text in the Arabic script. The Arabic script as well as the Arabic orthography in themselves contain much valuable information for any scholar or reader. This book is rather to be seen as an aid for those who do not master the intricacies of the Arabic script, or those who need access to a scientific transcription.As with any transcription or reading, the present book represents the transcriber's own interpretation of the Arabic script, grammar and text of the Quran.
Memory, Metaphor and Mysticism in Kalidasa’s Abhij簽ānaŚākuntalam
As an ancient Indian poet-dramatist, Kālidāsa cannot be absorbed into the homogenizing tendencies of Hindu hagiography, as has often been attempted, especially in the period after independence. From being projected as a Brahmin by birth in legends, a Vedāntist and Vaishnavite in darsana (theology), and more recently, owing to Western theoretical perspectives being applied to texts separated in time and contexts, Kalidasa is critiqued for a patriarchal and casteist outlook. These various readings have privileged personal theories and validated them by reading literary texts in certain ways. 'Memory, Metaphor and Mysticism in Kalidasa's 'Abhij簽ānaŚākuntalam'' brings together scholars from both sides of the globe who offer possibilities for reviewing this text, not as an Oriental discovery or a cultural property, but as an ancient literary text that can be read in multiple philosophical contexts. Further, the translations of 'Abhij簽ānaŚākuntalam' into South Asian languages like Urdu and Nepali and a classical language like Persian are also included for detailed study for understanding the impact of this text in the respective literary traditions of these languages, and to assess the actual cross-literary dialogue that this text made, without hyperboles and generalizations, given the fact that many of these translation happened just before and after independence when literary historiography and nation writing project went hand in hand in India.
The Quran
The aim with the present series, The Quran: Word List, is to present the Quran as raw data with as little interpretation as possible. The digital text used is the Uthmani text of the Tanzil Quran Text. This text is widely used, and we have conducted some comparison to pre-digital age printed editions of the Quran. This series is divided into three volumes. In the first volume, each attested word form in the Quran--adjectives, nouns, proper nouns and verbs--is listed with no parsing and no alteration whatsoever to the orthography of the Tanzil Uthmani text. They are listed as follows: word form
The Quran
The aim with the present series, The Quran: Word List, is to present the Quran as raw data with as little interpretation as possible. The digital text used is the Uthmani text of the Tanzil Quran Text. This text is widely used, and we have conducted some comparison to pre-digital age printed editions of the Quran. This series is divided into three volumes. In the first volume, each attested word form in the Quran--adjectives, nouns, proper nouns and verbs--is listed with no parsing and no alteration whatsoever to the orthography of the Tanzil Uthmani text. They are listed as follows: word form
The Quran
The aim with the present series, The Quran: Word List, is to present the Quran as raw data with as little interpretation as possible. The digital text used is the Uthmani text of the Tanzil Quran Text. This text is widely used, and we have conducted some comparison to pre-digital age printed editions of the Quran. This series is divided into three volumes. In the first volume, each attested word form in the Quran--adjectives, nouns, proper nouns and verbs--is listed with no parsing and no alteration whatsoever to the orthography of the Tanzil Uthmani text. They are listed as follows: word form
Scents and Flavors
Delectable recipes from the medieval Middle East This popular thirteenth-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, Scents and Flavors opens with appetizers and juices and proceeds through main courses, side dishes, and desserts. 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 such as 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 a few extant Babylonian and Roman texts, 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 cultural historians and epicures alike. An English-only edition.
Light in the Heavens
Humanitarian lessons and practical insights from the prophet of Islam The words of Muhammad, messenger of God and prophet of Islam, have a special place in the hearts of his followers. Wielding an authority second only to the Qur'an, they are cited by scholars in a vast array of disciplines--including law, theology, metaphysics, poetry, grammar, history, and medicine--and are quoted by Muslims to one another in their daily lives. Light in the Heavens by al-Qadi al-Quda'i, a Sunni judge in the Fatimid court in Egypt, is an outstanding example of a compilation of these sayings, known as hadiths, that circulated orally and were later assembled and written down. From North Africa to India, generations have used Light in the Heavens as a teaching text for children as well as adults, and many of its 1,200 sayings are familiar to individuals of diverse denominations and ethnicities. For Muslims--who consider Muhammad's teachings the fount of wisdom and the beacon of guidance in all things, mundane and sublime--these sayings provide a direct window into the inspired vision of one of the most influential humans to have walked the Earth. An English-only edition.
The Excellence of the Arabs
A spirited defense of Arab identity from a time of political unrest In ninth-century Abbasid Baghdad, the social prestige attached to claims of Arab identity had begun to decline. In The Excellence of the Arabs, the celebrated litterateur Ibn Qutaybah locks horns with those members of his society who belittled Arabness and vaunted the glories of Persian heritage and culture. Instead, he upholds the status of Arabs and their heritage in the face of criticism and uncertainty. The Excellence of the Arabs is in two parts. In the first, Arab Preeminence, which takes the form of an extended argument for Arab privilege, Ibn Qutaybah accuses his opponents of blasphemous envy. In the second, The Excellence of Arab Learning, he describes the fields of knowledge in which he believed pre-Islamic Arabians excelled, including knowledge of the stars, divination, horse husbandry, and poetry. By incorporating extensive excerpts from the poetic heritage--"the archive of the Arabs"--Ibn Qutaybah aims to demonstrate that poetry is itself sufficient evidence of Arab superiority. Eloquent and forceful, The Excellence of the Arabs addresses a central question at a time of great social flux, at the dawn of classical Muslim civilization: What does it mean to be Arab? An English-only edition.
Modern Japanese Short Stories
Modern Japanese Short Stories is a remarkable collection of Japanese stories from the pioneers of contemporary Japanese literature. This volume's twenty-five stories by as many authors display a wide range of style and subject matter--offering a revealing picture of modern Japanese culture and society. The stories in this anthology include: "Tattoo" by Junichiro Tanizaki--a large spider tattooed on the back of a young woman results in unexpected changes"Autumn Mountain" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa--vivid memories of a beautiful painting leads a man to wonder if the it ever actually existed"The Priest and His Love" by Yukio Mishima--a Buddhist priest finds his path to enlightenment challenged after falling in love"The Moon on the Water" by Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata--a young woman who cared for her ailing first husband through most of their marriage regrets remarrying after his death Featuring a new foreword by Japanese literary scholar Seiji Lippit and striking woodcut illustrations by Masakazu Kuwata, the stories are translated by the editor, Ivan Morris, and Edward Seidensticker, George Saito, and Geoffery Sargent. This collection of short stories shows why Japanese literature is so highly valued today--it teaches not only about Japan, but about the human condition and the possibilities of art.
Tales of Japan
A deluxe volume of 15 Japanese folk tales that is sure to impress any fan of cultural and mythological literature with impactful and stunning illustrations by contemporary Japanese artist Kotaro Chiba. A goblin with no body and a monster with no face. A resourceful samurai and a faithful daughter. A spirit of the moon and a dragon king. This collection of 15 traditional Japanese folk tales transports readers to a time of adventure and enchantment. Drawn from the works of folklorists Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, these tales are by turns terrifying, exhilarating, and poetic. POPULAR SERIES: Designed for diehard fairy tale and folklore lovers, the Tales series gives new life to traditional stories. In addition to Tales of Japan, discover Ghostly Tales, Nordic Tales, Celtic Tales, Tales of India, Tales of East Africa, and more. BEAUTIFUL GIFT: With its bold hardcover design, a satin ribbon page marker, and a striking full-page illustration for each story, Tales of Japan makes an impressive gift. Perfect for fans of fairy tales, ghost stories, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Chinese mythology, Celtic mythology, and folklore and cultural studies from around the globe. READERS LOVE IT: With hundreds of 5-star ratings, reviewers rave that this "absolutely delightful collection of traditional Japanese folktales" is "a must-have for folklore fans." Perfect for: Anyone interested in Japan's history and culture studies Collectors of illustrated classics or artfully designed books Readers who enjoy timeless stories, from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm to Egyptian mythology to Greek classics Adding to the shelf alongside Stephen Fry's Greek Mythology trilogy (Mythos, Heroes, Troy), Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, or Madeline Miller's Circe and Song of Achilles
Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded
Witty, bawdy, and vicious, Yūsuf al-Shirbīnī's Brains Confounded pits the "coarse" rural masses against the "refined" urban population. In Volume One, al-Shirbīnī describes the three rural "types"--peasant cultivator, village man-of-religion, and rural dervish--offering anecdotes testifying to the ignorance, dirtiness, and criminality of each. In Volume Two, he presents a hilarious parody of the verse-and-commentary genre so beloved by scholars of his day, with a 47-line poem supposedly written by a peasant named Abū Shādūf, who charts the rise and fall of his fortunes. Wielding the scholarly tools of elite literature, al-Shirbīnī responds to the poem with derision and ridicule, dotting his satire with digressions into love, food, and flatulence. Volume Two of Brains Confounded is followed by Risible Rhymes, a concise text that includes a comic disquisition on "rural" verse, mocking the pretensions of uneducated poets from Egypt's countryside. Risible Rhymes also examines various kinds of puzzle poems, which were another popular genre of the day, and presents a debate between scholars over a line of verse by the fourth/tenth-century poet al-Mutanabbī. Together, Brains Confounded and Risible Rhymes offer intriguing insight into the intellectual concerns of Ottoman Egypt, showcasing the intense preoccupation with wordplay, grammar, and stylistics and shedding light on the literature of the era. An English-only edition.
Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded, With Risible Rhymes
Witty, bawdy, and vicious, Yūsuf al-Shirbīnī's Brains Confounded pits the "coarse" rural masses against the "refined" urban population. In Volume One, al-Shirbīnī describes the three rural "types"--peasant cultivator, village man-of-religion, and rural dervish--offering anecdotes testifying to the ignorance, dirtiness, and criminality of each. In Volume Two, he presents a hilarious parody of the verse-and-commentary genre so beloved by scholars of his day, with a 47-line poem supposedly written by a peasant named Abū Shādūf, who charts the rise and fall of his fortunes. Wielding the scholarly tools of elite literature, al-Shirbīnī responds to the poem with derision and ridicule, dotting his satire with digressions into love, food, and flatulence. Volume Two of Brains Confounded is followed by Risible Rhymes, a concise text that includes a comic disquisition on "rural" verse, mocking the pretensions of uneducated poets from Egypt's countryside. Risible Rhymes also examines various kinds of puzzle poems, which were another popular genre of the day, and presents a debate between scholars over a line of verse by the fourth/tenth-century poet al-Mutanabbī. Together, Brains Confounded and Risible Rhymes offer intriguing insight into the intellectual concerns of Ottoman Egypt, showcasing the intense preoccupation with wordplay, grammar, and stylistics and shedding light on the literature of the era. An English-only edition.
The Art of War
Sun Tzu's classic is profound and lucid. Although ostensibly on military strategy, The Art of War is a treatise on the command of a hierarchical organisation in the face of conflict. It is an organised set of epigrammatic sayings on observation and planning, cunning and deception, the goals and methods of warfare, and when and how to attack and defend. These ideas have entered Chinese thought over the last two millennia, and more recently have been widely appreciated in the worlds of modern politics and business. We present the definitive translation, by Lionel Giles, assistant curator at the British Museum and Keeper of the Department of Oriental Manuscripts.
A Hero Born: Legends of the Condor Heroes Vol. 1 (Legends of the Condor Heroes 1)
Jong-e Zaman 7
Persian quarterly on literature, Culture and Art Editor in Chief: Mansour Koushan
The Arab Renaissance
The Nahda ("awakening") designates the project of Arab cultural and political modernity from the early nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Arab models of nationalism and secularism, as well as Islamic revival, spring from Nahda thought and its attendant developments, such as linguistic reform; translation; the emergence of new literary genres, such as the novel; the creation of periodicals, journalism, and a new publishing industry; professional associations and salons; a new education system; and an overall Enlightenment ideal of knowledge. The Nahda ushered in innovative modes of reading and writing along with new social practices of knowledge transmission, transnational connections, and new political ideas.Collected in this anthology are texts by intellectuals, writers, members of the clergy, and political figures. The authors discuss authority, social norms, conventions and practices both secular and religious, gender roles, class, travel, and technology. Presented in the original Arabic and in English translation, the texts will be of interest to students of the Arabic language and culture, history, cultural studies, gender studies, and other disciplines.
What ’isa Ibn Hisham Told Us
Trenchant and witty critiques of life in Cairo under British ruleWhat ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us is a masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī, this highly original work was first introduced in serialized form in his family's pioneering newspaper Miṣbāḥ al-Sharq (Light of the East) and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and mordant wit, What ʿĪsā ibn Hishām 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 ʿĪsā ibn Hishām 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, ʿĪsā ibn Hishām, 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 ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us is invaluable both for its insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history. An English-only edition.
Disagreements of the Jurists
A masterful overview of Islamic law and its diversity Al-Qadi al-Nu'man was the chief legal theorist and ideologue of the North African Fatimid dynasty in the tenth century. This translation makes available for the first time in English his major work on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh), which presents a legal model in support of the Fatimid claim to legitimate rule. Composed as part of a grand project to establish the theoretical bases of the official Fatimid legal school, Disagreements of the Jurists expounds a distinctly Shi'i system of hermeneutics. The work begins with a discussion of the historical causes of jurisprudential divergence in the first Islamic centuries and goes on to engage, point by point, with the specific interpretive methods of Sunni legal theory. The text thus preserves important passages from several Islamic legal theoretical works no longer extant, and in the process throws light on a critical stage in the development of Islamic legal theory that would otherwise be lost to history. An English-only edition.
A Hundred and One Nights
Fantastic tales of magic and wonder Translated into English for the very first time, A Hundred and One Nights is a marvelous example of the rich tradition of popular Arabic storytelling. Like the celebrated Thousand and One Nights, this collection opens with the frame story of Scheherazade, the vizier's gifted daughter who recounts imaginative tales night after night in an effort to distract the murderous king from taking her life. A Hundred and One Nights features an almost entirely different set of stories, however, each one more thrilling, amusing, and disturbing than the last. Here, we encounter tales of epic warriors, buried treasure, disappearing brides, cannibal demon-women, fatal shipwrecks, and clever ruses, where human strength and ingenuity play out against a backdrop of inexorable, inscrutable fate. Distinctly rooted in Arabic literary culture and the Islamic tradition, these tales draw on motifs and story elements that circulated across cultures, including Indian and Chinese antecedents, and features a frame story possibly older than its more famous sibling. This vibrant translation of A Hundred and One Nights promises to transport readers, new and veteran alike, into its fantastical realms of magic and wonder. An English-only edition.
The Problem With Me
"Funny and shrewd" (The New York Times Book Review) essays from China's most popular young troublemaker about growing up millennial and causing social and political scandal today. Han Han "owes equal debt to Jack Kerouac and Justin Timberlake" (The New Yorker). He's the most influential (and provocative) young person in China, equally beloved and reviled for the satirical wit with which he takes on everyone from corrupt politicians to ludicrous protesters and everything from Internet culture in a country that censors the Internet to the question of whether China is ready for democracy. "Evocative and funny" and "occasionally electrifying" (The Wall Street Journal), The Problem with Me provides "an insider's look into Chinese culture and politics" (Publishers Weekly).
Adventures of the Mad Monk Ji Gong
Follow the brilliant and hilarious adventures of the Zen Buddhist monk who became one of China's greatest folk heroes! During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Ji Gong studied at the renowned Ling Yin monastery, nestled in the steep hills above Hangzhou. The Chan (Zen) Buddhist masters of the temple tried to instruct Ji Gong in the spartan practices of their sect, but the young monk, following in the footsteps of other great ne'er-do-wells, distinguished himself mainly by getting expelled. He left the monastery, became a wanderer with hardly a proper piece of clothing to wear, and achieved significant renown--in seedy wine shops and drinking establishments! That could have been where Ji Gong's story ended. But his unorthodox style of Buddhism soon made him a hero for storytellers of his era. Audiences delighted in tales where the mad old monk ignored--or even mocked--authority, defied common sense, and never neglected the wine, yet still managed to save the day. Ji Gong remains popular in China even today, where he regularly appears as the wise drunkard in movies and TV shows. In these 89 stories, you'll read about Ji Gong's rogue's knack for exposing the corrupt and criminal while still pursuing the twin delights of enlightenment and intoxication. This literary classic of a traveling martial arts master will entertain readers of all ages!
Accounts of China and India
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.
Mission to the Volga
The earliest surviving instance of sustained first-person travel narrative in Arabic Mission to the Volga is a pioneering text of peerless historical and literary value. In its pages, we move north on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the upper reaches of the Volga River in what is now central Russia. In this colorful documentary from the tenth century, the enigmatic Ibn Fadlan relates his experiences as part of an embassy sent by Caliph al-Muqtadir to deliver political and religious instruction to the recently-converted King of the Bulghars. During eleven months of grueling travel, Ibn Fadlan records the marvels he witnesses on his journey, including an aurora borealis and the white nights of the North. Crucially, he offers a description of the Viking Rus, including their customs, clothing, body painting, and a striking account of a ship funeral. Together, these anecdotes illuminate a vibrant world of diversity during the heyday of the Abbasid Empire, narrated with as much curiosity and zeal as they were perceived by its observant beholder. An English-only edition.
Short Stories of Yashpal, Author and Patriot
The first English translation of these tales, some written in prison, provides new insights into contemporary Indian culture as well as Yashpal's own fascinating life.
A Treasury of Virtues
Insights into a life of integrity by a master of Arabic eloquence A Treasury of Virtues is a collection of sayings, sermons, and teachings attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40/661), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, the first Shia Imam and the fourth Sunni Caliph. An acknowledged master of Arabic eloquence and a sage of Islamic wisdom, 'Ali was renowned for his eloquence: his words were collected, quoted, and studied over the centuries, and extensively anthologized, excerpted, and interpreted. Of the many compilations of 'Ali's words, A Treasury of Virtues, compiled by the Fatimid Shafi'i judge al-Quda'i (d. 454/1062), arguably possesses the broadest compass of genres and the largest variety of themes. Included are aphorisms, proverbs, sermons, speeches, homilies, prayers, letters, dialogues, and verse, all of which provide instruction on how to be a morally upstanding human being. The shorter compilation included here, One Hundred Proverbs, is attributed to the eminent writer al-Jahiz (d. 255/869). This volume presents the first English translation of both of these important collections. An English-only edition.
The Principles of Sufism
'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah of Damascus was one of the great women scholars in Islamic history. Born into a prominent family of pious scholars and Sufi devotees, 'A'ishah received a thorough religious education and memorized the Quran at age eight. A mystic and a prolific poet and writer, she composed more works in Arabic than any other woman before the twentieth century. Yet despite her extraordinary literary and religious achievements, 'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah remains largely unknown. For the first time, her key work, The Principles of Sufism, is available in English translation. The Principles of Sufism is a mystical guide book to help others on their spiritual path. Outlining the four principles of Repentance, Sincerity, Remembrance, and Love, it traces the fundamental stages and states of the spiritual novice's transformative journey, emphasizing the importance of embracing both human limitations and God's limitless love. Drawing on lessons and readings from centuries-old Sufi tradition, 'A'ishah advises the seeker to repent of selfishness and turn to a sincere life of love. In addition to his lucid translation, Th. Emil Homerin provides an insightful introduction, notes and a glossary to 'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah's remarkable account of the pursuit of mystical illumination. An English-only edition.
The Epistle on Legal Theory
The Epistle on Legal Theory is the oldest surviving Arabic work on Islamic legal theory and the foundational document of Islamic jurisprudence. Its author, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 204/820), was the eponym of the Shafi'i school of legal thought, one of the four rites in Sunni Islam. This fascinating work offers the first systematic treatment in Arabic of key issues in Islamic legal thought. These include 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. The author illustrates his theoretical claims with numerous examples drawn from nearly all areas of Islamic law, including ritual law, commercial law, tort law, and criminal law. The text thus provides an important window into both Islamic law and legal thought in particular and early Islamic intellectual history in general . This new translation by a leading scholar of al-Shafi'i and his thought makes available in lucid, modern English one of the earliest complete works on Islamic law--one that is centrally important for the formation of Islamic legal thought and the Islamic legal tradition. An English-only edition.
The Book of Satire 7
The Book of Satire By Seyed Abdoljavad Moosavi
The Meursault Investigation
Best Translated Novel of the Decade - Lit Hub A New York Times Notable Book of 2015 -- Michiko Kakutani, The Top Books of 2015, New York Times -- TIME Magazine Top Ten Books of 2015 -- Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year -- Financial Times Best Books of the Year "A tour-de-force reimagining of Camus's The Stranger, from the point of view of the mute Arab victims." --The New Yorker He was the brother of "the Arab" killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus's classic novel. Seventy years after that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name--Musa--and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach. In a bar in Oran, night after night, he ruminates on his solitude, on his broken heart, on his anger with men desperate for a god, and on his disarray when faced with a country that has so disappointed him. A stranger among his own people, he wants to be granted, finally, the right to die. The Stranger is of course central to Daoud's story, in which he both endorses and criticizes one of the most famous novels in the world. A worthy complement to its great predecessor, The Meursault Investigation is not only a profound meditation on Arab identity and the disastrous effects of colonialism in Algeria, but also a stunning work of literature in its own right, told in a unique and affecting voice.
The Blind Owl (Authorized by The Sadegh Hedayat Foundation - First Translation into English Based on the Bombay Edition)
Widely regarded as Sadegh Hedayat's masterpiece, the Blind Owl is the most important work of literature to come out of Iran in the past century. On the surface this work seems to be a tale of doomed love, but with the turning of each page basic facts become obscure and the reader soon realizes this book is much more than a love story. Although the Blind Owl has been compared to the works of the Kafka, Rilke and Poe, this work defies categorization. Lescot's French translation made the Blind Owl world-famous, while D.P. Costello's English translation made it largely accessible. Sadly, this work has yet to find its way into the English pantheon of Classics. This 75th anniversary edition, translated by award-winning writer Naveed Noori and published in conjunction with the Hedayat Foundation, aims to change this and is notable for a number of firsts: *The only translation endorsed by the Sadegh Hedayat Foundation *The first translation to use the definitive Bombay edition (Hedayat's handwritten text) *The only available English translation by a native Persian and English speaker *The preface includes a detailed textual analysis of the Blind Owl Finally, by largely preserving the spirit as well as the structure of Hedayat's writing, this edition brings the English reader into the world of the Hedayat's Blind Owl as never before. Extensive footnotes (explaining Persian words, phrases, and customs ignored in previous translations) provide deeper understanding of this work for both the causal reader and the serious student of literature. "....There are indeed marked differences between Costello's and Noori's translations. As Noori indicates, his attempt to preserve the overabundance of dashes gives the reader a more immediate sense of the narrator's agitation...The first sentence flows on in Noori's translation, piling sensation upon sensation never allowing us to pause and catch our breath or separate out the images from the sensations. In his discussion of the relationship between his translation and Costello's, Noori also draws on translation theory and sees Costello's focus on the fluidity of the text in English as a "domestication" of Hedayat's original. Noori's new English translation and his preface are a welcome addition and will no doubt draw the attention of scholars interested in Hedayat's works. The close textual and comparative analysis of the type Noori offers marks a new and long-overdue critical approach to the translation of the most celebrated work of modern Persian prose." -Professor Nasrin Rahimieh in Middle Eastern Literatures
Syria Speaks
In Syria, culture has become a critical line of defenceagainst tyranny. Syria Speaks is a celebration of a people determined toreclaim their dignity, freedom and self-expression. Itshowcases the work of over fifty artists and writers whoare challenging the culture of violence in Syria. Theirliterature, poems and songs, cartoons, political postersand photographs document and interpret the momentouschanges that have shifted the frame of reality so drasticallyin Syria. Moving and inspiring, Syria Speaks is testament to thecourage, creativity and imagination of the Syrian people. A unique anthology providing a window into Syrian art andwriting since the uprising. Contributors includeinternationally renowned artists and writers, such asAli Ferzat, Samar Yazbek, Khaled Khalifa and Robin Yassin-Kassab. The book includes 108 colour illustrations.
Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems
Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems brings together in one volume Haddad's seminal work and a considerable selection of poems from his oeuvre, stretching over forty years. The central poem, Chronicles of Majnun Layla, recasts the seventh-century myth into a contemporary, postmodern narrative that revels in the foibles of oral transmission, weaving a small side cast of characters into the fabric of the poem. Haddad portrays Layla as a daring woman aware of her own needs and desires and not afraid to articulate them. The author succeeds in reviving this classical work of Arabian love while liberating it from its puritanical dimension and tribal overtones. The selected poems reveal Haddad's playful yet profound meditations. A powerful lyric poet, Haddad juxtaposes classical and modern symbols, and mixes the old with the new, the sensual with the sacred, and the common with the extraordinary. Ghazoul and Verlenden's masterful translation remains faithful to the cultural and historical context in which the original poetry was produced while also reflecting the uniqueness of the poet's style and his poetics.
Jong-e Zaman 8
Persian quarterly on literature, Culture and Art Editor in Chief: Mansour Koushan
Nights’ Notes
A collection of comments on topical issues of our time.
