The 午夜剧场 is pleased to announce the publication of The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and Adab: The Shaping of Literary Traditions in Classical Islam, edited by聽Dr Nuha Al-Shaar. This publication is the sixteenth volume in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Studies Series.
The聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and聽Adab聽rethinks the relation of scripture to humanistic traditions in classical Islam, in this case聽adabA word of many meanings usually connoting courtesy, etiquette, rules and manners, civilisation, culture and literature..聽Adab聽has generally been classified as belles-lettres, but this disconnects it from the body of religious literature, its inherent religiosity. The volume demonstrates how the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽in fact shaped the concept of聽adab聽and illustrates the religious aesthetic found in different types of聽adab聽works 鈥 poetry, literary criticism, epistles, oratory, anthologies, 鈥榤irrors for princes鈥, folklore and mystical/Sufi literature. Thus, clearly showing the inextricable link between the tradition of聽adab聽and the religiosity of the scripture.
The volume discusses the various citation techniques employed by the udab膩鈥 in their borrowing of the language of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More, as well as its concepts and stories. The chapters illustrate how the use of these techniques reflect a hermeneutical involvement with the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽and how the choice of these techniques was determined not just by the literary conventions of the particular genres and contexts within which the udab膩鈥 were working, but also by their authorial message, and theological and ideological outlooks. Also highlighted here is the way the udab膩鈥 ascribed certain functions to 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic quotations in a specific text in order to convey a particular message to specific audiences. In this respect, the volume illustrates the broader ethical implications of how 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic passages may become co-opted, as they sometimes were by the udab膩鈥, in the service of statecraft, or to influence public morals, or to exhort reform, sway entire ways of thinking and promote certain ethical values.
The volume also examines how the orality and written textuality of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽lends to its authoritativeness, and provides evidence of how pre-Islamic poetry 鈥 which shares identifiable intertextual features with the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽鈥 contributed to this. Collectively, the contributions offer a new, interdisciplinary approach for studying the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, i.e. through the way the literary traditions of classical Islam interacted with it. Consequently, the analysis of these literary works will enable scholars to better situate the reading and interpretation of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽in a larger social and cultural context and help them to understand how the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍聽was interpreted and received during the period studied.
