Aspects of Islamic Civilization As Depicted in the Original Texts. [Hardcover]

Arthur John Arberry (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0837194946 | ISBN-13: 978-0837194943 | Publication Date: May 5, 1977

A series of documents illustrating the development of Islamic civilization, texts translated from the langugages in which they were originally composed by famous protagonists of that culture. The intention is to present a panorama of Muslim life and thought and achievement as depicted from within. The translations, many of which have not been published before, are all the work of a single scholar and are meant to throw light on the literary, intellectual, and religious movements within Islam, and on the politics and sociology from the sixth century to the present.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press Reprint (May 5, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837194946
• ISBN-13: 978-0837194943
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,482,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Islamic Civilization, January 19, 2011

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aspects of Islamic Civilization: As Depicted in the Original Texts (Paperback)

"Aspects of Islamic Civilization: As Depicted in the Original Texts" by A. J. Arberry (1964, 1965, 1977, 2010), hardback & paperback, 408 pages. Chapter contents: (1) Arabia Deserta [Arabia at the time of Prophet Mohammad c. 600 A.D.]; (2) The Speech of Allah [various selections from the Koran]; (3) The Sunna and the Successors; (4) Wisdom from the East; (5) Science from the West; (6) La dolce vita [of the caliphs]; (7) Religious counsels; (8) Mystical moments; (9) Lyrical interlude ["The Arabs always looked back upon their ancient desert poetry with fierce if sometimes uncomprehending pride."]; (10) Faith and doubt; (11) Parable and anecdote; (12) The Art of Hafiz; (13) Two modern Egyptian poets [Hafiz Ibrahim & Ahmad Shauqi]; & (14) The revolt of Islam [Arab poets' poetry condeming Islamic government corruption]. The author opined: "It was the wide vogue of mysticism, far more than formal theology, that enables Islam to survive the appalling catastrophe of the Mongol invasions" (p. 16)... "Islam receded in the west already from 732, when Charles Martel hammered back the troops of 'Abd al-Rahman between Tours and Poitiers... The decline of Islamic civilization threatened utter ruin even before the advance of European imperialism added to debility humiliation.... The [Islamic] political rebirth was heralded in the nineteenth century and after by a cultural renaissance. The main stimuli which started this movement of revial were external: The French Revolution, and British liberal idealism. The literary and artistic models, the secientific, technical, even the political examples, were to a great extend furnished by Europe and the United States. The very impulse to study Muslim history, and to appraise the cultural achievements of medieval Islam -- chief sources of pride and inspiration to the new generations of fervent nationalists -- this too had its origins in western Orientalism. These facts go a long way to account for the love-hate relationship which characterizes the attitude of many Muslims today towards the West." Rather than being an analysis of the Muslim religion, Arberry's book deals more with how the Islamic religion has impacted Islamic literature, and thereby its culture. (For more of a political analysis, I suggest: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" by Robert Spencer.)