Happiness Without Death: Desert Hymns [Paperback]

Assad Ali (Author), Camille Adams Helminski (Author), Ibrahim Yahya Shihabi (Author), Kabir Helminski (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1991

Assad Ali is one of the most important figures in contemporary Arabic literature. The voice of these poems is the voice of the Desert in an ardent appeal to the Heart of Reality. As Dr. Ali himself says these hymns have not been written to address any one of the creatures even though they are exuberant with creatures' concerns and their true interest is in them and in appealing to God for them. They have been written in a method similar to physical training but as a spiritual training in the world of the body and the Word

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a collection of poems based on the first 30 surahs , or chapters, of the Koran, for which Helminski provides a new translation. The poems are written in the Sufi tradition, but this new translation and the attendant poems are pummeled into the modern English vernacular. Forced metaphors abound and spiritual meaning shines through only occasionally. The poems are no doubt sincere, and this reviewer suspects that the original material is superior to the translations. Those who wish to read Sufi poetry will be better served by old masters of the art like Omar Khayyam, Abdullah Ansari, Jalalu'd-din Rumi, and Ibn Al-Farid. Only the most inclusive collections of religious or mystical poetry need consider.
-Marilyn E. Schafer, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic Coll., Toronto
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

I find that Happiness Without Death--if read carefully as it deserves--can help Westerners to understand the grandeur and power of pristine Islam. -- Annemarie Schimmel

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Product Details

• Paperback: 109 pages
• Publisher: Threshold Books (July 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939660393
• ISBN-13: 978-0939660391
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,951,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tender and Intelligent Volume from a Master Poet, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Happiness Without Death: Desert Hymns (Paperback)

I love books, and this is one of the few I have read and re-read many times. I stumbled across "Happiness Without Death" at a seminar three years ago, drawn by its unusual title. Once I read two of Assad Ali's poems, I was hooked.

Each of the poems in this volume was inspired by a surah (book) of the Qur'an, and each poem gives a rare glance into the type of deep worship that many people crave these days, though they don't realize it. Ali blends his utter devotion to God with his finely honed intellect and his ability to listen so deeply that his heart transcends ordinary reality. The resulting prayers/poems calm me when I'm crabby, pep me up when I awaken still tired from not enough sleep, and have inspired many of my own poems and essays.

If you want contemporary freeform verse that captures the essence of the Essence, this is it. As an added gift, the last portion of this volume contains fresh translations of the first thirty chapters of the Qur'an as they were revealed to the prophet Muhammad, with brief commentaries that make them accessible to Western readers.

Buy this book for someone you love, for someone curious about the true heart of Islam beyond the politics that dominate the media, for an aspiring poet, or simply as a well deserved gift for yourself. Enjoy!