Measure for Measure: Prophetic History, Qur'anic Exegesis, and Anti-Sunnī Polemic in a Fāṭimid Propaganda Work (BL Or. 8419)

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-57
Author(s):  
Michael Pregill
Keyword(s):  
British Library ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
The Past ◽  
Measure For Measure ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Qur'anic Exegesis

The acephalous British Library manuscript Or. 8419 is currently catalogued as a qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ or compilation of Islamic narratives about the prophets. However, an examination of its contents reveals that although it does focus on the various prophets – including Muḥammad himself – and their missions, the text is more accurately characterised as Ismāʿīlī taʾwīl, a commentary on Qur'anic passages that draws parallels between the struggles of the prophets of the past and the persecution of the Shīʿa in the present. The central argument of the text is that while the Shīʿī Imāms and their supporters continue the legacy of the prophets and their virtuous followers in the past, the majority of the Muslim community has gone astray just as the Jews and Christians did before them, especially in their denial of the claims of the ahl al-bayt. Various indications in the text suggest that it was produced as propaganda supporting the claims of the Fāṭimids at an early juncture in the dynasty's history, possibly during the reign of the first caliph-Imām, al-Mahdī.

Consensus, Authority, and the Interpretive Community in the Thought of Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin J. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Interpretive Community ◽  
Lower Tier ◽  
The Past ◽  
Qur'anic Exegesis

Examination of al-Ṭabarī’s oeuvre as a whole reveals certain patterns that cut across fields. The following article addresses the concept of ḥujja, which is related to his understanding of consensus. It has been pointed out that al-Ṭabarī uses the term ḥujja (‘proof’) with two quite different meanings in his Qur'anic commentary, Jāmiʿ al-bayān. In one sense, ḥujja designates a proof such as a Qur'anic verse, a ḥadīth report, or an instance of consensus. In the second sense, ḥujja refers to particular people, scholars of the past whom al-Ṭabarī considers the most prominent authorities in a particular field. Al-Ṭabarī uses the term in a similar fashion in the extant sections of his legal work Ikhtilāf al-fuqahāʾ, and examination of the two works in combination reveals regularities in al-Ṭabarī’s understanding of hermeneutics across fields, including law, Qur'anic variants (qirāʾāt), and Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr). His use of the term ḥujja implies that he conceived of the interpretive community in tafsīr and other fields as comprised of two tiers, a lower tier of all competent scholars and an upper tier—the ḥujja—of those scholars whose opinions were instrumental in shaping discourse in the field in question.

scholarly journals Ziarah Makam Antara Tradisi dan Praktek Kemusyikan

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87
Author(s):  
Subri Subri
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Inanimate Object ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
The Past ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract: Graves or tombs in the paradigm of belief are the final terminal of life after world life, even though the grave or tomb is considered as an inanimate object but it is one of the representations of socio-cultural phenomena in the Muslim community from the past until now, including people in Bangka Belitung. The tomb or tomb is a representation of the past and present patterns of thinking of the community in obtainingsolutions to various kinds of life problems both economic, social, political and cultural problems.Even more than that, he also as a representation of the attitude of religiosity of the community in interpreting the relationship between humans as beings with God as creator. The graves or tombs of the Kyai, Alim Ulama, the Habaibs and even the trustees have been interpreted as mediators between humans and God by means of a superstition. Tawassul is a way to utilize the mediator.Theoretically, Islam does emphasize the existence of mediators / wasilah between humans and God, but the cult of their tombs indicates that there has been a difference between theory and practice. Abstrak: Kuburan atau makam dalam paradigm keyakinan merupakan terminal akhir dari kehidupan setelah kehidupan dunia, meskipun kuburan atau makam itu dianggap sebagai benda mati namun ia salah satu representasi dari fenomena sosial budaya pada kalangan masyarakat muslim dari dulu hingga sekarang, termasuk masyarakat di Bangka Belitung. Kuburan atau makam tersebut merupakan representasi dari pola berpikir masyarakat yang lalu dan sekarang dalam memperoleh solusi dari macam ragam masalah kehidupan baik masalah perekonomian, sosial, politik dan budaya. Bahkan lebih dari itu, ia juga sebagai representasi sikap religiusitas masyarakat dalam memaknai hubungan antara manusia sebagai makhluk dengan Tuhan sebagai pencipta. Kuburan atau makam para Kyai, Alim Ulama, para Habaib bahkan para wali telah dimaknai sebagai mediator antara manusia dengan Tuhan dengan cara bertawassul. Tawassul adalah cara untuk memanfaatkan mediator itu. Secara teoritis, Islam memang menegaskan adanya mediator / wasilah antara manusia dengan Tuhan, tapi pengkultusan terhadap makam-makam mereka tersebut mengindikasikan bahwa telah terjadi perbedaan antara teori dan prakteknya.

scholarly journals An Analytical study of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s Intellectual Development and Composition of Risale-i Nur (a Thematic Qur’ānic Exegesis)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Shumaila Majeed
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Development ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
The Third ◽  
Life Education ◽  
Representative Work ◽  
Qur'anic Exegesis ◽  
Islamic Belief ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
Insight Into

The current study analyses Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s life and contributions. It presents a short description of his early life, education and dissatisfaction with the then prevailing education systems. This is followed by an analysis of his intellectual development due to rapidly changing circumstances. The paper also presents an insight into Nursi’s representative work ‘Risale-i Nur’ through an analysis of its structure and methodology. This is significant because his intellectual development, due to changes in his circumstances, played an instrumental role in determining the style, method and objectives of Risale. Hence, the study of his intellectual development is imperative to understand the objectives of Risale. The findings of the paper revealed that Nursi’s approach to reform the Muslim society was not stagnant. In the ‘Old Said’ phase, he attempted to neutralize the decline in Muslim community through sociopolitical reforms. The ‘New Said’ phase was marked by his efforts to strengthen belief, encounter anti-religious ideologies and detachment from politics. In the ‘Third Said’ phase, he again took interest in sociopolitical matters but it was limited to the theoretical realm with no practical involvement. The study also found that the structure of Risale, its treatment of subjects and its methodology are its distinguishing features. It consists of the elements well-suited to the needs of the time to save Islamic belief against the onslaught of atheistic ideologies. The current research was conducted using the qualitative approach. It is beneficial for academia in understanding the intellectual development of this great 20th century Turkish Muslim scholar.

scholarly journals Muslims in Ukrainian society: social dimensions

2004 ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
M.I. Kyryushko
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Study ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
State Support ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Exact Number ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ukrainian Society

The Ukrainian Muslim community continues to develop dynamically. However, a purposeful, systematic study of this specific socio-denominational population across the whole country was virtually impossible, due to the extreme complexity of the study of such an object, as well as the lack of any state support for Islamic studies as a field of scientific activity. As a result, the specific social parameters of Muslim living in Ukrainian society over the past 13 years have remained virtually unknown. Moreover, even the exact number of Muslims in the country is unknown. There are only speculative, rough estimates: from the lowered figure of 300,000 to the unreasonably overstated 2 million.

Meeting Lydgate’s Ghost: Building Medieval History in Seventeenth-Century England

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (299) ◽  
pp. 251-271
Author(s):  
Mimi Ensley
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
British Library ◽  
John Lydgate ◽  
Medieval Romance ◽  
English History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Historical Resources

Abstract This article examines a manuscript poem composed by the seventeenth-century author John Lane. Writing in what is now London, British Library, Harley MS 5243, Lane revives the medieval poet John Lydgate in order to re-tell the story of Guy of Warwick, famous from medieval romance. In Lane’s poem, Lydgate returns from beyond the grave to proclaim the historicity of Guy’s legend and simultaneously preserve his own reputation as a chronicler of English history. While some scholars suggest that Lydgate’s popularity declined in the post-Reformation period due to his reputation as the ‘Monk of Bury’, and while it is true that significantly fewer editions of Lydgate’s poems were published in the decades after the Reformation, Lane’s poem offers another window into Lydgate’s early modern reputation. I argue that Lane’s historiographic technique in his Guy of Warwick narrative mirrors Lydgate’s own poetic histories. Both Lane and Lydgate grapple with existing historical resources and compose their narratives by compiling the accreted traditions of the past, supplementing these traditions with documentary sources and artefacts. This article, thus, complicates existing scholarly narratives that align Lydgate with medieval or monastic traditions, traditions perceived to be irrecoverably transformed by the events of the Reformation in England.

Hacking Adaptation: Updating, Porting, and Forking the Shakespearean Source Code

Adaptation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reto Winckler
Keyword(s):  
Source Code ◽  
First Century ◽  
Adaptation Studies ◽  
Computer Hacking ◽  
The Past ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Twenty First Century

Abstract This essay proposes that computer hacking can provide us with an appropriate framework through which to rethink the basic workings of adaptation in general and Shakespeare adaptation in particular in the twenty-first century. Building on the work of Thomas Leitch and Sarah Cardwell in adaptation studies and Christopher Kelty in the anthropology of the hacker movement, the essay positions itself as an alternative to Douglas Lanier’s model of the Shakespeare rhizome. The central argument is that understanding Shakespeare’s works as source code, and adaptations of them as hacks of that source code, as well as sources of future hacks, makes it possible to account for and work with the difficult but crucial notions of the source and of fidelity, while resolving many of the theoretical, practical, and political problems which motivated scholars to avoid or try to overcome those notions in the past.

Use of a National Library: A Survey of Readers in the Humanities and Social Sciences Reading Rooms of the British Library

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Cranfield ◽  
Joe Hellowell
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
British Library ◽  
National Library ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Uk ◽  
National Libraries

A questionnaire survey was carried out in the humanities reading rooms of the British Library one day each month from September 1990 to August 1991 with the aim of providing information of help in planning services, particularly at the new building in St Pancras. Readers were asked about their occupations, nationalities, the location of the academic institutions to which they were affiliated, the reasons for and frequency of their visits etc. 65% of readers were academic staff or students, and 33% lived outside the UK; 31% said they had visited the library over 50 times in the past year. The results were compared, where appropriate, with earlier surveys in 1968 and 1977. These comparisons highlighted significant seasonal variations in patterns of usage. It was not possible to compare the results with those from surveys by other national libraries, because of widely differing survey methods and content of reports.

Glorifying God’s Word

2020 ◽  
pp. 216-238
Author(s):  
Sheila S. Blair
Keyword(s):  
Social Contexts ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
The Past ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The Many ◽  
Physical Changes ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Past Millennium

This chapter discusses how an oral revelation was transformed into a written document and how the form of that written document changed to meet the varying needs of the expanding Muslim community. It also considers the methodologies appropriate to study these diverse documents, the questions raised by them, and the ways that this information has been and can be used. It opens with some general considerations about scope, methodology, and the like. Given the vast nature of the material, the many changes to it over time, and the goal of placing these physical changes in their historical and social contexts, the chapter then adopts a chronological framework, dividing the past millennium and a half of production into four major blocks.

John Walsh's Publications of Telemann's Sonatas and the Authenticity of ‘Op. 2’

1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-245
Author(s):  
Jeanne Swack
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Title Page ◽  
George Frideric Handel ◽  
British Library ◽  
Basso Continuo ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transverse Flute ◽  
Instrumental Works ◽  
A Minor

In the past decade the eighteenth-century London music publisher John Walsh has been subject to a new evaluation with regard to his pirated editions and deliberate misattributions, especially of the music of George Frideric Handel. That Walsh's attributions were anything but trustworthy had already been recognized in the eighteenth century: a surviving copy (London, British Library, BM g.74.d) of his first edition of the Sonates pour un traversiere un violon ou hautbois con basso continuo composées par G. F. Handel (c.1730), which, as Donald Burrows and Terence Best have shown, was provided with a title-page designed to simulate that of Jeanne Roger, bears the manuscript inscription ‘NB This is not Mr. Handel's’ in an eighteenth-century hand at the beginning of the tenth and twelfth sonatas, precisely those that Walsh removed in his second edition of this collection (c. 1731–2), advertised on the title-page as being ‘more Corect [sic] than the former Edition’. In the second edition Walsh substituted two equally questionable works in their place, each of which bears the handwritten inscription ‘Not Mr. Handel's Solo’ in a copy in the British Library (BM g.74.h). Two of the sonatas attributed to Handel in Walsh's Six Solos, Four for a German Flute and a Bass and Two for a Violin with a Thorough Bass … Composed by Mr Handel, Sigr Geminiani, Sigr Somis, Sigr Brivio (1730; in A minor and B minor) are also possibly spurious, while three of the four movements of the remaining sonata attributed to Handel in this collection (in E minor) are movements arranged from his other instrumental works. And in 1734 Johann Joachim Quantz, to whom Walsh devoted four volumes of solo sonatas (1730–44), complained of the publication of spurious and corrupted works:There has been printed in London and in Amsterdam under the name of the [present] author, but without his knowledge, 12 sonatas for the transverse flute and bass divided into two books. I am obliged to advertise to the public that only the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth [sonatas] from the first book, and the first three from the second book, are his [Quantz's] compositions; and that he furthermore wrote them years ago, and besides they have, due to the negligence of the copyist or the printer, gross errors including the omission of entire bars, and that he does not sanction the printing of a collection that has no relationship with the present publication that he sets before the public.

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