Three of the most renowned praise poems to the Prophet, the mantle odes span the arc of Islamic history from Muhammad's lifetime, to the medieval Mamluk period, to the modern colonial era. Over the centuries, they have informed the poetic and religious life of the Arab and Islamic worlds. Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych places her original translations of the poems within the odes' broader cultural context. By highlighting their transformative power as speech acts and their ritual function as gift exchanges, this book not only demonstrates the relevance of these poems to contemporary scholarship but also reveals their power and beauty to the modern reader.
By:
Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych
Imprint: Indiana University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 22g
ISBN: 9780253222060
ISBN 10: 0253222060
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 14 June 2010
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Acknowledgments Note on Translation and Transliteration List of Abbreviations 1. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr and the Mantle of the Prophet Introduction The Pre-Islamic Prototype 1. 'Alqamah's A Heart Turbulent with Passion: The Poem as Ransom Payment 2. Al-Nabighah's O Abode of Mayyah: Transgression and Redemption 3. Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulmá's The Tribe Set Out: The Tacit Panegyric Pact The Pre-Islamic as Proto-Islamic Ka'b ibn Zuhayr's Su'ad Has Departed The Conversion Narrative The Conversion Ode Part 1: Lyric-Elegiac Prelude (Nasib) Part 2: Desert Journey (Rahil) Part 3: Praise (Madih) Mythogenesis: The Donation of the Mantle Conclusion Hassan ibn Thabit's At Taybah Lies a Trace 2. Al-Busiri and the Dream of the Mantle Introduction Poetic Genre Poetic Style: Classical and Post-Classical Badi' The Poet and His Times The Miracle and the Poem 'Umar ibn al-Farid's Was That Laylá's Fire The Mantle Ode The Structure of al-Busiri's Burdah The Beginning of the Supplicatory Pattern: Parts 1-3 Part 1: Prophetic Nasib Part 2: Warning against the Desires of the Self Part 3: Praise of the Noble Messenger The Sirah-Derived Passages: Parts 4-8 Poeticization and Polemicization Part 4: The Birth of the Prophet Part 5: The Miracles of the Prophet Part 6: The Noble Qur'an Part 7: The Night Journey and Ascension Part 8: The Messenger's Jihad and Campaigns Completion of the Supplicatory Pattern: Parts 9-10 Part 9: Supplication and Plea for Intercession Part 10: Fervent Prayer and Petition Conclusion 3. Ahmad Shawqi and the Reweaving of the Mantle Introduction Ahmad Shawqi and the Nahdah Poetic Precedents Authorizing the Text: The Khedive, the Shaykh, and the Adib The Colonial Double Bind Shawqi's Nahj al-Burdah: The Thematic Structure Nahj al-Burdah Movement I: In the Path of al-Busiri—Parts 1-6 Part 1: Nasib: Complaint of Unrequited Love Part 2: Chiding the Unruly Soul—Warning against Worldly Temptations Part 3: Repentance, Submission, and Supplication Part 4: Prophetic Praise Part 5: Sirah Themes: The Birth of the Prophet; The Night Journey and Ascension; The Miracle of the Cave Part 6: Metapoetic Recapitulation of Prophetic Praise Nahj al-Burdah Movement II: The Ihya' Project: Parts 7-12 Part 7: Polemic against Christianity Part 8: Defense/Praise of Jihad and the Prophet's Military Campaigns Part 9: The Shari'ah Part 10: The Glory of Baghdad Part 11: The Orthodox Caliphs Part 12: Benediction and Supplication Conclusion Umm Kulthum, al-Qaradawi, and Nahj al-Burdah Appendix of Arabic Texts Notes Works Cited Index
Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Adjunct Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University, Bloomington. She is author of The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy: Myth, Gender, and Ceremony in the Classical Arabic Ode (IUP, 2002).
Reviews for The Mantle Odes: Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad
A work of scholarship at the highest level, critically groundbreaking, textually grounded, elegantly argued, and of a depth and breadth that is rare in any field. Michael Sells, author of Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes A great achievement in literary theory and Islamic thought and a significant contribution to Arabic literature. Muhsin al-Musawi, author of Reading Iraq: Culture and Power in Conflict
