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1. “History of the Caliphs” by al-Sūyūtī and “Primary Indicators of Well-Regulated States” by al-Hasan al-ʻAbbāsī
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume contains two works, Tarikh al-Khulafa’ (History of the caliphs) by al-Sūyūtī (1445−1505) and Athar al-Uwal fi Tartib al-Duwal (Primary indicators of well-regulated states) by al-Hasan ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-‘Abbāsī (died circa 1310). Al-Sūyūtī is renowned for his writings in the Islamic sciences, although not necessarily for this historical work. History of the Caliphs remains in print as a standard summation of the Sunni view of the rule of succession after the Prophet Muhammad’s death. The work reveals a gift for selection and synthesis rather than original interpretation, a characteristic of much of al-Sūyūtī’s writing. The author of the associated work, al-Hasan al-ʻAbbāsī, is said to have been related to the Abbasid caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd, but this may be apocryphal. The work should be considered a “mirror for princes” rather than an historical work. It provides advice on behavior for rulers, including admonitions on the treatment of subjects (e.g., tradesmen and farmers) and choice of counsellors, as well as such details as dress, menus, and etiquette at meals. Principles of behavior are rooted in the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet, with frequent examples drawn from the lives of the prophets and rulers of old such as Moses and King David. History of the Caliphs is the main work in the volume. Primary Indicators is printed on its margins. Including a second work on the margin of a main text was common practice in the manuscript era, and often carried over into early printed books. Although it is no longer common, books are still produced with works on the margins to this day.Physical description: 2216 pages ; 28 centimeters
2. The Fragrant Blossom: A Work on Manners, Society, and Letters
- Description:
- Abstract: Arij al-zahr: kitab akhlaqi, ijtima’i, adabi (The fragrant blossom: A work on manners, society, and letters) is a collection of essays by Shaykh Mustafa al-Ghalayini, a Lebanese Muslim teacher, writer, and authority on Islamic law. The essays cover a number of subjects presented in a readable style. Ghalayini discusses what it means to be an elegant speaker and writer in the “proper Arabic way,” avoiding the influences of what he calls a‘ujmah (non-Arabic) or afranj (European) style. In other essays, he treats the nature of mankind, the obligations of the Arabs in light of their rich history, the importance of modern education, local political currents in Beirut, and the place of social classes in a modern state. He calls on his readers to become “men of today and not men of the past.” Al-Ghalayini had a colorful career as political activist, essayist, and reformer. He was born and raised in Beirut, where he spent most of his life, except for brief stays in Cairo and Amman. In Cairo he perfected his knowledge of the Arabic language, working with teachers at al-Azhar, and he found time to publish articles in the newspaper al-Ahram (The pyramids). The title page of Arij al-zahr identifies him as Arabic instructor at the Imperial School and Ottoman College in Beirut. In 1910−11 he edited the general interest magazine al-Nibras (The lantern). During World War I, he served as a military chaplain in the Turkish army. In 1917, at the age of 32, he “took off the turban of the religious shaykh and replaced it with a tarboush,” because, as he explained, of pressure from the Turkish police to perform services that he deemed inappropriate for an imam. After World War I, he became Arabic tutor to the sons of King Abdullah I (1882−1951) of Jordan. His nationalist politics led him to prison and exile under the French Mandate. Later, because of his commitment to defending Islamic traditions in the face of the French authorities, he once again “placed the turban on his head” and regained prominence as a religious nationalist. In the final decade of his life he served as president and then as councilor of the Sunni Supreme Shari’ah (legal) Council of Lebanon. Arij al-Zahr was printed and sold at al-Ahliyah Press and Bookstore in Beirut.Physical description: 240 pages : 25 centimeters
3. Pearls, or Selections of Fond Memory and Immortal Imprint
- Description:
- Abstract: Al-Durar wa-hiyya Muntakhabat al-Tayyib al-Zikr al-Khalid al-Athr (Pearls, or selections of fond memory and immortal imprint) is a memorial volume that collects the political and literary writing of the influential Arab nationalist Adib Ishaq (1856−85). Born in Damascus, Ishaq was a precocious youngster who received his formative education in Arabic and French at the French Lazarist school there and under the Jesuits in Beirut. His family’s strained circumstances forced him to leave school for work as a customs clerk. Excelling at languages, he supplemented his income by writing and translating and eventually dedicated himself to poetry, translation, and what today might be called advocacy journalism. He moved to Egypt in 1876, where he joined the circle of the well-known political agitator Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, whose Masonic interests he shared and to whose causes, such as criticism of Western imperialism, he devoted much of his writing. Singly or with like-minded colleagues, such as Salim Naqqash (with whom he produced Arabic plays), Ishaq established newspapers of opinion. His outspoken writings resulted in his being exiled from Egypt. He took up residency in Paris, but at the end of his life he returned to Lebanon, where he died at age 29. Ishaq’s restlessness as a traveler was matched by the variety of his literary and political interests. He collaborated with Naqqash in writing plays and wrote or translated novels. His novel Charlemagne is included in this set of readings, which was compiled by his brother, ‘Awni Ishaq. The volume contains a biography of Adib and numerous panegyrics to him by leading Muslim and Christian writers. The comprehensive selection of readings demonstrates his place in the evolution of Arabic letters and journalism from ornate poetry and rhymed prose to the modern political essay employing a wholly new format and lexicon.Physical description: 263 pages ; 26 centimeters
4. Discourse on Universal History
- Description:
- Abstract: This work is a translation into Arabic of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet’s history of the world, Discours sur l’histoire universelle (Discourse on universal history), in which the author argues for the divine right of kings. Bossuet’s book, originally published in 1681, is regarded as a classic statement defining the monarch as the embodiment of the state. Bossuet wrote the book for the benefit of the crown prince of France and based his argument on an interpretation of Biblical history. The work was translated by ‘Abd Allah al-Bustāni. It was commissioned for translation and publication by Bishop Yūsuf ibn Ilyās al-Dibs, primate of Lebanon and president of al-Da’irah al-‘Ilmiyah (The Scientific Society). It is difficult to understand why the bishop selected this work, since the political circumstances of the Ottoman Levant of the late-19th century differed radically from 17th century France. He may have endorsed it for its edifying content and judged it appropriate for teaching in schools under his authority. The work was printed at the Catholic Press in Beirut in 1882, which at the time was administered by Bishop al-Dibs. ‘Abd Allah al-Bustāni was a Maronite Catholic writer and teacher of Arabic. Little is known of Shakir al-‘Awn, whose name appears on the title page as co-translator.Physical description: 344 pages ; 24 centimeters
5. Lamp of Kings
- Description:
- Abstract: Sirāj al-mulūk (Lamp of kings) is by Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd al-Ṭurṭūshī, a Maliki imam also known as Ibn Abū Zandaqa. Al-Ṭarṭūshī was born in Tortosa in Catalonia (in what was then al-Andalus, present-day Spain) in 1059 or 1060. He died in Alexandria, Egypt in 1126 or 1127. The topic of the Sirāj al-mulūk, his most famous work, is political theory. The present edition was published in 1888−89 by Maṭbaʻat al-khayrīyah in Cairo. According to Kitāb iktifā' al-qanūʻ bimā huwa matbuʻ min ashhar al-ta'ālīf al-arabīya fī al-maṭābiʻ al-sharqīya wa al-gharbīya (Contentment of the seeker regarding the most famous Arabic compositions printed by Eastern and Western printing presses), a bibliographic dictionary of Arabic literature published by Edward Van Dyck in 1896, an earlier print edition of this work was made in Alexandria in 1872 or 1873. Included in the margins of this work is the text of al-Tibr al-mabsuk fī naṣā'iḥ al-mulūk (The golden ingot of advice for kings), a translation from Persian into Arabic of al-Ghazzālī's Naṣīhat al-mulūk (Advice for kings). Born in Ṭūs, Persia (present-day Iran), in 1058, al-Ghazzālī was one of the foremost intellectual luminaries of the Islamic world. However, the authorship of a fair amount of the Naṣīhat al-mulūk has been called into question on stylistic and other grounds.Physical description: 168 pages ; 28 centimeters
6. Yearbook for 1887
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume is a yearbook for 1887, treating political events in Egypt for that year, covering activities in various ministries and governmental offices. The work is divided into 12 sections, with each devoted to a month. In the entry for January, for example, we read of the arrival in the port of Alexandria of the crown prince of Italy, the future King Victor Emmanuel III, and the state functions that were held in his honor. In the section devoted to April, we read the obituary of Muḥammad Sharif Pasha, the fourth prime minister of Egypt. The book was published by Maṭbaʻat al-qāhira al-ḥurra in 1887. The author of the yearbook, Yūsuf Ibn-Hammām Āṣāf (1859−1938), is best known for his history of the Ottomans, Tārīkh salāṭīn Banī ʻUthmān min awwal nashʼatihim ḥattā al-ān (History of the Ottoman sultans: From their origin to the present day). Āṣāf was born in Lebanon. He settled in Egypt and founded a publishing house, al-ʻUmūmīya, in Cairo in 1888.Physical description: 216 pages ; 24 centimeters