Schedule

Week 1 February 20              Induction; al-Silaf?’s Mu?jam

Week 2 February 27              al-Qif?? (Quiz)

Week 3 March 5           al-Mu??f? (Quiz)

Week 4 March 12                  al-Dhahab? (Quiz)

Week 5 March 19                  al-Tan?kh? (Quiz)

Week 6 March 26                  al-??b? (Quiz)

Week 7 April 2          Holiday

Week 8 April 9             Ab? al-Faraj al-I?fah?n? (Quiz)

Week 9 April 16                 Midterm Examination

Week 10 April 23                  Ibn al-Muqaffa?

Week 11 April 30                  Ibn al-Muqaffa? (Tutorial)

Week 12 May 7           Ibn al-Muqaffa?

Week 13 May 14                   Ibn al-Muqaffa? (Tutorial)

Week 14 May 21                   Ibn Qutayba      

Week 15 May 28                   Ibn Qutayba (Tutorial)

Week 16 June 4            Ibn Qutayba

Week 17 June 11          Ibn Qutayba (Tutorial)

Week 18 June 18                Essay Submission Deadline

NA

Evaluation

Tutorials: 30%

Midterm: 30%

Quizzes: 20%

Essay: 20%

* Please note that cheating in quizzes and exams is unacceptable under any circumstance. If you cheat in a quiz or exam, you will be failed.

* ‘Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition.’[1] If you are caught plagiarising, you will be failed.

Week 1 (Feb 20) al-Silaf?

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 12–19.

Al-Silaf?, Mu?jam al-safar. Edited by ?Abdallah ?U al-B?r?d?. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 1993, 69–70, 129.

Further

Al-B?r?d?, ?A.?U. Muqaddima of Mu?jam al-safar, by al-Silaf?. Edited by ?Abdallah ?U al-B?r?d?. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 1993, 3–4.

Gilliot, Cl. EI², s.v. “al-Silaf?.”

Zaman, S.M. “Silaf?’s Biography: His Birth and Family Background.” Islamic Studies 25, no. 1 (1986): 1–10.

———. “Sources for Silaf?’s Biography.” Islamic Studies 24, no. 4 (1985): 493–502.

W2 (Feb 27) al-Qif??

*Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 20–39.

Al-Qif??, ?Al? b. Y?suf. Inb?h Al-Ruw? ?al? Anb?h Al-Nu??. Edited by Mu?ammad A. Ibr?h?m. Cairo: D?r al-Fikr al-?Arab?, 1986, vl.1, 359–362.

Further

Al-?afad?, Khal?l b. Aybak. Al-W?f? bi-l-wafay?t. Edited by A?mad al-Arn???? and Turk? Mu??af?. Beirut: D?r I?y?? al-Tur?th al-?Arab?, 2000, vl.22, 210.

Al-Kutub?, Mu?ammad b. Sh?kir. Faw?t al-wafay?t wa-l-dhayl ?alayh?. Edited by I?s?n ?Abb?s. Beirut: D?r ??dir, 1974, vl.3, 117–118.

Robinson, Chase F. Islamic Historiography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

W3 (March 5) al-Mu??f?

         *Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 40–66.

Further

Chejne, A.G. “The Boon-Companion in Early ’Abb?sid Times.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 85, no. 3 (1965): 327–335.

Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 292–293.

Al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?. T?r?kh Mad?nat al-Sal?m. Edited by Bashsh?r ?Aww?r Ma?r?f. Beirut: D?r al-Gharb al-Isl?m?, 2001, vl.15, 308.

W4 (March 12) al-Dhahab?

*Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M.  A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 67–76.

Al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?. T?r?kh Mad?nat al-Sal?m. Edited by Bashsh?r ?Aww?r Ma?r?f. Beirut: D?r al-Gharb al-Isl?m?, 2001, vl.15, 308–310.

Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 292–293.

Further

Ben Cheneb, M. and Somogyi, J. EI², s.v. “al-Dhahab?.”

Bori, C. EI³, s.v. “al-Dhahab?.”

Cooperson, M. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of Al-Ma?m?n. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 1-23.

W5 (March 19) al-Tan?kh?

*Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 77–93.

Al-I?fah?n?, Ab? al-Faraj ?Al? b. al-?usayn. Kit?b Adab al-ghurab??. Edited by ?al?? al-D?n al-Munajjid. Beirut: D?r al-Kit?b al-Jad?d, 1972, 20–22.

Further

Fähndrich H. EI², s.v. “al-Tan?k?h??.”

Khalifa, N. Hardship and Deliverance in the Islamic Tradition: Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Al-Tanu?khi?. London: Tauris, 2010.

Alshaar, N.A. Ethics in Islam: Friendship in the Political Thought of al-Taw??d? and his Contemporaries. London: Routledge, 2015.

Naaman, E. Literature and the Islamic Court: Cultural Life under al-???ib Ibn ?Abb?d. London: Routledge, 2016.

W6 (March 26) al-??b?

*Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 94–116.

Further

Sourdel D. EI², s.v. “Bal??.”

Sourdel D. EI², s.v. “Hil?l b. al-Mu?assin b. Ibr?h?m al-??bi?.”

van Berkel, Maaike, et al.. Crisis and Continuity at the Abbasid Court: Formal and Informal Politics in the Caliphate of al-Muqtadir (295–320/908–32). Leiden: Brill, 2013.

Kraemer, J.L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival During the Buyid Age. Leiden: Brill, 1986.

Mottahedeh, R. Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society. London: Tauris, 2001.

W8 (April 19) al-I?fah?n?

*Quiz

Set Reading

Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 127–142.

Y?q?t. Mu?jam al-udab??, ed. A?mad F. Rif??? (Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922), vl.13, 94–130.

Further

Kilpatrick, H. Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilations and the Author’s Craft in Ab? al-Faraj al-I?bah?n?’s Kit?b al-Agh?n?. London: Routledge, 2003.

Günther, G. EI³, s.v. “Ab? al-Faraj al-I?fah?n?.”

W10–14 (April 23, 30, May 7, 14) Ibn al-Muqaffa?

Set Reading

Ibn al-Muqaffa?. ?th?r Ibn Al-Muqaffa?. Beirut: D?r al-Kutub al-?Ilmiyya, 1989, 3–54, 309–323.

Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 129–155.

Ibn al-Qif??. Ikhb?r Al-?ulam?? Bi-Akhb?r Al-?ukam??. Edited by Ibr?h?m Shams al-D?n. Beirut: D?r al-Kutub al-?Ilmiyya, 2005, 170.

Al-Zirikl?, Khayr al-D?n. Al-A?l?m. Beirut: D?r al-?Ilm li-l-Mal?y?n, 2002, vl.4, 140.

Further (for tutorials)

Shaked, S. and Safa, Z. Encyclopaedia Iranica, s.v. ‘Andarz.’

Crone, P. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005, 148–164.

Latham, J. D. “Ibn Al-Muqaffa? and Early ?Abbasid Prose.” Chapter. Dans Abbasid Belles Lettres. Sous la direction de Julia Ashtiany, T. M. Johnstone, J. D. Latham and R. B. Serjeant, 48–77. The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521240161.005.

Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. London: Longman, 1986, 124–157.

Marsham, Andrew. Rituals of Islamic Monarchy?: Accession and Succession in the First Muslim Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2013, 183–198.

Berkey, J. P. The Formation of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 102–129.

Bennison, Amira K. The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the ’Abbasid Empire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, 24–36.

I. Abbas, “AB?N B. ?ABD-AL-?AM?D,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, I/1, p. 58, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aban-b-abd-al-hamid.

I. Abbas, “ADAB AL-?A??R,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/4, pp. 446-447; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adab-al-sagir (accessed on 7 February 2014).

J. Derek Latham, “EBN AL-MOQAFFA?, AB? MO?AMMAD ?ABD-ALL?H R?ZBEH,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, VIII/1, pp. 39-43, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ebn-al-moqaffa (accessed on 30 December 2012).

Riedel, Dagmar, “KALILA WA DEMNA i. Redactions and circulation,” ,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 4, pp. 386-395, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalila-demna-i

Gabrieli, F., “Ibn al-Mu?affa?”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 09 December 2019 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3304>

Zaman, Muhammad Q. “The Caliphs, the ?Ulam??, and the Law: Defining the Role and Function of the Caliph in the Early ?Abb?sid Period.” Islamic Law and Society 4, no. 1 (1997): 1–36.

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalila-demna-ii

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/anwar-e-sohayli

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalila-wa-demna-iii

W14–17 (May 21, 28, June 4, June 11) Ibn Qutayba

Set Reading

Ibn Khallik?n. Wafay?t al-a?y?n wa-anb?? abn?? al-zam?n. Edited by I?s?n ?Abb?s. Beirut: D?r ??dir, 1972, vol.3, 42-44.

Ibn Qutayba. Al-Ma??rif. Edited by Tharwat ?Uk?sha. 4th ed. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, n.d., 1–7, 572–621, et passim.

Ibn Qutayba, ?Abdallah b. Muslim. Al-Shi?r wa-l-shu?ar??. Edited by A?mad M. Sh?kir. 2nd ed. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, 1958, 59-79.

Ibn Qutayba. Kit?b ?Uy?n al-akhb?r. Cairo: D?r al-Kutub al-Mi?riyya, 1996, vol.1, 19–34, vol. 4, 53–69.

Ibn ?ajar al-?Asqal?n?. Lis?n al-m?z?n. Edited by ?Abd al-Fatt?? Ab? Ghadda and Sulaym?n ?A. Ab? Ghadda. Beirut: Maktabat al-Mu?b???t al-Isl?miyya, 2002, vol. 5, 8-11.

Ibn al-Nad?m. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 85-86.

Lecomte, G. Encyclopaedia of Islam, the second edition, s.v. ‘Ibn ?utayba.’

Rosenthal, F. Encyclopaedia Iranica, s.v. ‘Ebn Qotayba, Ab? Mo?ammad ?Abd All??.’

Further (for tutorials)

Cook, M. ‘Ibn Qutayba and Monkeys.’ Studia Islamica 89(1999): 43–74.

Norris, H. T. “Shu??biyyah in Arabic Literature.” In Abbasid Belles Lettres.  Edited by Julia Ashtiany, T. M. Johnstone, J. D. Latham, and R. B. Serjeant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, 31–47.

Rippin, A. Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. 3^rd edition. London: Routledge, 2005, 61–87.

Crone, P. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005, 125–141.

Brown, J.A. Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oxford: One World, 2009, 15–66, 150–172.

Lowry, J.E. ‘The Legal Hermeneutics of al-Sh?fi?? and Ibn Qutayba: a Reconsideration.’ Islamic Law and Society 11-1(2004): 1–41.

Lecomte, G. Ibn Qutayba (M. 276/889): L’homme, son œuvre, ses idées. Damascus: Études arabes, médiévales et modernes, 1965, 27-43, 85-92.

Malti-Douglas, F. ‘Structure and Organization in a Monographic Adab Work: Al-Ta?f?l of Al-Kha??b Al-Baghd?d?.’ Journal of Near Eastern Studies 40 (1981): 227–245.

Chejne, A.G. “The Boon-Companion in Early ’Abb?sid Times.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 85, no. 3 (1965): 327–335.

Gelder, Geert J. H. van. “Mixtures of Jest and Earnest in Classical Arabic Literature.” Journal of Arabic Literature 23, no. 2 (1992): part I, 83–108; part II 169–190.

Bray, J. ‘Lists and Memory: Ibn Qutayba and Mu?ammad b. ?ab?b.’ In Culture and Memory in Medieval Islam: Essays in Honour of Wilferd Madelung. Edited by F. Daftary and J.W. Meri (London: I.B. Tauris, 2003), 210–231.

For the wider historical context of the Abbasid period:

Cooperson, M. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of Al-Ma?m?n. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 24–40.

Crone, P. Medieval Islamic Political Thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005, 87–98.

Kennedy, H. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. London: Longman, 1986, 82–249, 267–284, 309–344 (Chapters 4–8, 10, and 12).

Lapidus, I.M., Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, 134–152 (Graphs and Chapter 9).

Rippin, A. Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. 3^rd edition. London: Routledge, 2005.