A. Required Texts:

(1) Anderson, G.L., ed., Masterpieces of the Orient, Expanded Edition. W.W. Norton, 1977.
(2) McNeill and Waldman, ed., The Islamic World. University of Chicago Press, 1973.
(3) Packet of photocopied materials.
 

B. Course Requirements:

(1) two papers [minimum of 800 words each; one unit each]; topics and deadlines to be announced in class;
(2) two class presentations (half a unit each);
(3) a journal [3 units] in which students are to write regularly. This will be submitted in the penultimate week; each entry should be typed;
(4) a final exam [3 units]: Monday, May 3, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
(5) the quality of class participation counts for two units;
(6) anyone missing a reading or writing assignment, for whatever reason, should see me as soon as possible.
 

C: Weekly Class Assignments:

INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM:
 

    Mon Jan 25: The first class will address in brief the following themes, which will receive fuller treatment during the semester: the historical background of the society in which Islam emerged; Islamic beliefs and practices; the historical development of Islamic thought and literature, emphasising the role of the Qur'an, Hadith (traditions or sayings of the prophet) and sunna (the practice of the prophet); the growth of Sufism; Islam's broad connections with Judaism and Christianity; its economic, legal and political orientation; its attitude toward social issues: the status of women, marriage, wealth and class.
 

UNIT I: ARABIC TEXTS:
 

A: LITERATURE:
 

    Mon Feb 1: (1) The pre-Islamic "Golden Odes" or Mu'allaqat: "The Wandering King," and "The Centenarian," Masterpieces of the Orient (MO), pp. 9-14, 19-24. These, together with an account of their historical background, will provide a picture of the nomadic and tribal values and customs prior to the advent of Islam. (2) Selections from the Qur'an, Islamic World (IW), pp. 29-67; we will discuss the themes, tone and literary style of these passages. (3) Ibn Ishaq, Biography of the Messenger of God, IW, pp. 14-27.
 

    Mon Feb 8: (1) The Hadith (the "Traditions" or "Sayings" of the prophet Muhammad): Extract from Mishkat-Ul-Masabih, Vol. I (an authentic collection): Ch. 7, "The Book of Knowledge," pp. 133-143; (2) selections from poets of the Ummayyad Caliphate (government of the Islamic world) (660-749): the controversial satirists al-Farazdaq (c. 641-c. 728) and Jarir (d. 728); (3) Selections from poets of the Abbasid Caliphate (749-1258), Abu Nuwas (c. 756-810), the greatest Arab poet of his time, whose verse defied religious orthodoxy, Abu al-Atahiyah (d. 828) and Dibil (d. 872), Handout. (4) poems of al-Mutanabbi (915-955), IW, pp. 172-77; (5) al-Tanukhi (c.940-994), Ruminations and Reminiscences, IW, pp. 86-110.
 

Journal and Presentation Assignments: (1) One student to produce a brief history of the Ummayyad Caliphate; (2) one student to produce a brief history of the Abbasid Caliphate; (3) One student to produce a brief summary of the history of Hadith; (4) one student to write a brief account of the various forms of Arabic poetry. The remaining students can choose any one of these assignments.
 

B: PHILOSOPHY AND LAW:

    Mon Feb 15: (1) Shafi'i (767-820), Treatise, IW, pp. 136-42; (2) al-Ash'ari (875-935), The Elucidation of Islam's Foundation, IW, pp. 152-66; (3) al-Farabi (870-950), The Attainment of Happiness, IW, pp. 167-71; (4) selections from the Spanish Islamic thinker Ibn Hazm (994-1064): "The Dove's Necklace" (a treatise on love) and "Philosophy of Character and Conduct" (passages entitled "Falling in Love" and "Anxiety").
 

    Mon Feb 22: (1) Texts of Sufism (Islamic mysticism): Selections from al-Hallaj (d. 922, crucified for his mystical claims); (2) extract from al-Kalabadhi, Sufi Sayings, Handout; (3) Ibn al 'Arabi (Spanish theologian and mystic, 1165-1240), The Bezels of Wisdom: "The Wisdom of Prophecy in the Word of Jesus," pp. 172-186; "The Wisdom of Singularity in the Word of Muhammad," pp. 269-284; (4) extracts, "The Theorists of Sufism," and "The Structure of Sufi Theory and Practice," from A.J. Arberry's Sufism, Handout.
 

    Mon Mar 1: (1) Poems and letters of al-Maarri (973-1057), expressing doubt and critique of formal religion, Handout; (2) The greatest Islamic theologian Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111), That Which Delivers from Error, IW, pp. 207-39; (3) Ibn Tufayl, "Alone on a Desert Island," Handout.
 

C: HISTORY, SOCIOLOGY, MEMOIR, FABLE:
 

    Mon Mar 8: (1) al-Hariri (1054-1122), Samarkand, Handout; (2) Usama (1095-1188), Memoirs, IW, pp. 185-206; (3) Ibn Jubayr, "A Pilgrimage to Mecca," Handout; (4) al-Athir (d. 1233), Great History, IW, pp. 249-72.
 

Mar 15-20: Spring Break
 

    Mon Mar 22: (1) Ibn Batuta (1304-1377), Travels, IW, pp. 274-308; (2) Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), "Group Solidarity," Handout; (3) Kritovoulos, History of Mehmed the Conqueror, IW, pp. 313-36.
 

UNIT II: PERSIAN LITERATURE:

    Mon Mar 29: (1) Extracts from the epic poet Firdausi (c. 941-1020), The Epic of the Kings, MO, pp. 31-56; (2) Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, (d. 1123), Handout; (3) the mystic and poet Farid ud-Din Attar (1119-1229), The Conference of the Birds, Handout;

    Mon Apr 5: (1) The greatest Persian Sufi poet Rumi (1207-1273), Mathnavi, MO, pp. 58-66; (2) The theologically unorthodox poet Sa'di (c. 1184-1291), The Rose Garden, MO, pp. 67-90;

(3) Ghazals of the mystic poet Hafez (c. 1320-1389), MO, pp. 91-101.
 

UNIT III: URDU LITERATURE:

    Mon Apr 12: (1) (Non-Urdu texts): Babur (1483-1530), "Memoirs of a Conqueror," Handout; Abu'l Fazl (1550-1602), The Book of Akbar, IW, pp. 354-373; (3) selections from poems of Amir Khusrau (1253-1325). The work of Khusrau, a Persian poet who lived in India, embodies the close connections between Persian and Urdu literature and provides an apt transition point between these; (4) selections from Ghalib (1797-1869), generally acknowledged as the greatest Urdu poet, Handout.
 

    Mon Apr 19: (1) The greatest twentieth-century Urdu poet and thinker, Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1873-1938), Complaint and Answer, IW, pp. 396-406; (2) Extracts from Iqbal, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam: Ch.I: "Knowledge and Religious Experience," pp. 1-27; Ch. VII: "Is Religion Possible?", Handout.
 

UNIT IV: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES:

This section will attempt to provide a selection of various critical, textual, and historical perspectives toward Islam. The selections from each work will be about ten pages.

    Mon Apr 26: (A) Orientalism and Western Approaches to Islam: (1) G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History (1899): Section on Islam, Handout. (2) Albert Hourani, Islam in European Thought (1991): Extract from Ch. I: "Islam in European Thought," Handout. (B) Feminist Perspectives: (1) Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam (1992): Extract from Ch. 3: "Women and the Rise of Islam," and "Conclusion," Handout. (3) Deconstructive, Modernist and Postmodernist Approaches: (1) Akbar S. Ahmed, Postmodernism and Islam (1992): Extract from Ch. 1: "Postmodernism and Islam," Handout; (2) Aziz al-Azmeh, Islams and Modernities (1993): Ch. 7: "Islamic Studies and the European Imagination," Handout; (4) Islam's Relation to Western Ideas, Culture, and Institutions: (1) Maxime Rodinson, Islam and Capitalism (1978): Extracts from Ch. 6: "Conclusions and Prospects," Handout; (2) Bryan S. Turner, Weber and Islam (1974): Ch. 11: "Marx, Weber and Islam," Handout.
 

Mon May 3: Final Examination, 6:00-9:00.
 
 

PRIMARY TEXTS:

Ibn al 'Arabi. The Bezels of Wisdom. Trans. R.W.J. Austin. Paulist Press, 1980.

The Seven Odes: The First Chapter in Arabic Literature. Trans. A.J. Arberry. Allen & Unwin

The Koran Interpreted. Trans. A.J. Arberry. Macmillan, 1955.

Attar, Farid ud-Din. The Conference of the Birds. Trans A. Darbandi and D. Davis. Penguin, 1984.

Arab Folktales. Trans I. Bushnaq. Pantheon Books, 1986.

Poems by Faiz. Trans V.G. Kiernan. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

Ferdowsi. The Epic of the Kings: Shah-Nama. Trans R. Levy. RKP, 1985.

Al-Ghazzali. The Alchemy of Happiness. Trans. Claud Field. 1980; rpt. Octagon Press, 1983.

The Ghazaliyyat of Haafez of Shiraz. Trans M. Nakosteen. University of Colorado, 1973.

The Arabian Nights. Trans. Husain Haddawy. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

Hixon, Lex. Heart of the Koran. Theosophical Publishing House, 1988.

Al-Hujwiri, Ali Bin Uthman. The Kashf Al Mahjub [Unveiling of the Veiled. Trans R.A. Nicholson. Taj Company, 1982.

Hussein, Taha. An Egyptian Childhood. Trans. E.H. Paxton. American University in Cairo Press, 1990.

Iqbal, Sir Muhammad. The Secrets of the Self. Trans R.A. Nicholson. Ashraf, 1978.

__________. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Kitab Bhavan, 1984.

The Penguin Book of Modern Urdu Poetry. Trans Mahmood Jamal. Penguin, 1986.

Arabic Short Stories. Trans D. Johnson-Davies. Quartet Books, 1983.

Early Arabic Poetry: Vol One: Marathi and Su'luk Poems. Trans. Alan Jones. Oxford Oriental Institute Monographs, 1992.

New Writing in India. Ed Adil Jussawalla. Penguin, 1974.

Al-Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr. The Doctrine of the Sufis: (Kitab al-Ta'arruf li-Madhab ahl al-Tasawwuf). Trans. A.J. Arberry. 1935; rpt. Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Ibn Khaldun. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Trans. Franz Rosenthal, Ed. N.J. Dawood. Princeton University Press, 1989.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Trans E. Fitzgerald. Penguin, 1989.

An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love Lyrics. Trans D.J. Matthews and C. Shackle. Oxford University Press, 1972.

The Koran. Trans. E.H. Palmer. Oxford University Press, [1880].

The Dissident Voice: Poems of N.M. Rashed. Trans. and Introd. M.A.R. Habib. Oxford University Press, 1991.

Rumi, Jalal al-din. Mystical Poems of Rumi. Trans A.J. Arberry. University of Chicago Press, 1968.

Sa'di. The Rose Garden. Trans E. Rehatsek. New Humanity Books, 1990. Mishkat-Ul-Masabih: Vol I. Trans. Abdul Hameed Siddiqui. Kitab Bhavan, 1984.

Stories by Iranian Women Since the Revolution. Trans. Soraya Sullivan. University of Texas, Austin, 1991.

The History of Al-Tabari: Vol VI: Muhammad at Mecca.. Trans W.M. Watt and M.V. McDonald. SUNY Press, 1988.

Modern Poetry of the Arab World. Trans Abdullah al-Udhari. Penguin, 1986.

Upton, Charles. Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabi'a. Threshold Books, 1988.

The Holy Qur'an. Trans. A. Yusuf Ali. 1934; rpt. Amana Corp., 1983.

The Qur'an. Trans. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan. 1970; rpt. Olive Branch Press, 1991.
 
 
 

SECONDARY TEXTS (selective list):

Ahmed, Akbar S., and Hastings Donnan, eds. Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity. Routledge, 1994.

Arberry, A.J. Classical Persian Literature. 1958; rpt. Curzon Press, 1994.

Beeston, A.F.L., T.M. Johnstone, R.B. Serjeant, and G.R. Smith. The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period. Cambridge University Press, 1983.

Gocek, Fatma Muge, and Shiva Balaghi, eds. Reconstructing Gender in the Middle East: Tradition, Identity, and Power. Columbia University Press, 1994.

Holt, P.M., Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, eds. The Cambridge History of Islam: Vol 2A: The Indian Sub-Continent, South-East Asia, Africa and the Muslim West. 1970; rpt. Cambridge University Press, 1989.

__________, eds. The Cambridge History of Islam: Vol 2B: Islamic Society and Civilization. 1970; rpt. Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Warner Books, 1991.

Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. 1972; rpt. University of Chicago Press, 1980.

Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 1988; rpt. Cambridge University Press, 1993.

McNeill, W.H., and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. University of Chicago Press, 1973.

Mahmud, S.F. A Short History of Islam. Oxford University Press, 1988.

Peters, F.E. Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land. Princeton University Press, 1994.

__________. Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. SUNY Press, 1994.

Rosenthal, Franz. The Classical Heritage in Islam. Routledge, 1992.

Wilson, Peter Lamborn. Sacred Drift: Essays on the Margins of Islam. City Lights Books, 1993.
 
 

Addas, Claude. Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn 'Arabi. Trans. Peter Kingsley. Islamic Texts Society, 1993.

Arberry. A.J. Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam. 1950; rpt. George Allen & Unwin, 1963.

Banani, Amin, Richard Houannisian and Georges Sabagh, eds. Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi. Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Chodkiewicz, Michel. Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn 'Arabi. Trans. Liadain Sherrard. 1986; rpt. Islamic Texts Society, 1993.

__________. An Ocean Without Shore: Ibn Arabi, The Book, and the Law. SUNY Press, 1993.

Clot, Andre. Harun al-Rashid and the World of the Thousand and One Nights. Trans. John Howe. 1986; rpt. Saqi/New Amsterdam Books, 1989.

Davis, Dick. Epic and Sedition: The Case of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. University of Arkansas Press, 1992.

Matthews, D.J., C. Shackle, and Shahrukh Husain. Urdu Literature. Third World Foundation, 1985.

Narang, Gopi Chand. Urdu Language and Literature: Critical Perspectives. Sterling Publishers, 1991.

Nurbakhsh, Javad. In the Tavern of Ruin: Seven Essays on Sufism. Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi Publications, 1978.

__________. Sufi Women. Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi Publications, 1990.

Russell, Ralph, and Khurshidul Islam. Three Mughal Poets: Mir, Sauda, Mir Hasan.George Allen & Unwin, 1969.

__________. Ghalib: Life and Letters. George Allen & Unwin, 1969.

Russell, Ralph, ed. Ghalib: The Poet and His Age. George Allen & Unwin, 1972.

Sadiq, Muhammad. Twentieth-Century Urdu Literature: A Review. Padmaja Publications, 1947.

__________. A History of Urdu Literature. Oxford University Press, 1964.

Schimmel, Annemarie. As Through a Veil: Mystical Poetry in Islam. Columbia University Press, 1992.

Shackle, Christopher, ed. Urdu and Muslim South Asia: Studies in Honour of Ralph Russell. School of Oriental and African Studies, 1989.

Vahid, Syed Abdul. Studies in Iqbal. 1967; rpt. Muhammad Ashraf, 1976.

Woodbull, Winifred. Transfigurations of the Maghreb: Feminism, Decolonization, and Literatures. University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

Zeidan, T. Arab Women Novelists: The Formative Years and Beyond. SUNY Press, 1995.