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Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'abbas
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Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'abbas Ascension Discourse Hardcover - 2008

by Frederick S. Colby


From the publisher

This book provides an exhaustive examination of the historical development of a key story in the life of Muhammad, the tale told of his journey to the divine realm and back. It shows how in the early centuries of the Islamic community, both Sunnī and Shī'ī Muslims appropriated this fascinating story and interpreted it to suit their own ends. In particular, the book traces the development of a critical and influential strand of this rich ascension literature ascribed to one of Muhammad's famous companions, the scholar known as Ibn 'Abbas. Frederick S. Colby demonstrates that this version of the tale originated in the early period and spread throughout the Islamic world, affecting how people from Spain to Afghanistan came to think about Muhammad and his legacy. Colby also includes translations of richly textured ascension narratives that have never before appeared in English.

Details

  • Title Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'abbas Ascension Discourse
  • Author Frederick S. Colby
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 314
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher State University of New York Press
  • Date 2008-08
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Glossary, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780791475171 / 0791475174
  • Weight 1.35 lbs (0.61 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 in (23.11 x 16.00 x 3.05 cm)
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Islamic
  • Library of Congress subjects Muhammad - Isra and Miraj, Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2007037534
  • Dewey Decimal Code 297.633

Media reviews

Citations

  • Choice, 03/01/2009, Page 0
  • Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/10/2008, Page 21

About the author

Frederick S. Colby is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at Miami University in Ohio. He edited and translated The Subtleties of the Ascension: Early Mystical Sayings on Muhammad's Heavenly Journey, by the famous mystic Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulam?.