Martyrdom narratives (maqtals) represent a prominent genre of Islamic, particularly ShiE1/2i, literature. In this genre, the heart-rending aspects of the martyrdom scenes of religiously prominent people are depicted graphically. Although not exclusively limited to the martyrdom accounts of Imam al-ausayn and his companions, who were martyred on the plain of Karbala, Iraq, a great majority of Islamic martyrdom narratives deal with the Ashura episodes. As the first book-length treatment of this genre in English, this text takes the reader from the dawn of Islam in ancient Arabia, exploring the background of the Battle of Karbala and giving a view of the various maqtals and several related studies. Although examining Arabic and Persian sources, this book presupposes little background knowledge on the part of the reader.
Sprache
Verlagsort
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Großbritannien
ISBN-13
978-1-5275-9229-2 (9781527592292)
Schweitzer Klassifikation
