A Medieval Muslim Scholar at Work
Ibn Tawus and his Library
Published on 1. January 1992
Book
Leather / fine binding
VIII, 470 pages
978-90-04-09549-6 (ISBN)
Description
Rad?i al-Di Ibn t?awus (d. 664/1266 in Bagdad) was a major figure in the history of Shi'i thought. He published works on subjects ranging from tradition (h?adith) and polemics to history and astrology. Ibn t?awus was an avid bibliophile, and his various writings contain remarkably detailed information about the books that he owned or read.
Kohlberg's book is divided into two main parts. The first surveys the life, working methods and literary output of Ibn t?awus and offers an extended analysis of his library. The second part is an annotated list of all the works (some 660 in number) cited by Ibn t?awus in his available writings. About a third of these works (both Sunni and Shi'i) are not extant, and even the existence of some of them has hitherto not been known. The works cover a wide range of subjects, including Qur'anic exegesis, tradition, history, theology, astronomy and genealogy, and provides a detailed picture of the intellectual world of a medieval Muslim scholar.
Prof. Kohlberg is a leading authority on Shi'ism, and his monograph is an unusual and important contribution both to the history of Islam and to the history of Arabic literature and science.
Kohlberg's book is divided into two main parts. The first surveys the life, working methods and literary output of Ibn t?awus and offers an extended analysis of his library. The second part is an annotated list of all the works (some 660 in number) cited by Ibn t?awus in his available writings. About a third of these works (both Sunni and Shi'i) are not extant, and even the existence of some of them has hitherto not been known. The works cover a wide range of subjects, including Qur'anic exegesis, tradition, history, theology, astronomy and genealogy, and provides a detailed picture of the intellectual world of a medieval Muslim scholar.
Prof. Kohlberg is a leading authority on Shi'ism, and his monograph is an unusual and important contribution both to the history of Islam and to the history of Arabic literature and science.
Reviews / Votes
'...einem wichtigen Schritt hin zu einer Kulturgeschichte des Buches in der islamischen Welt und ganz allgemein zu einer Geistesgeschichte der spaeten Abbasidenzeit...'P. Heine, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 1993.
'...provides a detailed picture of the intellectual world of a medieval Muslim scholar...meticulously executed and carefully published...'
Christian W. Troll, Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 1993.
'...contribution remarquable et exemplaire...'
Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Theologiques, 1992.
'Je tiens cette monographie pour tres originale...mine de renseignements. On ne remerciera pas assez l'auteur d'avoir procure aux chercheurs un tel instrument de travail.'
Mohammed Arkoun, Arabica, 1993.
'...one of the more important studies in the cultural and intellectual history of the medieval Islamic world to appear in recent years.'
Lawrence I. Conrad, Der Islam, 1993.
'This book...is [a] magnificent piece of work. The author is the world's leading scholar in the field of early Shi'te thought and literature, and when he, after many years of research, publishes what looks like his complete datbase of Shi'te literature collected over the years, the only appropriate thing one can do is express gratitude.'
G.H.A. Juynboll, Bibliotheca Orientalis, 1993.
'...un travail [...] savant (et [...] impeccablement presente).'
Daniel Gimaret, Bulletin Critique des Annales Islamologiques, 1993.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
984 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-09549-6 (9789004095496)
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Etan Kohlberg, Ph.D. (1971) Oxford University, is Professor of Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His publications deal mainly with Shi'i literature, doctrine and history. Studies include Immam and Community in the Pre-Ghayba Period, Aspects of Akhbari Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, and Western Studies of Shi'a Islam.