The Qur'an and the Aesthetics of Premodern Arabic Prose

This book approaches the Qur'an as a primary source for delineating the definition of ugliness, and by extension beauty, and in turn establishing meaningful tools and terms for literary criticism within the discipline of classical Arabic literature (adab). Focusing on the aesthetic dimension of the Qur'an, this methodology opens up new horizons for reading adab by reading the tradition from within the tradition and thereby examining issues of "decontextualisation" and the "untranslatable." This approach, in turn, invites Comparatists, as well as Arabists, to consider other means and perspectives for approaching adab besides the Bakhtinian carnival. Applying this critical strategy to literary works as diverse as One Thousand and One Nights and The Epistle of Forgiveness, Sarah R. bin Tyeer aims to prove two major points: how Bakhtin's aesthetics is anachronistic and therefore theoretically inappropriate when applied to certain literary works and how ultimately this literary methodology is sometimes used as a proxy for ungrounded and, sometimes, unfair arguments by other scholars.

Foreword by Angelika Neuwirth, Professor of Quranic studies, Freie University, Berlin, Germany.

List of contents

Foreword by Angelika Neuwirth.- Introduction.- Part I The Hermeneutics of the Qur an for the Arts: Key Terms.- Chapter One Husn: The Route to a Conceptual Query.- Chapter Two Qubh and the Way to Hell.- Chapter Three Hell and the Aesthetics of qubh.- Chapter Four Language: Beautiful Speech/Ugly Speech.- Part II Popular Literature: Thousand and One Nights.- Chapter 5 The Aesthetics of Reason. - Chapter 6 Of Misplacement of Things, People and Decorum.- Chapter 7 The Transgression of Reason.- Part III Canonical Literature.- Chapter 8 Beautifying the Ugly and Uglifying the Beautiful.- Chapter 9 The Littérateurs of Hell and Heaven.- Coda: The Interpretation and Misinterpretation of adab in Modern Scholarship. 

About the author

Sarah R. bin Tyeer is a Research Associate in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, UK.  Her recent publications include essays in the volumes: Qur'an and Adab: The Shaping of Classical Literary Tradition, The Beloved in Middle East Literature: The Culture of Love and Languishing, and The City in Premodern and Modern Arabic Literature.

Foreword by Angelika Neuwirth, Professor of Quranic studies, Freie University, Berlin, Germany.

Summary

This book approaches the Qur’an as a primary source for delineating the definition of ugliness, and by extension beauty, and in turn establishing meaningful tools and terms for literary criticism within the discipline of classical Arabic literature (adab). Focusing on the aesthetic dimension of the Qur’an, this methodology opens up new horizons for reading adab by reading the tradition from within the tradition and thereby examining issues of “decontextualisation” and the “untranslatable.” This approach, in turn, invites Comparatists, as well as Arabists, to consider other means and perspectives for approaching adab besides the Bakhtinian carnival. Applying this critical strategy to literary works as diverse as One Thousand and One Nights and The Epistle of Forgiveness, Sarah R. bin Tyeer aims to prove two major points: how Bakhtin’s aesthetics is anachronistic and therefore theoretically inappropriate when applied to certain literary works and how ultimately this literary methodology is sometimes used as a proxy for ungrounded and, sometimes, unfair arguments by other scholars.

Foreword by Angelika Neuwirth, Professor of Quranic studies, Freie University, Berlin, Germany.

Additional text

"In this complex book the author adopts a bold approach, shows a willingness to take some risks, and undertakes a lively engagement with the material ... . The Qur’an and the Aesthetics of Premodern Arabic Prose remains a highly original work that creatively combines attention to key qurʾānic concepts with the interpretation of Arabic literary texts." (Devin J. Stewart, Review of Qur'anic Research, Vol. 7 (7), 2021)

“The Qur’an and the Aesthetics of Premodern Arabic Prose is a brilliant book. It enriches the field at the theoretical level and proposes original, well-informed, and highly plausible readings of premodern Arabic prose. It also illustrates the problems and dangers of decontextualized, anachronistic, and atomistic readings and offers efficient remedies to them.In so doing, the book joins other efforts to herald a new era in Arabic literary criticism which promises deeper appreciation of the tradition’s intellectual legacy.” (Sarra Tlili, Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 50, 2019)

“Bin Tyeer shows persuasively that ‘Islam’ has often been reduced to a caricature of puritanism, and that such a view has prevented people from considering the cultural bounty of the Middle East as owing to Islam, not being in spite of it. ... Islam, contrary to its stereotyped depictions in mainstream Western media, does have a rich tradition of creativity, humor, and complicatedness. Recognizing this reality should, says Bin Tyeer, be the starting point for a more generous view of the Islamic cultural tradition.” (Kevin Blankinship, Marginalia Review of Books, July, 2018)

Report

"In this complex book the author adopts a bold approach, shows a willingness to take some risks, and undertakes a lively engagement with the material ... . The Qur'an and the Aesthetics of Premodern Arabic Prose remains a highly original work that creatively combines attention to key qur anic concepts with the interpretation of Arabic literary texts." (Devin J. Stewart, Review of Qur'anic Research, Vol. 7 (7), 2021)

"The Qur'an and the Aesthetics of Premodern Arabic Prose is a brilliant book. It enriches the field at the theoretical level and proposes original, well-informed, and highly plausible readings of premodern Arabic prose. It also illustrates the problems and dangers of decontextualized, anachronistic, and atomistic readings and offers efficient remedies to them.In so doing, the book joins other efforts to herald a new era in Arabic literary criticism which promises deeper appreciation of the tradition's intellectual legacy." (Sarra Tlili, Journal of Arabic Literature, Vol. 50, 2019)
"Bin Tyeer shows persuasively that 'Islam' has often been reduced to a caricature of puritanism, and that such a view has prevented people from considering the cultural bounty of the Middle East as owing to Islam, not being in spite of it. ... Islam, contrary to its stereotyped depictions in mainstream Western media, does have a rich tradition of creativity, humor, and complicatedness. Recognizing this reality should, says Bin Tyeer, be the starting point for a more generous view of the Islamic cultural tradition." (Kevin Blankinship, Marginalia Review of Books, July, 2018)

Product details

• Authors: Sarah R bin Tyeer, Sarah R. Bin Tyeer
• Publisher: Springer Palgrave Macmillan
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.10.2018
• EAN: 9781349956012
• ISBN: 978-1-349-95601-2
• No. of pages: 306
• Dimensions: 150 mm x 18 mm x 210 mm
• Weight: 421 g
• Illustrations: XV, 306 p. 1 illus. in color.
• Series: Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World; Literatures and Cultures of th; Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; B, Literature, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature: history & criticism, Literature—History and criticism, Literary History, Postcolonial/World Literature, Middle Eastern Literature