Philosophy, Theology And Mysticism in Medieval Islam: Texts And Studies on the Development And History of Kalam (Volume I) (Variorum Collected Studies Series) - Hardcover

Frank, Richard M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0860789772 ISBN 13: 9780860789772

Publisher: Routledge, 2005

Synopsis

The first volume of the collected major articles of Richard M. Frank, pioneering student of Islamic theology (kalam), contains fifteen essays. It includes his early studies, classic but inaccessible for many in their original publication, on the text and terminology of Graeco-Arabic translations (De anima, Themistius on the Metaphysics, Plotinus in Syriac, 'anniya) and the terminology of early kalam. Other articles deal with Islamic theology and its early development, especially in its relation to philosophy (in particular the kalam of Jahm ibn Safwan and al-Ghazali), and the text and translation of two short dogmatic works by the mystic al-Qushayri. The collection is prefaced by a fascinating autobiographical memoir which traces the intellectual development of the author and the reasoning that led him, from study to study, to his discovery of the way of thinking of the theologians and to an understanding of the essential core of Islamic theology.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard M. Frank is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, at the Catholic University of America, USA.

Review:

'...the great contribution of this collection is that it makes these very valuable studies accessible to scholars who would otherwise have to spend considerable time and effort in locating some of them. Dimitri Gutas has done a fine job of organizing the articles into relevant themes and topics...Gutas is also to be commended for overseeing the production of the two exhaustive indexes [...] which make the fifteen articles searchable and enhance their usability for scholars of Islamic studies.' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 'Professor Gutas has done an exemplary job of organizing the wide-ranging interests of Frank... The value of this collection is in its gathering of Frank's disparate papers that were published in a wide range of journals that will tax the most well-stocked research library... This volume has the added bonus of having 'an intellectual biography - a memoir' of the author that Gutas has generously provided. This is as important a piece of writing as any that Frank has written, as it serves as 'the glue' that holds these disparate papers together, and gives a nuanced dimension to the volumes as singular body of work... Overall the volume is of immense value for students of Islamic philosophy, theology, and especially Sunni kalam.' Journal of Islamic Philosophy

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0860789772
• ISBN 13: 9780860789772
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 404
• Editor: Gutas Dimitri