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Spiritual Grammar
Genre and the Saintly Subject in Islam and Christianity
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2017
About this book
Spiritual Grammar identifies a genre of religious literature that until now has not been recognized as such. In this surprising and theoretically nuanced study, F. Dominic Longo reveals how grammatical structures of language addressed in two medieval texts published nearly four centuries apart, from distinct religious traditions, offer a metaphor for how the self is embedded in spiritual reality. Reading The Grammar of Hearts (Nahw al-qulūb) by the great Sufi shaykh and Islamic scholar 'Abd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (d. 1074) and Moralized Grammar (Donatus moralizatus) by Christian theologian Jean Gerson (d. 1429), Longo reveals how both authors use the rules of language and syntax to advance their pastoral goals. Indeed, grammar provides the two masters with a fresh way of explaining spiritual reality to their pupils and to discipline the souls of their readers in the hopes that their writings would make others adept in the grammar of the heart.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: F. Dominic Longo
F. Dominic Longo holds a Ph.D. in Arabic & Islamic Studies from Harvard University, and a M.A. in Theology from Boston College. His research focuses on queer comparative Christian-Islamic theology. Alongside his scholarly activities, Dr. Longo works in the field of leadership development, with a focus on promoting human flourishing in all its forms.
Reviews
Dominic Longo helps us to understand Islam and Christianity in deeper ways through the genre of 'spiritual grammar'. This is an extraordinary book that will benefit scholars of Islam, Christianity, and Comparative Theology.---—Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University
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Longo engages in an intriguing comparative inquiry into spiritual grammar in medieval Arabic and Latin treatises.Delineating and crossing boundaries and genres, he explores a new confusing yet delightful subfield in the genre of comparative theological Islamo-Christian studies.---—Pim Valkenberg, The Catholic University of America
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
ix -
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ABBREVIATIONS
xi -
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PREFACE
xiii -
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Introduction: Genre Trouble
1 -
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1. Arabic, Latin, and the Discipline of Grammar in the Worlds of Qushayrī and Gerson
27 -
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2. Genres and Genders of Gerson
53 -
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3. Gerson’s “Moralized” Primer of Spiritual Grammar
81 -
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4. From the Names of God to the Grammar of Hearts
117 -
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5. Forming Spiritual Fuṣaḥāʾ
150 -
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6. The Fruits of Comparison
186 -
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Appendix: Translation of Jean Gerson’s Moralized Grammar
217 -
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NOTES
233 -
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INDEX
269
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
July 20, 2020
eBook ISBN:
9780823276745
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9780823276745
Keywords for this book
Christian Theology; grammar; Islamic Theology; Literary genre; Medieval theology; Sufism; al-Qushayrī; ʿAbd al-Karīm; Jean Gerson
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
