Suny Press
Passion Before Me, My Fate Behind
About this book
Explores the work of beloved Sufi poet Umar Ibn al-Farid and its context. Provides many translations of Ibn al-Farid's poetry.
Umar Ibn al-Fāriḍ (1181–1235), author of two classic works, the Wine Ode and the Poem of the Sufi Way, is considered the greatest Sufi poet to write in Arabic. In this study, these and other poems by Ibn al-Fāriḍ are considered within the context of Islamic mysticism, Arabic literature, and Sufi poetry. Th. Emil Homerin uncovers the literary and religious intent of these poems and their aesthetic and mystical content, showing them to be a type of meditative poetry. Indeed, Ibn al-Fāriḍ often alludes to the Sufi practice of "recollection," or meditation on God, to evoke a view of existence in which the seeker may be transformed by an epiphany of love revealing an intimate relationship to the divine beloved. Homerin provides elegant translations and close readings of Ibn al-Fāriḍ's poetry, highlighting the beauty of his verse, its moods, meanings, and significance within Islamic mysticism and Arabic poetry, where Ibn al-Fāriḍ is still known as the "Sultan of the Lovers."
Author / Editor information
Reviews
"This is the major work on the mystical poetry of Umar Ibn al-Farid by the leading Western expert on Arabic Sufi poetry. Stylistically refined and polished, Homerin's translations of the extremely difficult medieval mystical poetry successfully convey the peculiarities of diction and the cultural and aesthetic richness of the original material. Together with the author's earlier studies, this will remain a definitive study of Ibn al-Farid's poetic oeuvre for years to come." — Alexander Knysh, author of Islamic Mysticism: A Short History
Topics
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Front Matter
i -
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Contents
v -
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Preface
vii -
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Acknowledgments
xi -
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Plan of the Work
xiii -
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On Translation, Transliteration, Pronunciation, and Time
xv -
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Introduction
1 -
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Mystical Improvisations
31 -
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Love’s Secrets
63 -
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Joined at the Crossroads
103 -
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The Beloved’s Wine
143 -
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Poem of the Sufi Way in “T”–Major
177 -
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The Poetry of Recollection
243 -
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Notes
253 -
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Bibliography
293 -
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Index
307
