Hallaj

Winner of the Global Humanities Translation Prize Hallaj is the first authoritative translation of the Arabic poetry of Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, an early Sufi mystic. Despite his execution in Baghdad in 922 and the subsequent suppression of his work, Hallaj left an enduring literary and spiritual legacy that continues to inspire readers around the world. In Hallaj, Carl W. Ernst offers a definitive collection of 117 of Hallaj’s poems expertly translated for contemporary readers interested in Middle Eastern and Sufi poetry and spirituality. Ernst’s fresh and direct translations reveal Hallaj’s wide range of themes and genres, from courtly love poems to metaphysical reflections on union with God. In a fascinating introduction, Ernst traces Hallaj’s dramatic story within classical Islamic civilization and early Arabic Sufi poetry. Setting himself apart by revealing Sufi secrets to the world, Hallaj was both celebrated and condemned for declaring: “I am the Truth.” Expressing lyrics and ideas still heard in popular songs, the works of Hallaj remain vital and fresh even a thousand years after their composition. They reveal him as a master of spiritual poetry centuries before Rumi, who regarded Hallaj as a model. This unique collection makes it possible to appreciate the poems on their own, as part of the tragic legend of Hallaj, and as a formidable legacy of Middle Eastern culture. The Global Humanities Translation Prize is awarded annually to a previously unpublished translation that strikes the delicate balance between scholarly rigor, aesthetic grace, and general readability, as judged by a rotating committee of Northwestern faculty, distinguished international scholars, writers, and public intellectuals. The Prize is organized by the Global Humanities Initiative, which is jointly supported by Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Studies and Kaplan Institute for the Humanities.

The life and teachings of Islam's most dramatic and controversial mystic, Husayn ibn Mansur, better known as Al-Hallaj (the reader of hearts).

Abridged from the four-volume "The Passion of al-Hallaj, " one of the major works of Western orientalism, this book explores the life and teaching of a famous tenth-century Sufi mystic and martyr, and in so doing describes not only his experience but also the whole milieu of early Islamic civilization. Louis Massignon (1883-1962), France's most celebrated Islamic specialist in this century and a leading Catholic intellectual, wrote of a man who was for him a personal inspiration. -- Back cover.

Volume 4 of 4. Encompassing the whole milieu of early Islamic civilization, this major work of Western orientalism explores the meaning of the life and teaching of the tenth-century mystic and martyr, al-Hallaj. With profound spiritual insight and transcultural sympathy, Massignon, an Islamicist and scholar of religion, penetrates Islamic mysticism in a way that was previously unknown. Massignon traveled throughout the Middle East and western India to gather and authenticate al-Hallaj's surviving writings and the recorded facts. After assembling the extant verses and prose works of al-Hallaj and the accounts of his life and death, Massignon published La Passion d'al-Hallaj in 1922. At his death in 1962, he left behind a greatly expanded version, published as the second French edition (1975). It is edited and translated here from the French and the Arabic sources by Massignon's friend and pupil, Herbert Mason. Volume 1 gives an account of al-Hallaj's life and describes the world in which he lives; volume 2 traces his influence in Islam over the centuries; volume 3 studies Hallajian thought; volume 4 contains a full biography and index. Each volume contains Massignon's copious notes and new translations of original Islamic documents. Herbert Mason is University Professor of Religion and Islamic History at Boston University. He is also a poet and novelist; his version of the Gigamesh epic was a nominee for the National Book Award in 1971. Bollingen Series XCVIII. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Volume 1 of 4. Encompassing the whole milieu of early Islamic civilization, this major work of Western orientalism explores the meaning of the life and teaching of the tenth-century mystic and martyr, al-Hallaj. With profound spiritual insight and transcultural sympathy, Massignon, an Islamicist and scholar of religion, penetrates Islamic mysticism in a way that was previously unknown. Massignon traveled throughout the Middle East and western India to gather and authenticate al-Hallaj's surviving writings and the recorded facts. After assembling the extant verses and prose works of al-Hallaj and the accounts of his life and death, Massignon published La Passion d'al-Hallaj in 1922. At his death in 1962, he left behind a greatly expanded version, published as the second French edition (1975). It is edited and translated here from the French and the Arabic sources by Massignon's friend and pupil, Herbert Mason. Volume 1 gives an account of al-Hallaj's life and describes the wo rld in which he lives; volume 2 traces his influence in Islam over the centuries; volume 3 studies Hallajian thought; volume 4 contains a full biography and index. Each volume contains Massignon's copious notes and new translations of original Islamic documents. Herbert Mason is University Professor of Religion and Islamic History at Boston University. He is also apoet and novelist; his version of the Gigamesh epic was a nominee for the National Book Award in 1971. Bollingen Sreis XCVIII. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

MANSUR HALLAJ: THE TAWASIN(Book of the Purity of the Glory of the One)Translation & Introduction Paul SmithThe Perfect Master, poet & martyr, Husayn Mansur al-Hallaj (died 919), was born near Shiraz and was tortured and executed in Baghdad for declaring: "I am the Truth (Anal Haq)." Much has been written about his famous (and in¬famous) statement and his masterpiece The Tawasin in which he makes it. 'Written in rhymed Arabic prose... it sets forth a doctrine of saintship-a doctrine founded on personal experience and clothed in the form of a subtle yet passionate dialectic.' R.A. Nicholson. The Introduction here contains: The Life, Times and Works of Mansur Hallaj, The Perfect Master (Qutub), 'Anal-Haq' or 'I am the Truth' of Mansur Hallaj, Four Master Poets of Baghdad who influenced Hallaj and A Selection of Poetry from the Persian, Turkish, Pushtu & Urdu Poets about or influenced by Mansur Hallaj. Appendix: The Story of Idris (Azazil) and Adam From 'The Book of Genesis' of Shahin of Shiraz. This is a free-form poetic translation that captures the beauty, meaning, profundity of this classic of Sufism. Pages 264.COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'."It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran."Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator from English into Persian, knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart."Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author).Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Shah Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mahsati, Lalla Ded, Nazir Akbarabadi and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays.

Abridged from the four-volume The Passion of al-Hallaj, one of the major works of Western orientalism, this book explores the life and teaching of a famous tenth-century Sufi mystic and martyr, and in so doing describes not only his experience but also the whole milieu of early Islamic civilization. Louis Massignon (1883-1962), France's most celebrated Islamic specialist in this century and a leading Catholic intellectual, wrote of a man who was for him a personal inspiration. From reviews of the four-volume translation:

The life and teachings of Islam's most dramatic and controversial mystic, Husayn ibn Mansur, better known as Al-Hallaj (the reader of hearts).