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Books : Religion & Spirituality : Islam
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The picture of Islam as a violent, backward, and insular tradition should be laid to rest, says Karen Armstrong, bestselling author of Muhammad and A History of God. Delving deep into Islamic history, Armstrong sketches the arc of a story that begins with the stirring of revelation in an Arab businessman named Muhammad. His concern with the poor who were being left behind in the blush of his society's new prosperity sets the tone for the tale of a culture that values community as a manifestation of God. Muhammad's ideas catch fire, quickly blossoming into a political empire. As the empire expands and the once fractured Arabs subdue and overtake the vast Persian domain, the story of a community becomes a panoramic drama. With great dexterity, Armstrong narrates the Sunni-Shi'ite schism, the rise of Persian influence, the clashes with Western crusaders and Mongolian conquerors, and the spiritual explorations that traced the route to God. Armstrong brings us through the debacle of European colonialism right up to the present day, putting Islamic fundamentalism into context as part of a worldwide phenomenon. Islam: A Short History, like Bruce Lawrence's Shattering the Myth and Mark Huband's Warriors of the Prophet, introduces us to a faith that beckons like a minaret to those who dare to venture beyond the headlines. --Brian Bruya
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Rumi is sympathetically presented by these translators, who it is clear, absolutely love him and desire nothing less than to share him with you. The interesting introduction to their little book gives solid if sometimes slightly out-of-date information about the period. The framework of dramatic upheaval and invasion they paint is currently questioned by scholars who think Rumi and his family had left Samarkand some three years before the Mongols destroyed it. They focus, quite correctly, on Rumi's relationship with Shams of Tabriz, a key figure in Rumi's spiritual development. Here he is romantically described as "although of shabby appearance and rough manner ... a highly advanced Sufi walking the spiritual path of love ...". However, Franklin Lewis in his outstanding study, Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, shows that Shams was an eloquent author and engaging speaker, well-versed in the philosophical and theological discourse of his day.Rumi is appropriately described as "the sun that warms and transforms hearts, attracting people from all creeds, classes and religions." At the end of the book there is a small section of "Terms and Symbolism" that explain what Rumi meant when he used the terms Lover, Beloved, Drunkenness, etc. Although this firmly anchors Rumi's work in its origins, readers have not been invited or guided to go any further. The translators unfortunately do not clarify what their objectives were in producing this little work.
The "Roba'is" or quatrains presented here have been translated from the respected Persian scholar Forouzanfar's critical edition of Rumi's Divan--which Lewis regards as the closest we have to the corpus of what Rumi originally wrote. These would have benefited by being presented in some order, perhaps under subject headings. As it is, the 100 quatrains are simply presented one after the other without offering any time for "digestion". The sometimes inelegant English also serves to interrupt the flow and arouses irritation, eg "First he tempted me with infinite caresses. He burnt me in the end with pain and sorrow." "It is time for prayer, time to find what is your real need." For all this, Whispers of the Beloved, once one learns how to handle its quirks, is crammed with enough profundities to keep one going for a very long time. --Amar Hegedus
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