Muḥammad and the golden bough : reconstructing Arabian myth
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Bibliographic Information
Muḥammad and the golden bough : reconstructing Arabian myth
Indiana University Press, 1996
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [155]-163) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780253214133
Description
Now in Paperback!
Muhammad and the Golden Bough
Reconstructing Arabic Myth
Jaroslav Stetkevych
Connects pre-Islamic Arabian myth to world mythic traditions.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Book
"Stetkevych succeeds brilliantly in reconstructing the myth of the destruction of the Thamud, an ancient people of north Arabia. . . . This book will add a new dimension to the study of Near Eastern and Mediterranean myth and legend." —Choice
"Stetkevych's critical and wide-ranging perspective reveals a wealth of insights. This book is must reading for everyone in the field of religion and one of the most important works in recent years." —Religious Studies Review
"The graceful writing, interdisciplinary scope, and hermeneutical depth should make it compelling reading for those interested in the mythos of Arabia before and at the birth of Islam and in comparable myths in neighboring civilizations." —MESA Bulletin
"It opens up new dimensions of how to think about, how to study, how to see interrelationships in the ancient Arabian world and their connections with the Mediterranean world in general. . . . a stunning piece of work." —Chronicle of Higher Education
Through its development of a methodology for analyzing the mythic and folkloric traditions of pre-Islamic Arabia and the process of their incorporation into Islamic myth and Qur'anic texts, Muhammad and the Golden Bough offers compelling insights for students of Islam, comparative religion, and cultural anthropology. By linking Arabic myth with a broad range of ancient and classical texts—including Gilgamesh, Homer, and the Hebrew Bible—the book makes a provocative contribution to biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies, classics, and comparative literature.
Jaroslav Stetkevych is Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature at the University of Chicago. He is author of The Modern Arabic Literary Language: Lexical and Stylistic Developments and The Zephyrs of Najd: The Poetics of Nostalgia in the Classical Arabic Nasib. His articles on classical and modern Arabic literature have appeared in Spanish, English, Arabic, and Ukrainian.
Contents
Introduction: Reclaiming Arabian Myth
The Textual Puzzle
The Thamudic Backdrop to the Puzzle
The First Answer to the Puzzle: The Raid on Tabuk
The Totem and the Taboo
Poeticizing the Thamud
Demythologizing the Thamud
The Scream
The Arabian Golden Bough and Kindred Branches: Frazer, Vergil, Homer, and Gilgamesh
Conclusion
Table of Contents
Introduction: Reclaiming Arabian Myth
1. The Textual Puzzle
2. The Thamudic Backdrop to the Puzzle
3. The First Answer to the Puzzle: The Raid on Tabuk
4. The Totem and the Taboo
5. Poeticizing the Thamud
6. Demythologizing the Thamud
7. The Scream
8. The Arabian Golden Bough and Kindred Branches: Frazer, Vergil, Homer, and Gilgamesh
Conclusion
- Volume
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ISBN 9780253332080
Description
Through its development of a methodology for analysing the mythic and folkloric traditions of pre-Islamic Arabia and the process of their incorporation into Islamic myth and Qur'anic texts, "Muhammad and the Golden Bough" offers compelling insights for students of Islam, comparative religion, and cultural anthropology. By linking Arabic myth with a broad range of ancient and classical texts - including Gilgamesh, Homer, and the Hebrew Bible - the book makes a provocative contribution to Biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies, classics, and comparative literature. The richness of myth in Arab-Islamic culture has long been ignored or even denied.In "Muhammad and the Golden Bough", Jaroslav Stetkevych demonstrates the existence of a coherent pre-Islamic Arabian myth that was subsequently incorporated into Islamic poetic tradition. The study dissects the intriguing Arab-Islamic myth built around Muhammad's unearthing of a 'golden bough' from the grave of the last survivor of an ancient Arab people, the Thamud, who, according to the myth, were destroyed by a divine scourge for their iniquity.
Stetkevych draws together the lore of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Qu'ran, and the Biography of the Prophet. Once reconstructed and deconstructed, the Arabian myth then serves as the basis for a comparative study that links Arabic mythic traditions with Gilgamesh, Homer, and the Hebrew Bible.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: reclaiming Arabian myth. The textual puzzle
- the Thamudic backdrop to the puzzle
- the first answer to the puzzle - the raid on Tabuk
- the Totem and the taboo
- poeticising the Thamud
- demythologising the Thamud
- the scream
- the Arabian golden bough and kindred branches - Frazer, Vergil, Homer, and Gilgamesh.
by "Nielsen BookData"