Book Announcement: Tales of God’s Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation (John Renard)

Synopsis
This remarkable collection gathers a breathtakingly diverse selection of primary texts from the vast repertoire of Islamic stories about holy men and women—also known as Friends of God—who were exemplary for their piety, intimacy with God, and service to their fellow human beings. Translated from seventeen languages by more than two dozen scholars of Islamic studies, these texts come from the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and China and Southeast Asia. Historically, they begin with the eighth century and include samples from medieval, early modern, and modern Muslim societies. Expertly edited and introduced by John Renard, Tales of God’s Friends serves as a companion volume to Renard’s Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood.

From the Inside Flap
“The works of Islamic mysticism are a crucial genre of Islamic piety, and the lives of the awliya (friends of God) have been and continue to be a crucial way in which the theoretical insights of Sufism are embodied and communicated to a wider audience. Traditionally, these genres would be deciphered by a living Sufi master. Here John Renard acts as our Sufi guide, transporting us to the marvelous world of Islamic piety.”—Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Northern Carolina

About the Author
John Renard is Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University. His many books include Seven Doors to Islam: Spirituality and the Religious Life of Muslims, Windows on the House of Islam, and Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood, all from UC Press.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xi

Introduction: Islamic Hagiography: Sources and Contexts 1

Part I The Arab Middle East and North Africa 13

1 Ab&ubar; Bakr in Tradition and Early Hagiography John Renard 15

2 Tam&ibar;m&ibar;‘s Eyewitness Account of Ab&ubar; Ya’z&abar; Yallan&ubar;r (572/1177) Kenneth Honerkamp 30

3 ‘Abd All&abar;h ibn As’ad al-Y&abar;fi&ibar;‘s Defense of Saintly Marvels Erik S. Ohlander 47

4 The Waf&abar;’&ibar;ya of Cairo Richard McGregor 63

Part II Iran and Afghanistan 77

5 Junayd in the ‘Hilyat al-awliy&abar;’ and the ‘Nafah&abar;t al-uns’ Jawid Mojaddedi 79

6 Sa’d&ibar;‘s Earthly Vision of Sainthood in the ‘Bust&abar;n’ and the ‘Gulist&abar;n’ Fatemeh Keshavarz 92

7 Ostad Elahi and Hajj&ibar; Ni’mat: Master and Disciple, Father and Son James W. Morris 100

8 A Miracle of an Afghan Friend of God, the Mulla of Hadda David Edwards 114

Part III Turkey and Central Asia 119

9 Three Tales from the Central Asian ‘Book of Hak&ibar;m Ata’ Devin DeWeese 121

10 Sari Saltik Becomes a Friend of God Ahmet T. Karamustafa 136

11 Sari Ismail: The Beloved Disciple of Haci Bekta&scidle; Veli Vernon James Schubel Nurten Kilic-Schubel 145

12 Y&ubar;nus Emre Seeks His Share: Traditional and Modern Accounts Mark Soileau 150

Part IV Africa: West and East 167

13 Shaykh al-Hajj Abbass Sall: In Praise of the T&ibar;j&abar;n&ibar;ya Order Souleymane Bachir Diagne 169

14 Imitating the Life of the Prophet: Nana Asma’us and Usman dan Fodiyo Beverly B. Mack 179

15 Job’s Wife in the Swahili ‘Epic of Job’ J.W.T. Allen 197

16 The Death of Shaykh Uways of Somalia Scott Reese 208

Part V South Asia 217

17 A Tazkira for theTimes: Saving Islam in Post-Partition Punjab Anna Bigelow 219

18 Tales of Renewal: Ahmad Sirhind&ibar;, Reformer of the Second Millennium Arthur Buehler 234

19 Sufi Poetry of the Indus Valley: Khw&abar;ja Ghul&abar;m Far&ibar;d Jamal J. Elias 249

20 The Ism&abar$$ P&ibar;r Sadr ad-D&ibar;n Ali S. Asani 261

21 An Indo-Persian Guide to Sufi Shrine Visitation Carl W. Ernst 269

22 Sufi Autobiography in the Twentieth Century: The Worldly and Spiritual Journeys of Khw&abar;ja Hasan Niz&abar;m&ibar; Marcia Hermansen 286

23 Bonb&ibar;b&ibar;, Protectress of the Forest Sufia Mendez Uddin 301

24 The Tales of M&abar;nik P&ibar;r: Protector of Cows in Bengal Tony K. Stewart 312

Part VI Southeast and East Asia 333

25 The Malay Story of Muhammad al-Hanaf&ibar;ya Lode F. Brakel 335

26 Sunan Ampel of the Javanese Wali Songo Anna M. Gade 341

27 Lan Zixi’s “Epitaphs of the Real Humans” Sachiko Murata 359

Appendix 371

Glossary 377

About the Contributors 391

Index of Names 397

Index of Concepts, Themes, Places and Book Titles 405

Qur’an Index 413

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 13, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520258967
ISBN-13: 978-0520258969

Available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Gods-Friends-Hagiography-Translation/dp/0520258967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255547957&sr=1-1