You have no items in your shopping cart.
Close
Search
Filters
When, on an autumn Medina night in 61/680, the night that saw al-Ḥusayn killed, Umm Salama was torn from her sleep by an apparition of a long-dead Muḥammad, she slipped effortlessly into a progression of her co-religionists who, irrespective of status, gender or standing with God, were the recipients of dark and arresting visions. At the core of those Delphian dreams, peopled by angels or ğinn or esteemed forbears and textured with Iraqi dust and martyrs’ blood, was the Karbalāʾ event. Her dream would be recounted by an array of Muslim scholars, from al-Tirmiḏī, stellar pupil of al-Buḫārī, and Ibn ʿAsākir, untiring chronicler of Syrian history, to bibliophile theologian Ibn Ṭāʾūs and Egyptian polymath al-Suyūṭī. But this was not Umm Salama’s only otherworldly encounter and she was not the only one to have al-Ḥusayn’s fate disturb her nights. This is their story.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4408-8
  • *
Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Nov 30,2021
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 280
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4408-8
$48.00
Your price: $38.40

When, on an autumn Medina night in 61/680, the night that saw al-Ḥusayn killed, Umm Salama was torn from her sleep by an apparition of a long-dead Muḥammad, she slipped effortlessly into a progression of her co-religionists who, irrespective of status, gender or standing with God, were the recipients of dark and arresting visions. At the core of those Delphian dreams, peopled by angels or ğinn or esteemed forbears and textured with Iraqi dust and martyrs’ blood, was the Karbalāʾ event. Her dream would be recounted by an array of Muslim scholars, from al-Tirmiḏī, stellar pupil of al-Buḫārī, and Ibn ʿAsākir, untiring chronicler of Syrian history, to bibliophile theologian Ibn Ṭāʾūs and Egyptian polymath al-Suyūṭī. But this was not Umm Salama’s only otherworldly encounter and she was not the only one to have al-Ḥusayn’s fate disturb her nights.

This is their story.

When, on an autumn Medina night in 61/680, the night that saw al-Ḥusayn killed, Umm Salama was torn from her sleep by an apparition of a long-dead Muḥammad, she slipped effortlessly into a progression of her co-religionists who, irrespective of status, gender or standing with God, were the recipients of dark and arresting visions. At the core of those Delphian dreams, peopled by angels or ğinn or esteemed forbears and textured with Iraqi dust and martyrs’ blood, was the Karbalāʾ event. Her dream would be recounted by an array of Muslim scholars, from al-Tirmiḏī, stellar pupil of al-Buḫārī, and Ibn ʿAsākir, untiring chronicler of Syrian history, to bibliophile theologian Ibn Ṭāʾūs and Egyptian polymath al-Suyūṭī. But this was not Umm Salama’s only otherworldly encounter and she was not the only one to have al-Ḥusayn’s fate disturb her nights.

This is their story.

Write your own review
  • Only registered users can write reviews
*
*
Bad
Excellent
*
*
*
*
ContributorBiography

Christopher Clohessy

Christopher Clohessy is a South African Catholic priest who holds a BST from the Pontifical Urbanianum University in Rome, and a PhD from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), also in Rome. Two of his recent Gorgias Press publications, Fâṭima, Daughter of Muhammad and Half of My Heart, led to his being named the "Distinguished Scholar of Shia Studies" in the Islamic Republic of Iran's 28th World Book Awards (2020). He is at present a resident faculty member of PISAI, lecturing there in Shīʿī Islamic studies, Qurʾān and Islamic Ethics, and is visiting lecturer at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, where he lectures in Fundamental Theology, Ecclesiology and Mariology. His latest book, Angels Hastening:The Karbalāʾ Dreams ,was published by Gorgias Press in November 2021.  

Table of Contents (v) 
Quotations, Translations and Transliteration (vii) 
List of Abbreviations (ix) 
Preface (xiii) 
Introduction (1) 
The Shade of God. Dreams in the Prophet’s Household (37) 
The Odour of Paradise. In the House of Umm Salama (93)
Voices in the Night. A Medley of Dreams and Visions (149) 
Afterword (207) 
Appendix One: The Writing on the Wall (223) 
Appendix Two: Table of Sunnī and Shīʿī Arabic Sources (235) 
Bibliography (249) 
Index of proper names (255)

Customers who bought this item also bought

Persian Martyr Acts under King Yazdgird I

Edited and Translated by Geoffrey Herman
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0623-9
This volume presents five vivid tales of Christian martyrs from the fifth century. These accounts thematize the conflict between the martyrs' identity as Persian subjects loyal to the Zoroastrian king and their devotion to Christianity.
$36.00

An Introduction to Syriac Studies (Third Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0713-7
This Introduction aims to provide basic guidance to important areas of Syriac studies. The relevance of Syriac studies to a variety of other fields is explored. A brief orientation to the history of Syriac literature is offered, and Syriac is set within the context of the other Aramaic dialects. A thorough discussion on important tools (Instrumenta Studiorum) is presented; topics include grammars, dictionaries, the Bible in Syriac, histories of Syriac literature, bibliographical aids and relevant series, periodicals, and encyclopedias. This Introduction should prove useful both for the student beginning Syriac studies and for scholars working in adjacent fields.
$39.00

The New Syriac Primer, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 978-1-59333-325-6
A truly useful introduction to the Syriac language is a rare find. This practical initiation to the study of this ancient language of the Christian church speaks with clarity and authority. A fruitful integration of scholarly introduction and practical application, this primer is more than a simple grammar or syntactic introduction to the language. Writing in a style designed for beginners, Kiraz avoids technical language and strives for a reader-friendly inductive approach. Readings from actual Syriac texts allow the student to experience the language first hand and the basics of the grammar of the language are ably explained. The book comes with downloadable material so that readers may listen to all reading sentences and text passages in the book.
$48.00

Half of my Heart (paperback)

The Narratives of Zaynab, Daughter of ʿAlî
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4236-7
As Abû ʿAbd Allâh al-Ḥusayn, son of ʿAlî and Fâṭima and grandson of Muḥammad, moved inexorably towards death on the field of Karbalâʾ, his sister Zaynab was drawn ever closer to the centre of the family of Muḥammad, the ‘people of the house’ (ahl al-bayt). There she would remain for a few historic days, challenging the wickedness of the Islamic leadership, defending the actions of her brother, initiating the commemorative rituals, protecting and nurturing the new Imâm, al-Ḥusayn’s son ʿAlî b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlî b. Abî Ṭâlib, until he could take his rightful place. This is her story.
$58.00 $46.40