Research Catalog

Poetry in praise of prophetic perfection : a study of West African Arabic Madīḥ poetry and its precedents

Title
Poetry in praise of prophetic perfection : a study of West African Arabic Madīḥ poetry and its precedents / Oludamini Ogunnaike.
Author
Ogunnaike, Oludamini
Publication
Cambridge, UK : The Islamic Texts Society, [2020]

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TextUse in library Sc E 23-785Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description
x, 166 pages; 24 cm
Summary
"The vibrant tradition of West African Arabic poetry is dominated by the genre of madīḥ, that is, poetry in praise of the Prophet Muḥammad. This genre of poetry has been mostly ignored in Western scholarship and dismissed as mere 'pious praise' lacking any significant intellectual content. In 'Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection', Dr Oludamini Ogunnaike challenges the misconceptions around West African madīḥ poetry and addresses the scope and depth of this genre ; he not only explores its rich lyrical nature and its foundations in the Qur'ān, Ḥadīth, pre-Islamic, and early Islamic poetry, but also its inextricable link to Sufism and Sufi doctrines of cosmology, ontology, and epistemology. Drawing on Sufi traditions and practices, the author expounds on the various ways in which West African madīḥ poetry both describes and facilitates the ultimate fulfillment of the human potential, the Perfect Human (al-Insān al-Kāmil) or the attainment of the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqām al-Maḥmūd), of which the Prophet Muḥammad is the highest example. 'Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection' includes translations of numerous extracts from madīḥ poetry (accompanied by the original Arabic) ; while the Appendix presents a selection of complete poems - the most popular and influential poems of this tradition. 'Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection' is an opportunity for readers to gain access and appreciation of a unique genre of spiritual Islamic poetry, and the original Arabic also enables the recitation of the poetry for devotional purposes."--taken from back cover.
Subject
  • Muḥammad, Prophet, -632 > In literature
  • Muḥammad, Prophet, -632
  • Sufi poetry
  • Islamic poetry > History and criticism
  • Islamic poetry, Arabic > Africa, West
  • Laudatory poetry, Arabic
  • Laudatory poetry, Arabic > Translations into English
  • Literature
  • Islamic poetry, Arabic
  • Islamic poetry
  • Africa, West > In literature
  • West Africa
Genre/Form
  • Translations.
  • Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographic references.
Language (note)
  • Text in English and Arabic.
Contents
Introduction -- Part I. The Form and Function of West African Sufi Madīḥ -- Part II. The Living History of Intertextuality : Sources of the West African Tradition -- Conclusion -- Appendix. Peaks of the West African Madīḥ Tradition -- Bibliography.
Call Number
Sc E 23-785
ISBN
  • 1911141465
  • 9781911141464
OCLC
1137853691
Author
Ogunnaike, Oludamini, author.
Title
Poetry in praise of prophetic perfection : a study of West African Arabic Madīḥ poetry and its precedents / Oludamini Ogunnaike.
Publisher
Cambridge, UK : The Islamic Texts Society, [2020]
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographic references.
Language
Text in English and Arabic.
Local Subject
Black author.
Research Call Number
Sc E 23-785
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