The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture ReviewThis is a book which the Medievalist can read for pure pleasure. Not only for the multitude of facts and stories gathered there, but because it offers some wonderful glimpses into the world of a 10th-century booktrader and the literary crossroads of Abbasid Baghdad. One will find small entries about philosophy and religion, rhetoric and literature, law and logics, science and pseudoscience, the first mention of "Thousand and One Night", dreams and fables about the ancient Greek philosophers - all lined up in a winding row like the houses in an old city street. But do not expect to read it from beginning to end - its basically a catalogue, and you will get the most out of it if you know what you are looking for.The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture OverviewThe Catalog (Kitab al-fihrist) by Ibn al-Nadim (d. 995 AD) is an index of all books written in Arabic either by Arabs or non-Arabs and contains ten discourses. The first six of them deal with books on Islamic subjects: 1. the Scriptures of Muslims, Jews and Christians with emphasis on the Quran and Quranic sciences; 2. grammar and philology; 3. history, biography, genealogy and related subjects; 4. poetry; 5. scholastic theology (kalam); 6. law and tradition. The last four discourses deal with non-Islamic subjects. 7. philosophy and the ancient sciences; 8. legends, fables, magic, conjuring Inc; 9. the doctrines of the non-monotheistic creeds; 10. alchemy. The author, a bookseller, often mentions the size of a book and the number of pages so buyers would not be cheated by copyists creating shorter versions. He refers often to copies written by famous calligraphers, bibliophies and other libraries and speaks of an auction and of the trade in books. In the opening section he deals with the alphabets of 14 people (Arabs and non-Arabs) and their manner of writing and also with the writing-pen, paper and its different varieties. Reviewed on NPR All Things Considered.

Want to learn more information about The Fihrist: a 10th Century AD Survey of Islamic Culture?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now