A Treasury of Virtues : Sayings, Sermons, and Teachings of 'Ali,
with the One Hundred Proverbs, Attributed to Al-Jahiz, [Arabic and English],
*[A5] Paperback - 214 pages, Now in Stock & Despatching,
by Al-Qadi Al-Quda'i al-Shafi'i,
Edited & Translated by Tahera Qutbuddin.
Published by NYU Library of Arabic Literature.
Description :
A Treasury of Virtues is a collection by the Fatimid Shafi‘i judge al-Quda‘i, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, (d. 454 H/1062 CE) of sayings, sermons, and teachings attributed to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, (d. 40 H/661 CE). ‘Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
the fourth Sunni Caliph and shia Imam. An acknowledged master of Arabic
eloquence and a sage of Islamic wisdom, Imam Ali was renowned for his words,
which were collected, quoted, and studied over the centuries, and
extensively anthologised, excerpted, and interpreted.
Of the many compilations of ‘Ali’s words, A Treasury of Virtues arguably
possesses the broadest compass of genres, and the largest variety of
themes. Included are aphorisms, proverbs, sermons, speeches, homilies,
prayers, letters, dialogues and verse, all of which provide instruction
on how to be a morally upstanding human being.
The shorter compilation included here, One Hundred Proverbs,
is attributed to the eminent writer al-Jahiz (d. 255 H/869 CE). This
volume presents a new critical edition of the Arabic based on several
original manuscripts, the first English translation of both these
important collections, and an extended introduction.
Al-Qadi al-Quda'i (d. 454 H/1062 CE), rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayhi, was a Sunni jurist, a scholar of hadith and history, and a senior government official of the Fatimid dynasty in Cairo, Egypt.
Review :
"The
quality of the translation is superior… and the choice of maxims is
well advised, as they constitute a major category of Arabic (and also
medieval European) literature, a genre with which modern readers are not
acquainted. This translation will introduce them to it."
---Beatrice Gruendler, Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Yale University.
Table of Contents :
---Letter from the General Editor,
---About this work,
---Foreword,
---Acknowledgements,
---Abbreviations,
---Introduction,
-----A Note on the Text,
-----Notes to the Introduction.
---[1].A Treasury of Virtues,
------Wise Sayings,
------Censure of this World and Exhortations to Reject Worldliness,
------Counsel,
------Prescriptions and Proscriptions,
------ʿAlī’s Questions with Answers, and ʿAlī’s Answers to Questions,
------Sayings with Unusual Words,
------Unique Sayings and Pithy Words,
------Prayers and Supplications,
------Verse.
---[2].One Hundred Proverbs,
---Notes,
---Glossary of Names and Terms,
---Bibliography,
---Further Reading,
---Index,
---About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute,
---About the Translator,
---Library of Arabic Literature.
*Dimensions : 22.9 x 15.3