Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection

'A Study of West African Arabic Madih Poetry & its Precedents'
English & Arabic,

*[A5+] Paperback - 176 pages,

by Oludamini Ogunnaike,

by The Islamic Texts Society.

RRP £19.99. Special Launch Discount for Limited Time.

Description :

The vibrant tradition of West African Arabic poetry is dominated by the genre of madih, that is, poetry in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ. 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 madih poetry and addresses the scope and depth of this genre; he not only explores its rich lyrical nature and its foundations in the Qur’an, Hadith, 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 madih poetry both describes and facilitates the ultimate fulfilment of the human potential, the Perfect Human (al-Insan al-Kamil) or the attainment of the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud) of which the Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ, is the highest example.


Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection includes translations of numerous extracts from madih 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, given that it includes the original Arabic, also enables the recitation of the poetry for devotional purposes.



Dr Oludamini Ogunnaike holds a PhD in African Studies and the Study of Religion from Harvard University and is Assistant Professor of African Religious Thought at the University of Virginia.

Table of Contents :

---Acknowledgements,

---Introduction.

Part [I]. The Form and Function of West African Sufi Madih,

---What is Sufi Madih ?

------The Form and Function of Sufi Madih,

------The Impossibility of Praise,

---Madih as Du'a,

---Madih as Hilya,

---Madih as Dhikr/Salawat,

---Madih as Being,

---The Perfect Human (al-Insan al-Kamil) and the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud).

Part [II]. The Living History of Intertextuality: Sources of the West African Tradition;

---Qur'an and Hadith,

---Sira, Shama'il and Salawat Literature,

---Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Arabic Poetry,

---Classics of Praise Poetry,

------Al-'Ishriniyyat,

---Non-Arabic Influences,

---Formal Features of the Tradition,

------Hyper-intertextuality and instersubjectivity,

---'Big Arabic.'

---Conclusion.

Appendix : Peaks of the West African Madih Tradition,

---Muhammad al-Yadali; Salatu Rabbi/ The Blessings of My Lord,

---'Uthman dan Fodio: The Daliyya/Is There a Way for Me?

---Ibrahim Niasse :

------Mala'l-qalbu hubbu'l-Hashmi/Paris,

------Rasula Ilahi'l-'alamina ta'ala/O Messenger of God,

------Nafa 'an fu'adi/Ahmad Banished Sorrow from My Heart,

------Wusulu jami' i'l-malikin/The Arrival of All Slaves,

------Tabibi/My Doctor,

------Abu Bakr 'Atiqu and Nasiru Kabara: Takhmis al-Mawahib al-ahadiyya fi madh al-hadarat al-Muhammadiyyah/ The Gifts of Unicity in Praising the Muhammadan Presences.

---Bibliography.

More Poetry books,

Also see the works of Walid Lounes.

*Dimensions : 23.4 x 15.6cm.