$34.49
Author: Murata Sachiko
Brand: Paragon House Publishers
Edition: 1St Edition
Features:
Number Of Pages: 352
Details: From Library Journal
Most English-language introductions to Islam (and to Christianity and Judaism as well) scant the intellectual and spiritual; instead, they stress the externals-the things one must do to be saved, to be justified, to be upright before God and one’s fellows. Basic doctrine, moral teaching, and ritual obligations are, as Murata and Chittick point out, all that the ordinary Muslim believer, prospective convert, and casually interested non-Muslim observer really need to know. The authors (comparative studies, SUNY at Stonybrook) provide a systematic and thorough handbook of basic Islamic theology on many topics, such as the nature of God and man, revelation and scripture, prayer and the interior life, and mysticism and devotion. For serious students of Islam (and its relationship to Judaism and Christianity) who are undaunted by technical terminology, this work is the book to have. For academic libraries and public libraries with substantial collections in religion.
James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, Va.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Something is lost when Western thinkers approach Islam. They seem to see the religion in historical and cultural terms, obscuring Islam’s own internal logic and its true beauty and spirituality. This clearly written introduction to Islam changes that, vividly explaining the Islamic perspectives that have rung true for Muslims for nearly 1400 years.
The book covers the four dimensions of Islam as outlined in the Hadith of Gabriel: practice, faith, spirituality, and the Islamic view of history. Drawing on the Koran, the sayings of the Prophet and the great authorities of the tradition, the text introduces the essentials of each dimension and then shows how it has been embodied in Islamic institutions throughout history.
Review
This lucid and compelling account of Islam is written from what might be called a phenomenological perspective. Because its principal aim is to present Islam as a living faith from a Muslim perspective as reflected in the classical texts of the tradition, Murata and Chittick (comparative studies, SUNY, Stony Brook) go to some length to differentiate their work from the numerous historical, critically oriented introductions to Islam that have appeared over the last several decades….The book is intended to serve as an introductory text in undergraduate college and university courses on Islam, but it can serve equally well as an introduction to Islam for a more general readership. Useful glossary of technical terms; brief set of notes. Recommended to all college and university libraries as well as to public libraries concerned to maintain up-to-date information on major living religions. — M. Swartz, Choice
This work is one of the most successful introductions to Islam for a Western audience. A comprehensive study, which beginning from within the precinct of the revealed truths of the faith expands in ever widening circles to embrace the whole vision of Islam. — Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washington University
This is a book that every introductory course on Islam should attempt to incorporate. It describes and elucidates extremely well the integrity and coherence of Muslim faith and piety and how they relate to practice and culture. — William A. Graham, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
About the Author
Sachiko Murata completed her B.A. in family law at Chiba University in Japan, worked for a year in a law firm in Tokyo, and then went to Iran to study Islamic law. She completed a PhD in Persian literature at Tehran University in 1971, and then transferred to the faculty of theology, where she was the first woman and the first non-Muslim to be enrolled. She finished her MA in Islamic jurisprudence in 1975, and while continuing work on her PhD dissertation in law she became a research associate at the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy. Her work on her second PhD was cut short by the revolutio
Release Date: 01-06-1998
Package Dimensions: 18x226x572
