The traditional account of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension has inspired generations of writers and storytellers from the beginnings of Islam until today. By the tenth century, narratives describing Muhammad’s encounter with prophets and angels, his colloquy with God, and his visits of heaven and hell lead to the formation of the "Book of Ascension," a novelizing and engaging literary genre most commonly written in Arabic and Seljuk Turkic. This is the study of an extremely rare Persian "Book of Ascension," which was written in Persian by an anonymous author and dates from the Ilkhanid Period (1256-1353). Christiane Gruber presents an English translation alongside the original manuscript text, together with critical commentary. The text appears to promote adherence, as well as to encourage conversion, to Sunni Islam -- providing a fascinating insight into the interplay between artistic practices and missionary efforts aimed at promoting Sunni Islam in Persian lands during Ilkhanid rule.
Author(s): Christiane Gruber
Series: I. B. Tauris & Bips Persian Studies
Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 213
Contents......Page 8
List of Plates......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Note to the Reader......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
The Tale's Qur'anic Origins and the Problems of Interpretation......Page 17
The Mi'rajnama Genre from the 10th to the 13th Century......Page 23
The Ilkhanid Mi'rajnama of 685/1286......Page 30
The Ilkhanid Mi'raj Paintings......Page 37
Concluding Remarks......Page 44
Contents of The Ilkhanid 'Book of Ascension'......Page 45
English Translation......Page 47
Persian Text......Page 181
Notes......Page 182
Bibliography......Page 203
Glossary of Terms......Page 210
Index......Page 212
Color Plates
......Page 66
