Dreaming Across Boundaries : The Interpretation of Dreams in Islamic Lands

by Marlow, Louise

• ISBN13: 9780674021228
• ISBN10: 0674021223
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-31
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

Descriptions of dreams abound in the literatures of the Near East and North Africa. The Prophet Muhammad endowed them with a theological dimension, saying that after him "true dreams" would be the only channel for prophecy. Dreams were often used to support conflicting theological and political arguments, and the local chronicles contain many accounts of royal dreams justifying the advent of new dynasties. This volume explores the context of these theological speculations and political aspirations through the medium of dreams to present fascinating insights into the social history of the pre-modern Islamic world in all its cultural diversity. Wider cultural exchanges are discussed through concrete examples such as the Arabic version of the Aristotelian treatise De divinatione per somnum. Some of the current scholarly assumptions about dreams being merely stylized expressions of social conventions are challenged by personal reports that express individual personalities, self-awareness, and spiritual development. This is the first volume of the Ilex Series on Themes and Traditions. The series explores cross-cultural constructs without losing sight of the rich texture of local variations of traditions or beliefs.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
Note on Transliteration	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Qur'an and Hadith: A Struggle for Supremacy as Reflected in Dream Narratives	p. 25
How Aristotle Came to Believe in God-given Dreams: The Arabic Version of De divinatione per somnum	p. 50
An Early Muslim Autobiographical Dream Narrative: Abu Ja'far al-Qayini and His Dream of the Prophet Muhammad	p. 78
Self-Reflection and Conversion in Medieval Muslim Autobiographical Dreams	p. 99
The Dream as a Narrative Device in the Shahnama	p. 131
The Poor Man's Prophecy: Al-Ghazali on Dreams	p. 142
The Significance of Dreams and Dream Interpretation in the Qur'an: Two Sufi Commentaries on Surat Yusuf	p. 153
The Image of 'Ali b. Abi Talib in the Dreams of Visitors to His Tomb	p. 179
Dream Accounts in the Chronicles of the Mamluk Period	p. 202
The Dreams of Shaykh Safi al-Din in Late Safavid Chronicles	p. 221
Images for Foretelling: Two Topkapi Falnamas	p. 235
Dreams in the Manaqib of a Moroccan Sufi Shaykh: 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Dabbagh (d. 1131/1719)	p. 270
Contributors	p. 285
Index of Subjects and Terms	p. 291
Index of Names, Places, and Works	p. 297
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