Islam and the Divine Comedy

Islam and the Divine Comedy

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Author: Miguel Asin
Translator(s): Harold Sunderland
Publisher: Goodword Books
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 295
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187570202

Description

This volume is an abridged translation of 'La Escatologia Musulmana en la Divina Comedia, originallty published in Spanish in Madrid in 1919.

The author, Prof. Miguel Asin Y Palacios, though a Catholic priest, was attracted by the Muslim philosophers and Sufis of Spain, particularly Ibn Massara, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Rushd and the great sufi Ibn al-Arabi. He wrote several books on Hispano-Islamic philosophy and Sufism, but the international renown he earned as on account of this book.

After years of extensive research, he discovered parallels between the Islamic lore about the after-life based on Hadith and the Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), a work for which he is justly famed. The similarities, far from being superficial, pervade the entire poem. Prof. Asian concluded that Dante had derived most of the features of an episodes about the hereafter from (i) the Hadith literature relating to the Prophet Muhammad and his ascension (miraj) and (ii) to the spiritual visions of Ibn al-Arabi. In his opinion, the Divine Comedy was not an entirely original work, as Dante had had before him a ready made pattern based on Islamic writing on the after-life.

With the publication of this work, Prof. Asin found himself in the eye of a storm, as nationalist Italians, the roman catholic clergy, and other European Christians could not reconcile themselves to the thought of their most cherished religious poem being based on non-Christian sources. Prof. Asin, however, faced up to his critics by enumerating the possible sources from which Dante could have obtained the salient features of Islamic eschatology.

The consensus of opinion of all eminent scholars of Europe and America is now in favor of Prof. Asian’s thesis.

Contents

PART I: THE LEGEND OF THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY AND ASCENSION OF MAHOMET COMPARED WITH THE DIVINE COMEDY

The Origin of the Legend

First Cycle -Versions of the Isra, or Nocturnal Journey

Second Cycle-Versions of the Miraj, or Ascension

Third Cycle-Fusion of the Versions of the Isra and the Miraj

Theological Commentaries on the Legend

Adaptations from the Legend, Mainly Mystical Allegories

Literary Imitations of the Legend

Summary of Comparisons

PART II
THE DIVINE COMEDY COMPARED WITH OTHER MOSLEM LEGENDS ON THE AFTER-LIFE

Introduction

The Moslem Limbo in the Divine Comedy

The Moslem Hell in the Divine Comedy

The Moslem Hell in the Divine Comedy-Continued

The Moslem Hell in the Divine Comedy (Conclusion)

The Moslem Purgatory in the Divine Comedy

The Earthly Paradise of Islam in the Divine Comedy

The Celestial Paradise of Islam in the Divine Comedy

The Celestial Paradise of Islam in the Divine Comedy (Conclusion)

Synthesis of all the Partial Comparisons

PART III: MOSLEM FEATURES IN THE CHRISTIAN LEGENDS PRECURSORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY

Introduction

Legends of Visions of Hell

Legends of Visions of Hell-Conclusion

Legends on the Weighing of Souls

Legends of Paradise

Legends of Sea Voyages

Legends of Sleepers

Legends of the Respite from Torture

Legends on the Debate Between Angels and Devils for Possession of the Soul

PART IV: PROBABILITY OF THE TRANSMISSION OF ISLAMIC MODELS TO CHRISTIAN EUROPE AND PARTICULARLY TO DANTE

Introduction

Communication Between Islam and Christian Europe During the Middle Ages

Transmission of the Moslem Legends on the After-Life to Christian Europe and Dante

The Attraction Felt by Dante Towards Arabic Culture Confirms the Hypothesis of Imitation

The Close Resemblance Between Dante and the Mystic, IBN Ababi of Murcia, Furnishes Further Proof of the Thesis of Imitation