The texture of the divine : imagination in medieval Islamic and Jewish thought / Aaron W. Hughes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hughes, Aaron W., 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Imagination--Religious aspects--Islam.

Imagination.

Imagination--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Image of God--Comparative studies.

Image of God.

Neoplatonism in literature.

Ascension of the soul.

Philosophy, Medieval.

Avicenna, 980-1037. Risālat Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān.

Avicenna.

Ibn Ṭufayl, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Malik, -1185. Risālat Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān.

Ibn Ṭufayl, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Malik.

Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Meir, 1092-1167. Hai ben Mekits.

Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Meir.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 273 pages)

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Texture of the Divine explores the central role of the imagination in the shared symbolic worlds of medieval Islam and Judaism. Aaron W. Hughes looks closely at three interrelated texts known as the Hayy ibn Yaqzan cycle (dating roughly from 1000--1200 CE) to reveal the interconnections not only between Muslims and Jews, but also between philosophy, mysticism, and literature. Each of the texts is an initiatory tale, recounting a journey through the ascending layers of the universe. These narratives

Contents:

Reading the divine: a user's guide to the initiatory tale

Reading between the lines: text as encounter with the divine

Polishing a dirty mirror: the philosophic imagination

The initiation of the philosopher: ritual poetics and the quest for meaning

"God is beautiful and loves beauty": the role of aesthetics in medieval Islamic and Jewish philosophy

Appendix: Ḥay ben Meqitz: an initiatory tale by Abraham ibn Ezra.

Notes:

Includes the text of an English translation of Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra's Hai ben Mekits.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-265) and index.

Contains:

Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Meir, 1092-1167. Hai ben Mekits. English.

ISBN:

1-282-07139-4

9786612071393

0-253-11087-4

OCLC:

615014899