Man versus society in medieval Islam / / by Franz Rosenthal ; edited by Dimitri Gutas.

• Superior document: Brill Classics in Islam, Volume 7
• VerfasserIn: Rosenthal, Franz, 1914-2003,
• TeilnehmendeR: Gutas, Dimitri,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands : : Brill,, 2015.; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Brill classics in Islam ; Volume 7.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (1180 p.)
• Notes: Includes indexes.

In Man versus Society in Medieval Islam , Franz Rosenthal (1914-2003) investigates the tensions and conflicts that existed between individuals and society as the focus of his study of Muslim social history. The book brings together works spanning fifty years: the monographs The Muslim Concept of Freedom , The Herb. Hashish versus Medieval Muslim Society (Brill, 1971), Gambling in Islam (Brill, 1975), and Sweeter than Hope. Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam (Brill,1983), along with all the articles on unsanctioned practices, sexuality, and institutional learning. Reprinted here together for the first time, they constitute the most extensive collection of source material on all these themes from all genres of Arabic writing, judiciously translated and analyzed. No other study to date presents the panorama of medieval Muslim societies in their manifold aspects in as detailed, comprehensive, and illuminating a manner.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Introduction -- The Muslim Concept of Freedom Prior to the Nineteenth Century -- The Herb: Hashish versus Medieval Muslim Society -- Gambling in Islam -- “Sweeter Than Hope”: Complaint and Hope in Medieval Islam -- ‘I Am You’—Individual Piety and Society in Islam -- Gifts and Bribes: The Muslim View -- Cannabis and Alcohol: The Green and the Red -- The Stranger in Medieval Islam -- On Suicide in Islam -- Fiction and Reality: Sources for the Role of Sex in Medieval Muslim Society -- Male and Female: Described and Compared -- Reflections on Love in Paradise -- Muslim Social Values and Literary Criticism: Reflections on the Ḥadīth of Umm Zarʿ -- Child Psychology in Islam -- Materials for an Appraisal of Knowledge as a Societal Force -- Al-Asṭurlâbî and as-Samawʾal on Scientific Progress -- The Defense of Medicine in the Medieval Muslim World -- The Physician in Medieval Muslim Society -- Significant Uses of Arabic Writing -- “Of Making Many Books There Is No End:” The Classical Muslim View -- Indexes.