Overview

The twelfth-century Iranian mystic ‘Ayn al-Quḍāt al-Hamadhānī (d. 1131) wrote vividly of his explorations of death as a state of consciousness which he experienced while alive. This state and his visions of Doomsday and the innumerable non-corporeal worlds that lie past the world of matter confront him with paradoxical realities that upset the notional understanding of faith. The present book concerns itself with a discussion on the subject of death as it is viewed by one of the defining mystic scholars of medieval Iran. Based on medieval manuscripts and primary sources in classical Persian and Arabic, this book explores the significance of this important Iranian mystic and his insights on the nature of reality in light of death.

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9789004174139

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Reviews

... this monograph provides a valuable and thought-provoking study of 'Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani's works. Stephen Burge in Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies 5.1 (2012), 98-101. Beyond Death [...] offers readers a glimpse into the sublime nature of 'Ayn al-Qudat's vision. And this is surely because Papan-Matin's translations from the Tamhidat are often able to capture, with considerable beauty, the soaring and tantalizingly elliptical nature of 'Ayn al-Qudat's Persian prose. Mohammed Rustom in Journal of Sufi Studies 2.2 (2013), 203-206. DOI: 10.1163/22105956-12341258

... this monograph provides a valuable and thought-provoking study of ʿAyn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani's works. Stephen Burge in Journal of Shiʿa Islamic Studies 5.1 (2012), 98-101. Beyond Death [...] offers readers a glimpse into the sublime nature of ʿAyn al-Qudat's vision. And this is surely because Papan-Matin's translations from the Tamhidat are often able to capture, with considerable beauty, the soaring and tantalizingly elliptical nature of ʿAyn al-Qudat's Persian prose. Mohammed Rustom in Journal of Sufi Studies 2.2 (2013), 203-206. DOI: 10.1163/22105956-12341258

... this monograph provides a valuable and thought-provoking study of Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani's works. Stephen Burge in Journal of Shi a Islamic Studies 5.1 (2012), 98-101. Beyond Death [...] offers readers a glimpse into the sublime nature of Ayn al-Qu at's vision. And this is surely because Papan-Matin's translations from the Tamhidat are often able to capture, with considerable beauty, the soaring and tantalizingly elliptical nature of Ayn al-Qu at's Persian prose. Mohammed Rustom in Journal of Sufi Studies 2.2 (2013), 203-206. DOI: 10.1163/22105956-12341258

Author Information

Firoozeh Papan-Matin, Ph.D. (2003) in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California, Los Angeles, has published extensively on topics in Persian literature and Islamic mysticism including The Unveiling of Secrets (Kashf al-Asrār): The Visionary Autobiography of Rūzbihān al-Baqlī (A.D. 1128-1209) (Brill, 2006).

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