Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk Period : Proceedings of the Themed Day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014)

Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk period offers new insights into the intellectual profile of Al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505), a scholar who uniquely interpreted and represented the cultural trends and political tensions of the last stage of the Mamlūk period. Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Introduction • Antonella Ghersetti 10 1 Al-Suyūṭī as a Sufi • Éric Geoffroy 17 2 Al-Suyūṭī, the Intolerant Ecumenist: Law and Theology in Taʾyīd al-ḥaqīqa al-ʿaliyya wa-tashyīd al-ṭarīqah al-Shādhiliyya • Aaron Spevack 24 3 Al-Suyūṭī and Problems of the waqf • Takao Ito 56 4 Bidʿa or sunna: The ṭaylasān as a Contested Garment in the Mamlūk Period (Discussions between al-Suyūṭī and Others) • Judith Kindinger 73 5 Al-Suyūṭī’s Stance Toward Worldly Power: A Reexamination Based on Unpublished and Understudied Sources • Christian Mauder 90 6 Casting the Caliph in a Cosmic Role: Examining al-Suyūṭī’s Historical Vision • Mustafa Banister 107 7 Preservation through Elaboration: The Historicisation of the Abyssinians in al-Suyūṭī’s Rafʿ shaʾn al-Ḥubshān • Christopher D. Bahl 127 8 Evidence of Self-editing in al-Suyūṭī’s Taḥbīr and Itqān: A Comparison of his Chapters on Asbāb al-nuzūl • S.R. Burge 152 9 “Usefulness without Toil”: Al-Suyūṭī and the Art of Concise ḥadīth Commentary • Joel Blecher 191 10 History, Comparativism, and Morphology: Al-Suyūṭī and Modern Historical Linguistics • Francesco Grande 210 11 Al-Suyūṭī and Erotic Literature • Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila 236 12 Revisiting Love and Coquetry in Medieval Arabic Islam: Al-Suyūṭī’s Perspective • Daniela Rodica Firanescu 250 Index of Names 270 Index of Titles 277 La 4e de couv. indique "This volume is a collection of several papers devoted to Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505), presented on the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (held at Ca' Foscari University, Venice, from June 23 to June 25, 2014). It aims to contribute to a reassessment of the scholarly profile of the controversial but fascinating polymath and intellectual, and, more generally, to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political and academic life of the last period of the Mamlūk empire. Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's bibliography ranges from law to theology, and from linguistics to history. It includes medicine and geography. This polymath felt that his mission was to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the past, and knowledge in general, from widespread ignorance and decline. Considered for a long time to be an author devoid of any originality and a "simple" compiler, he was in fact an excellent teacher and a rigorous scholar who had a meticulous and accurate working method. With contributions by: Christopher D. Bahl; Mustafa Banister; Joel Blecher; S.R. Burge; Daniela Rodica Firanescu; Éric Geoffroy; Antonella Ghersetti; Francesco Grande; Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila; Takao Ito; Judith Kindinger; Christian Mauder; Aaron Spevack." This volume is a collection of several papers devoted to Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505), presented on the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (held at Ca' Foscari University, Venice, from June 23 to June 25, 2014). It aims to contribute to a reassessment of the scholarly profile of the controversial but fascinating polymath and intellectual, and, more generally, to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political and academic life of the last period of the Mamlūk empire. Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's bibliography ranges from law to theology, and from linguistics to history. It includes medicine and geography. He felt that his mission was to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the past, and knowledge in general, from widespread ignorance and decline. Considered for a long time to be an author devoid of any originality and a "simple" compiler, this polymath was in fact an excellent teacher and a rigorous scholar who had a meticulous and accurate working method. With contributions by: Christopher D. Bahl; Mustafa Banister; Joel Blecher; Stephen R. Burge; Daniela Rodica Firanescu; Éric Geoffroy; Antonella Ghersetti; Francesco Grande; Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila; Takao Ito; Judith Kindinger; Christian Mauder; Aaron Spevack This volume is a collection of several papers devoted to Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505), presented on the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (held at Ca'Foscari University,Venice, from June 23 to June 25, 2014). It aims to contribute to a reassessment of the scholarly profile of the controversial but fascinating polymath and intellectual, and, more generally, to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political and academic life of the last period of the Mamlūk empire. Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's bibliography ranges from law to theology, and from linguistics to history. It includes medicine and geography. This polymath felt that his mission was to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the past, and knowledge in general, from widespread ignorance and decline. Considered for a long time to be an author devoid of any originality and a “simple” compiler, he was in fact an excellent teacher and a rigorous scholar who had a meticulous and accurate working method. With contributions by: Christopher D. Bahl; Mustafa Banister; Joel Blecher; S. R. Burge; Daniela Rodica Firanescu; Éric Geoffroy; Antonella Ghersetti; Francesco Grande; Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila; Takao Ito; Judith Kindinger; Christian Mauder; Aaron Spevack.