This course involves close and careful study of the Arabic texts of selected works on philosophy and mysticism, with attention to the vocabulary and grammar of classical Arabic. Each week students prepare selected passages, read them aloud with correct vocalization, and translate orally into English.
The course includes occasional comparison of existing translations into other languages, where available.
An ongoing theme is current issues in modern scholarship on Islamicate philosophy and Sufism, as well as the nature of research tools for the study of Arabic manuscripts.

Advanced knowledge of Arabic, and permission of instructor.

The basic goals of the course are:

Gaining linguistic skill in reading and translating classical Arabic religious texts.

Understanding problems related to the study of Islam, and methods of the study of classical Arabic texts.

Developing analytical skills through a research paper on a subject of one's choice related to Islamicate philosophy, mysticism, or other approved topics.

Learning basic paleography, the skill of reading ancient handwriting styles in Arabic manuscripts, and the elementary principles of critically editing a text from manuscripts.

Developing translation skills, including English translation of significant Arabic passages relating to one's research.

A research paper on some aspect of Islamicate philosophy and mysticism (15 pages plus bibliography), accompanied by translations of Arabic texts that provide the basis for the paper (4-5 pages of Arabic text). 70% of grade.

Creating a critical edition of a short passage from Ruzbihan Baqli's Mantiq al-asrar on the basis of three manuscripts. 10%.

Participation in weekly seminars with preparation. 20% of grade.

Readings:

Ibn Rushd, Abu al-Walid. Fasl al-maqal fima bayn al-hikma wal-shari`a min al-ittisal. Ed. D. Muhammad `Ammara. Third edition, Beirut: Al-Mu'assasa al-`Arabiyya lil-Darasa wal-Nashr, 1986.

Averroes, Decisive Treatise & Epistle Dedicatory, a parallel English-Arabic text translated and introduced with notes by Charles E. Butterworth. Brigham Young University Press, 2003.

Harawi, Abi al-Hasan `Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-. Kitab al-isharat ila ma`rifat al-ziyarat/Guide des lieux de pèlerinage. Ed. Janine Sourdel-Thomine. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1953.
Excerpt: pp. 10-16

Ruzbihan al-Baqli al-Shirazi, Abu Muhammad. Mantiq al-asrar. MS Louis Massignon; MS Mashhad; MS Tashkent. For details, see Carl W. Ernst, Ruzbihan Baqli: Mystical Experience and the Rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian Sufism (London: Curzon Press, 1996), appendix.
MS excerpts: Mashhad 53b-54a plus Massignon 77a

General Reference:

J. G. Hawa, Al-Fara'id Arabic-English Dictionary (Intl Book Centre, June 1982; some copies also at abebooks.com). Useful especially for later part of the alphabet not covered by Lane.

E. W. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon. This may be used in the library, or now in the CD-ROM version published by Fons Vitae Press.

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language (two volumes, Cambridge University Press). Used copies are available from online booksellers like www.abebooks.com

Special topics:

Avicenna. Liber de phiosophia prima, sive, Scientia divina, I-X. Ed. S. van Riet. Louvain-le-neuve: E. Peeters; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1983. Contains Lexique arabo-latin -- Lexique latino-arabe. Davis -- CALL NUMBER: B751.S5 L3 1977

Afnan, Soheil Muhsin. Philosophical terminology in Arabic and Persian. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1964. UNC location: Storage--Use Request Form -- CALL NUMBER: 101.4 A257p. Also at Duke.

Goichon, Amélie-Marie. Lexique de la langue philosophique d' Ibn Sînâ (Avicenne). [Together with:] Vocabulaire comparés d'Aristote et d'Ibn Sînâ. Supplement au lexique. Paris 1938-1939. 516 pp. Repr. 1999 (Islamic Philosophy. 39). ISBN 3-8298-6040-4. Available from the Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Westendstraße 89, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Jabre, Farid. Essai sur le lexique de Ghazali: Contribution à l'étude de la terminologie de Ghazali dans ses principaux ouvrages à l'exception du Tahafut. Beyrouth : Publications de l'Université libanaise, 1985.

Rosenthal, Franz. The technique and approach of Muslim scholarship. Roma, Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1947. LOCATION: Davis -- CALL NUMBER: 001 R815t

Urvoy, Dominique. Averroes. Paris: Flammarion, 2001. ISBN: 2080814702

Arabic manuscript catalogs at UNC and Duke

Arabic/Persian word processing in MS Word (Connie Bobroff's web site)