Michael Cooperson (Books)

Michael Cooperson Books

Michael Cooperson is a scholar and translator dedicated to illuminating the landscape of Arabic literature, particularly its classical traditions. His scholarly work delves into the lives and intellectual legacies of key figures, offering insights into their historical and cultural contexts. As a translator, Cooperson bridges linguistic divides, making significant Arabic works accessible to a global readership. Through his rigorous scholarship and thoughtful translations, he reveals the richness and complexity of Arabic thought and culture for contemporary readers.

Classical Arabic Biography

The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of Al-Ma'mun

242 pages
9 hours of reading

4.4(3)Add rating

Premodern Arabic biography has served as a major source for the history of Islamic civilization. In the first book-length study to explore the origins and development of classical Arabic biography, Michael Cooperson demonstrates how Muslim scholars used the notions of heirship and transmission to document the activities of political, scholarly and religious communities. The author also explains how medieval Arab scholars used biography to reconstruct the life stories of important historical figures. He then examines the careers of four of these figures, analyzing their relationships and their place in later biography. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Note on transliteration; Note on dating systems; Glossary; 1. The development of the genre; 2. The caliph al-Ma'mun; 3. The Imam 'Ali al'Rida; 4. The Hadith-scholar Ahmad Ibn Hanbal; 5. The renunciant Bishr al-Hafi; Conclusions; Appendix: the circumstances of 'Ali al-Rida's death; Bibliography; Index.