A Literary History of the Arabs — Reynold A Nicholson

A Literary History of the Arabs published by T Fisher Unwin in 1907 and twice re issuedwithout alteration now appears under new auspices and I wish to thank the Syndics of theCambridge University Press for the opportunity they have given me of making it in somerespects more accurate and useful than it has hitherto been Since the present edition isprinted from the original plates there could be no question of revising the book throughoutand recasting it where necessary but while only a few pages have been rewritten theBibliography has been brought up to date and I have removed several mistakes from the textand corrected others in an appendix which includes a certain amount of supplementary matter As stated in the preface to the first edition I hoped to compile a work which should serve asa general introduction to the subject and which should be neither too popular for students nortoo scientific for ordinary readers It has been my chief aim to sketch in broad outlines whatthe Arabs thought and to indicate as far as possible the influences which moulded theirthought Tanıtım Bülteninden

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson 1868 1945 English orientalist who exercised a lasting influence on Islāmic studies Educated at Aberdeen University and the University of Cambridge Nicholson was lecturer in Persian 1902 26 and Sir Thomas Adams professor of Arabic 1926 33 at Cambridge He was a leading scholar in Islāmic literature and mysticism His A Literary History of the Arabs 1907 remains a standard work on that subject in English while his many text editions and translations of Ṣūfī writings culminating in his eight volume Mathnawi of Jalalu ddin Rumi 1925 40 eminently advanced the study of Muslim mystics He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry entitle him to be considered a poet in his own right His profound understanding of Islām and of the Muslim peoples was the more remarkable in that he never traveled outside Europe A shy and retiring man he proved himself an inspiring teacher and an original thinker

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson 1868 1945 English orientalist who exercised a lasting influence on Islamic studies Educated at Aberdeen University and the University of Cambridge Nicholson was lecturer in Persian 1902 26 and Sir Thomas Adams professor of Arabic 1926 33 at Cambridge He was a leading scholar in Islamic literature and mysticism His A Literary History of the Arabs 1907 remains a standard work on that subject in English while his many text editions and translations of ufi writings culminating in his eight volume Mathnawi of Jalalu ddin Rumi 1925 40 eminently advanced the study of Muslim mystics He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry entitle him to be considered a poet in his own right His profound understanding of Islam and of the Muslim peoples was the more remarkable in that he never traveled outside Europe A shy and retiring man he proved himself an inspiring teacher and an original thinker