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Arais al-majalis fi qisas al-anbiya' or "Lives of the Prophets", as recounted by Abu Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Thalabi, translated and annotated by William M. BBINNER. Studies in Arabic Literature, 24. Leiden, Boston, KoIn, 2002: Koninklijke Brill. S. xxxiv, 774. ISBN 90-04-12589-2. euro190,-.
If one leaves out of consideration the qisas al-anbiya' traditions found in the Annales of al-Tabari (d. 310/923), ihe'Ara'is al-majalis of al-Tha'labi (d. 427/1035) is the largest collection of this material in medieval Arabic literature. The text has for centuries enjoyed a certain renown undiminished by later objections to the genre on religious grounds, and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries there have been many Arabic printings as well as translations into other Middle East languages. Al-Tha'labi unfortunately does not say much about what aims he has in mind, but the opening phrase of the text reminds the reader that "We relate to you the histories of these Messengers (al-rusul) to put courage into your heart" (p. 3), a quotation of Surat Hud (11), v. 120. This is borne out by the rest of the book, which clearly shows that the author had didactic purposes and entertainment value in mind. The style and tenor display a fascinating variety: at times al-Thaclabi writes in an elevated style, while at others he is clearly enjoying himself with 'aja'ib (e.g. pp. 486-89, 498-509). Apparently unmoved by reservations over israililyat, he often displays a concern for quoting at great length exactly what ancient Jewish figures were believed to have said (e.g. pp. 549-56). Quotations from the Qur'an are of course frequent, but so also are his citations of Arabic poetry, both ancient and more contemporary to his own time.
The book is divided into topical sections of very uneven lenght; thus Moses and related issues receive 137 pages (pp. 278-414), Samson only two (pp. 726-27). The shorter sections are simply called "chapter" or "story", while the long ones are referred to as majalis and are extensively divided into chapters. Al-Tha'labi begins with Creation and moves through the various prophets according to their supposed historical sequence, but also devotes attention to individuals who were not prophets at all, but whose stories could be accepted as having some didactic value. Hence one encounters, for example, Irani...