Spiritual Grammar

Genre and the Saintly Subject in Islam and Christianity

F. Dominic Longo (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

256 Seiten

2019
Fordham University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8232-8369-9 (ISBN)

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Literary analysis and theological interpretation of Catholic, University of Paris chancellor Jean Gerson’s (d. 1429) Donatus moralizatus and Muslim, Sufi scholar ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī’s (d. 1072) Naḥw al-qulūb. Argues that the genre of these two religious texts aims to engender saintly readers and uses grammar as metaphor for spiritual realities.

Spiritual Grammar identifies a genre of religious literature that until now has not been recognized as such. In this surprising and theoretically nuanced study, F. Dominic Longo reveals how grammatical structures of language addressed in two medieval texts published nearly four centuries apart, from distinct religious traditions, offer a metaphor for how the self is embedded in spiritual reality. Reading The Grammar of Hearts (Nahw al-qulūb) by the great Sufi shaykh and Islamic scholar ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (d. 1074) and Moralized Grammar (Donatus moralizatus) by Christian theologian Jean Gerson (d. 1429), Longo reveals how both authors use the rules of language and syntax to advance their pastoral goals. Indeed, grammar provides the two masters with a fresh way of explaining spiritual reality to their pupils and to discipline the souls of their readers in the hopes that their writings would make others adept in the grammar of the heart.

F. Dominic Longo holds a Ph.D. in Arabic & Islamic Studies from Harvard University, and a M.A. in Theology from Boston College. His research focuses on queer comparative Christian-Islamic theology. Alongside his scholarly activities, Dr. Longo works in the field of leadership development, with a focus on promoting human flourishing in all its forms.

List of Abbreviations | xi

Preface | xiii

Introduction. Genre Trouble: Queering Grammar for Spiritual Purposes | 1

1 Arabic, Latin, and the Discipline of Grammar in the Worlds of Qushayrī and Gerson | 27

2 Genres and Genders of Gerson | 53

3 Gerson’s “Moralized” Primer of Spiritual Grammar | 81

4 From the Names of God to the Grammar of Hearts | 117

5 Forming Spiritual Fuṣaḥāʾ: Qushayrī’s Advanced Grammar of Hearts | 150

6 The Fruits of Comparison: Constructing a Theology of Grammar | 186

Appendix. Translation of Jean Gerson’s Moralized Grammar | 217

Notes | 233

Index | 269

Erscheinungsdatum	20.05.2019
Reihe/Serie	Comparative Theology: Thinking Across Traditions
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
ISBN-10	0-8232-8369-0 / 0823283690
ISBN-13	978-0-8232-8369-9 / 9780823283699
Zustand	Neuware