Journey to the Holy Land

A Pilgrim's Diary
Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-19-806346-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 224 mm, Gewicht: 544 g

This is the first English translation of Amir Ahmad Alawi's Safar-i-Saadat, an intimate account of the quintessentially Muslim journey, the hajj. While focusing on the soul-stirring effects of his first hajj, Alawi also catches the anomalies of Saudi life, especially the malpractices, monopolies, and misdeeds that had crept in the name of commerce. Not only an intimate account of what the individual saw and heard in the course of his travel, the work also records the author's candid commentaries on the social, economic, and political conditions of the places he passed through. The narrative, interspersed with Urdu verses, displays great poetic energy and inherent skill of word-play kept alive by the author's talent of handling comic scenes and expressing ridicule, especially, while referring to colonial officials.

A detailed Introduction by Mushirul Hasan and Rakhshanda Jalil, while describing the well-known customs and practices associated with hajj, explores the geo-political situation of Hijaz and the battle for political ascendancy of the House of Saud, to place Alawi's account in perspective. The volume also includes a special piece, 'My Experience of the Hajj of 1916' by J.S. Kadri, information on movement of ships meant for Hajj passengers of 1929, and a glossary. Introduced and translated for the first time, this book will be of immense value to students and teachers of South Asian history, culture, and literature, as well as general readers interested in travel writing.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Alawi, Amir Ahmad

Weitere Mitwirkende

Hasan, Mushirul

Jalil, Rakhshanda

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Leben & Praxis

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction

- Annexure

- 1: Annexure 1: Statement showing the names of pilgrim ships and shipping companies with their advertised and actual sailing dates, the number of pilgrims actually embarked, and the passage rates of the deck charged by the company during the outward season of 1929

- 2.: Annexure 2: Statement showing the names of ships with their arrival dates, total number of pilgrims embarked from Jeddah deck and other ports, deaths and births during the voyage, the number of pilgrims disembarked, and the passage rates charged by the companies during the return season of 1929

- SAFAR-I-SAADAT

- Appendix: 'My Experience of the Hajj of 1916' by J.S. Kadri

- Glossary

Über Autor(innen)

Mushirul Hasan Padma Shree, is Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia. An acclaimed historian, he is Director, Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia and Vice-Chairman, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He has been visiting professor at the Central European University, Budapest, International Institute of Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), Paris, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Berlin; and held professorial fellowships at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi, Centre of Oriental Studies, Rome, and the Centre of Indian Studies at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris.

Rakhshanda Jalil is media and cultural coordinator at Jamia Millia Islamia. She taught English at the universities of Delhi and Aligarh.