Kitab al-Miraj
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kitab al Miraj (Arabic: کﺗﺎب المعراج) is a Muslim holy book concerned with Mohammad's ascension into the Heavens (known as the Miraj), following his miraculous one-night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem (the Isra). the Miraj is divided into 7 chapters, and was written in Arabic using the Naskh script. It is believed to have been written by Abu'l-Qasim 'Abdalkarîm bin Hawâzin bin 'Abdalmalik bin Talhah bin Muhammad al-Qushairî.
In the second half of the thirteenth century, the book was translated into Latin (as Liber Scale Machometi) and Spanish, and soon thereafter (in 1264) into Old French.[1] Its Islamic depictions of Hell are believed by some scholars to have been a major influence on Dante's 14th Century masterpiece, the Divine Comedy.
Some believe that the story of Muhammad's ascension and consequently the Kitab al Miraj was under the influence of the Zoroastrian Arda Viraf nameh or Book of Arda Viraf.
[edit] References
- Traces de soufisme en Europe occidentale
- Bibliographic reference to the Miraj from Khuda Bakhsh Library in Patna, India
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ I. Heullant-Donat and M.-A. Polo de Beaulieu, "Histoire d'une traduction," in Le Livre de l'échelle de Mahomet, translated by Gisèle Besson and Michèle Brossard-Dandré, Collection Lettres Gothiques, Le Livre de Poche, 1991, p. 22.
