Sir William Jones and Oriental Mysticism

Oriental mysticism, religion, and science are all intertwined with literature; while proven to be fantastic for many scholars, this intermixture has made it challenging to extract mystical concepts from poetry. This difficulty has been one of the earliest sources of conflict between Oriental literary scholars, religious figures, and mystics. The situation becomes more complex should one attempt to compare Oriental mysticism with its Occidental counterpart. Arguably, the first Western scholar who conducted such a rigorous comparison was Sir William Jones (1746–1794), a linguist, translator, and poet who was also a Supreme Court Judge in Calcutta. His fascination with Persian mystical poets such as Rumi (1210-1273), Sadi (1210-1292), and Hafez (1315-1390) drove him towards Sufism. Due to his understanding of Persian mysticism and culture, Jones became one of the best interpreters of Indo-Persian literature. His works, founded on his fascination with Persian language and literature, gained him the title of ‘Persian Jones’ and established his international reputation as an Orientalist. Jones’s publications highly impacted Romantic scholars, developing sympathetic representations of the Orient in the period’s literature. Jones’s works, letters, Persian manuscripts, and the annotations he made on them have not been examined for his Persian mystical studies before this thesis. Therefore, this PhD research will investigate his works and library on Sufism and his comparative study of mystical schools. It intends to analyse Jones’s findings in his comparative mystical studies and elaborate on his understanding of Sufism. This thesis investigates his essays, letters, and annotations in various texts; such texts are mainly available in the Royal Asiatic Society archives and the British Library’s India Office Records and Private Papers. Moreover, in some cases, Jones has altered his English translations of Persianate Sufi texts; these alterations will be examined and compared with the original texts to demonstrate Jones’s rationale behind them. This research will pursue the accuracy of Jones’s interpretation of Sufism and Hinduism. In addition, it examines his development of the interpretations of Oriental mysticism, which he presented to eighteenth-century Europe. The findings of this research will contribute to the growing literature on Orientalism and shed a brighter light on the works of Sir William Jones and Indo-Persian literature and mysticism.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENRE OF THE SHORT STORY IN THE WORKS OF AMERICAN AND BRITISH WRITERS.

This article pays attention to the issue development of the genre of the short story in the American and British literature. The authors of the short stories overcame difficulties with the extensive search for ways to update the figurative and expressive means powered to their common basic paradigm shift. Analysis of the researching devoted to the theory and history of the genre of the short story inevitably was powered by common understanding blur definition of its genre associated with general laws taken place in the literary process of the XIXth century. The high artistic level achieved the small prose in the England and its traits was fruitfully investigated by Russian and Western scholar and enlightened the experience manner of writers, therefore this genre should be considered as creative activity improved the unique technique, carried out in practice the experiments with a plot and themes finally successfully developed in their narrative prose.

PEMIKIRAN JOHN BURTON ATAS NASKH DALAM AL-QURAN DAN HADIS

This paper informs the thoughts of a Western scholar, John Burton, related to his commentary on the naskh theory addressed to the Quran and Hadith or in other terms Tradition, borrowed the term Burton. In his book, al-Suyuthi quotes the words of the scholars that no one can interpret the Quran except after he knows the science of nāskh. Therefore, the concept of naskh is important to be studied further through the new perspective of scholars both Muslim and Non-Muslim. John Burton was selected to be studied because he was among the earliest Western scholar who shows great concern for the discussed matter in the field of the Quran and Hadith studies. From this writing, it was found, that in Burton’s view, the removal of the verse and its rules were ideas made by Muslim fuqaha who tried to base their legal decisions on the Quran even though the text of the Quran had no reference to that decision.

Studi Kritik Hadis Perspektif Jonathan A.C. Brown (Analisis terhadap Three Tiered Method)

This article aims to present the formulation of the hadith authenticity method formulated by Jonathan A. C. Brown in his theory named the Three-Tiered Method. This investigation is carried out through three steps; First, demands for a source of hadith, second, evaluates the reliability of that source, third, seeks corroboration for the hadith. Brown also argues that the third step is considered pivotal in hadith criticism. The more sources of the report, the more credible the report is. In the theory of historical evaluation of western scholar, such belief is called the criterion of multiple attestation. Briefly, quantity changes lead to quality changes. Therefore, the author's reflection on the issue relating to the hadith about the suggestion to wear a white dress (which has been criticise using this theory) proves this hadith to be authentic. Abstrak: Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mempresentasikan formulasi metode autentisitas hadis yang dirumuskan oleh Jonathan A. C. Brown melalui teorinya Three Tiered Method. Investigasi hadis diaplikasikan dalam tiga langkah. Pertama, tuntutan adanya sumber hadis. Kedua, mengevaluasi keterpercayaan sumber hadis. Ketiga, mencari penguat sebuah hadis. Brown berpendapat bahwa langkah ketiga dianggap cukup krusial dalam kritik hadis. Semakin banyak sumber laporan maka akan muncul kepercayaan yang tinggi terhadap laporan tersebut. Dalam evaluasi historis versi Sarjana Barat, hal ini disebut kriteria pengesahan berganda (the criterion of multiple attestation). Pendek kata, kuantitas akan berubah menuju kualitas. Refleksi penulis dalam kasus hadis tentang anjuran berpakaian putih menggunakan teori tersebut membuktikan bahwa hadis ini otentik

John Dewey and Chinese Education: Comparative Perspectives and Contemporary Interpretations

It has been widely claimed that no Western scholar has exerted greater influence on Chinese education than the American education philosopher John Dewey, who visited and lectured in China for more than two years between 1919 and 1921. A comparison of Chinese and American scholars’ evaluations of Dewey’s impact on Chinese education reveals many contradictions and controversies, especially in China during different historical periods. This paper examines the major differences between Chinese and American critics’ views on Dewey’s influence on Chinese education, with a focus on the dramatic changes in Chinese scholars’ perspectives in three distinct stages: from early praise and positive acceptance during the first 30 years after Dewey’s visit to China (1919–1949), to severe criticism and rejection over the next 30 years (1949–1979), and then to new interpretations since China’s opening up to the outside world in 1979. Although Dewey and his education theories were first extolled and then abandoned in China, they have received open and warm reappraisals from Chinese educators in recent decades and have emerged from rejection to renewed appreciation in Chinese education. To fully understand the significance and implications of Dewey’s visit to and lectures in China, both Chinese and American Dewey scholars need to create and sustain continued dialogue on this most fascinating episode in the intellectual histories of China and the US.

Kemunculan Lingua Sacra dalam Sejarah al-Qur’an (Perspektif John Wansbrough)

The language of the Qur’an has long been disputed in the history of Qur’anic exegesis. It particularly related to the discourse of Arabic rhetoric and in turn has also sparked a considerable controversy especially in the context of “kalam” sectarianism (madhhab kala>mi>). John Wansbrough, a famous Western scholar, is one of those who paid much attention on the issue in his monumental work, Qur’anic Studies. The work is regarded as one of the exponents of the “historical-critical” study of the Quran that contains several key issues, including the intersection of the Qur’an with Arabic rhetoric discourse, which in turn is also responsible for the emergence of sacred sense in the two domains. Starting with Wansbrough’s key issues on Qur’anic Studies, this article provides a brief introduction to his thought about the emergence of the concept of the sacred language (lingua sacra) in the history of the Qur’an and some of the implications thereof.Keywords: John Wansbrough, lingua sacra, rhetorical exegesis, majaz.

Membaca Metode Penafsiran Al-Qur’an Kontemporer di Kalangan Sarjana Barat Analisis Pemikiran Angelika Neuwirth

This article examines Western scholar thoughts on methods of Qur’anic exegesis. It specifically analyzes Angelika Neuwirth’s thoughts as one of the leading western scholars on the Qur’an. She is considered the pioneer of academic-dialogic approaches to the Qur’an. She offers reading the Qur’an from the period of pre-canonization to conceive of the ways in which the Qur’an in the time of its revelation interacted with its surroundings. To understand this, she looks at relevant united verses as an integral unit that keeps important processes of communication during the lifetime of the Prophet. She concludes that these types of the verses are represented by the Meccan verses, not all verses of the Qur’an. Her study provides a new path in contemporary Qur’anic studies especially in the efforts to “revive” the codified Qur’an.

An essay on the history and hermeneutics of Naṣīḥat al-Mulūk BY Ghazālī, Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Al-Tūsī: the symbolic and cultural code

A symbolic and cultural analysis of the Oriental Philosophers’ writings is invariably a matter of great challenge and difficulty. It is always full of allegory and literary divagations which intersperse a smooth flow of argumentation. This paper is written by Marklen Konurbaev, Professor of Literature at Moscow State University and his son Salavat, a student of Arabic Philosophy. The paper consists of six parts and attempts to reveal the hidden message of a famous extract from the renowned book Ihya Ulum Al Din by a Persian philosopher Ghazālī, Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Al-Tūsī, devoted to the analysis of the notion of “fairness” in the doings of a ruler. The symbolic and cultural analysis of the work was performed based on the methodology propounded by Roland Gérard Barthes – a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist and critic. This is the first ever attempt to put together the methodological efforts of a Western scholar and profoundly oriental piece of philosophy. Results of the hermeneutic study are stunning and elucidating. The paper could be recommended to the students of literature and philosophy at the universities and colleges.

An essay on the history and hermeneutics of Naṣīḥat Al-mulūk by Ghazālī, Abu Hamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Al-tūsī: hermeneutic code

A hermeneutic analysis of the Oriental Philosophers’ writings is invariably a matter of great challenge and difficulty. It is always full of allegory and literary divagations which intersperse a smooth flow of argumentation. This paper is written by Marklen Konurbaev, Professor of Literature at Moscow State University and his son Salavat, a student of Arabic Philosophy. The paper consists of six parts and attempts to reveal the hidden message of a famous extract from the renowned book Ihya Ulum Al Din by a Persian philosopher Ghazālī, Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Al-Tūsī, devoted to the analysis of the notion of “fairness” in the doings of a ruler. The hermeneutic analysis was performed based on the methodology propounded by Roland Gérard Barthes — a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist and critic. This is the first ever attempt to put together the methodological efforts of a Western scholar and profoundly oriental piece of philosophy. Results of the hermeneutic study are stunning and elucidating. The paper could be recommended to the students of literature and philosophy at the universities and colleges.