The Ring of the Dove

The Ring of the Dove
(Ms. in Leiden University Library)

The Ring of the Dove (Arabic: طوق الحمامة, Ṭawq al-Ḥamāmah[1]) is a treatise on love written ca. 1022 by Ibn Hazm.[1] Normally a writer of theology and law, Hazm produced his only work of literature with The Ring and the Dove.[2] Ibn Hazm borrowed heavily from Plato's Phaedrus,[3] though the bulk of the work was still his own writing, rather than an anthology of other works.[4] Although the human aspects of affection are the primary concern, the book was still written from the perspective of a devout Muslim, and as such chastity and restraint were common themes.

The book provides a glimpse into Ibn Hazm's own psychology. Ibn Hazm's teenage infatuation with one of his family's maids is often quoted as an example of the sort of chaste, unrequited love about which the author wrote.[4]

The work has been published into English multiple times. A. R. Nykl of the Oriental Institute of Chicago translated the work, publishing in 1931[1] and A. J. Arberry's translation was published in 1951.[5]

References

Arabic Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. 1 2 3 Hitti, p. 58
  2. ↑ Ibn Hazm (1994), p. 9
  3. ↑ Joseph A. Kechichian, A mind of his own. Gulf News: 21:30 December 20, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Lois A. Giffen, "Ibn Hazm and the Tawq al-Hamama. Taken from The Legacy of Muslim Spain, pg. 424. Ed. Salma Jayyusi. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1994.
  5. ↑ Ibn Hazm (1994), p. 4

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.