Women’s Devotion to the Prophet as Reflected in the Literary Construction of a Non-Canonical Mawlid Narrative

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Bakrī’s Kitāb al-anwār

Bibliographic Data

ID12328655
AuthorsArianna Tondi (0000-0002-6777-3812, University of Bergamo, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume155 (1/2024)
Pages155-172
Publication date2024-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0997-1327 • E-ISSN: 2105-2271
PublisherÉdisud (PUBLISHER • FR)
DOI10.4000/11z1j
OpenAlexW4400408539
LanguageEN
References cited14

The Kitāb al-anwār attributed to Abū al-Ḥasan al-Bakrī continues to be, after many centuries, a mysterious narrative, and his alleged author even more enigmatic. The work narrates the creation and transmission of the prophetic light following the tropes of popular romance. In this article we will focus on one of its most peculiar features, that is, the detailed and emotional representation of female characters and the woman’s realm. We will argue that female empowerment – a typical feature of folklore literature – could be the result of the storyteller’s will to appeal to female audience that attended the celebrations for the birth of the Prophet in medieval times. To support our argument we will compare different versions of the work, manuscripts and printed, to demonstrate how the literary depiction of women-related themes is more elaborated in the latest versions of the work, produced when mawlid festivals were a well-established practice. Popular Mawlid Narrative, Abū al-Ḥasan al-Bakrī, Storyteller, Women, Mawlid ceremonies, Folklore, Sīra Shaʿbiyya

Argument (complex analysis · Art · Depiction · Folklore · Literature · Narrative · Realm · Representation (politics · Romance · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Families in Therapy and Culture · History · Islamic Studies and History · Medicine

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