The Case of the Animals Versus Man Before the King of the Jinn: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistle 22

by Richard McGregor, Richard McGregor

This is a new English translation of a classic of medieval Islamic learning, which illuminates the intellectual debates of its age and speaks vividly to the concerns of our own. It is the most famous work of the Brethren of Purity, a tenth-century esoteric fraternity based in Basra and Baghdad. In this rich allegorical fable the exploited and oppressed animals pursue a case against humanity. They are granted the gift of speech and presented as subjects with views and interests of their own. Over the course of the hearing they rebuke and criticise human weakness, deny man's superiority, and make powerful demands for greater justice and respect for animals. This sophisticated moral allegory combines elements of satire with a thought-provoking thesis on animal welfare. Goodman and McGregory accompany their translation with an introduction and annotations that explore the rich historical and cultural context to the work.

Genres: History, Religion

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2012

About the author

Richard McGregor is a senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute.

Reviews

[ouijacine · Rating 3 out of 5]

module for antiquity in the Middle Ages

[Sagheer Afzal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting insight into the theosophy of the Ikhwan. I was fascinated by the existence of a secret society of philosophers who spread their works through epistles. This tome is not as intellectual debate between men and animals as I had assumed it would be but it does however provide quite a few interesting historical details; such as the book of Solomon which was like a DIY manual for those who wanted to control the jinn. The Ikhwan notion of state and religion was also interesting; liking state and religion as twin brothers who are dependent on each other. The book does not offer any real response by humans about their treatment of animals which I thought it would do. Humans continually assert they are the masters and use Quranic arguments to support their case but they fail to justify their cruelty towards animals. This is a salient point; environmental concerns would not have seems to be at the fore of anyone's conscious if they were alive in the 10th century. I wonder if this book were written now how the plaintiffs would present their arguments. Len Goodmans footnotes also provide some fascinating glimpses into medieval Islamic life. Such as the efflorescence of ascetic groups which focused on the guidance of abstemious female mystics. All in all, a well researched and informative book.

[Ireland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my Humans, Animals, & Nature class. I had no idea what to expect with this book & before taking this class I had no idea this book even existed. Basically, the animals decided to take the humans to trial before the King of the Jinn (with the jinn as the jury) because they were tired of being mistreated by the humans. This trial takes several days and the animals make a very good case for themselves. Now, this book is definitely thought provoking. It’s very open ended and most of the time the animals and the humans are just repeating themselves, just saying things slightly differently each time. Because of all the repetition, I had just about no motivation to read or finish the book but I had to for a grade and I definitely will not be picking up this book again for the foreseeable future.

[Shay B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is marvel of a fable. It is natural for human beings to speak of needs, interests and resources and challenges but to recognise that species don’t exist solely for the sake of man is something that does not come easy to man. What I found particularly fascinating about this fable is that a multitude of species have an equal footing in the just arena belonging to the King of Jinn- from the bee, the mule, the pig, to the cricket and a jackal amongst many- all quoting verses of the Quran whilst making their plea. I adored the Christian, Mosaic and
Qur’anic narrations. This is incredibly enlightening, If you don’t know much about ecology, or the Abrahamic faiths, I’d recommend giving this a go :)

[Daniel Almaguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

at the surface, it appears like silly or redundant stories/conflicts. but the beauty of this book is in the nuances, the depth, the infinite unfolding of a worldview- less a worldview and more of an engagement with notions of the human condition and Creation. i am obsessed with the excessive footnotes on every page, rabbit hole rabbit hole rabbit hole

[WALEED · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You leave your parties and your lofty, well-lit halls perforce, for dark graves and narrow coffins. Your broad court-yards are replaced by dark dungeons and gloomy keeps." said the delegate of birds to humans.

[Vish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ape said, ‘If impudence, mimicry, tomfoolery and play, or dancing to the beat of a drum or tambourine will help, I’m the one for it.’

‘No’, said the king.

good bit

[Sameem Ahmadzai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. I'm going to link a paper I wrote about this book that I moved into Substack. It isn't a book review proper, but it covers a lot of the things that I appreciated about the text. Besides Attar's Conference of the Birds, this is one of the best and most interesting texts I've read in a while.

https://open.substack.com/pub/sameema...