Advice for Callow Jurists and Gullible Mendicants on Befriending Emirs

by ‘Abd al-Wahhab b. Ahmad b. ‘Ali al-Sha‘rani, Adam Sabra (Translator)

This mirror for princes sheds light on the relationship between spiritual and political authority in early modern Egypt

This guide to political behavior and expediency offers advice to Sufi shaykhs, or spiritual guides, on how to interact and negotiate with powerful secular officials, judges, and treasurers, or emirs. Translated into English for the first time, it is a unique account of the relationship between spiritual and political authority in late medieval / early modern Islamic society.

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1550

Reviews

[Sam Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read this as a primary source for a research project that I'm working on, so its not like I was reading this for its spiritual or intellectual insights or anything, just as a historical document. In that respect, this is a very good translation! If anyone is interested in 16th century Egyptian Sufism, which I mean, very specific topic but y'know, I think they could definitely do much worse than the translation of the source here. Suffers from the problems very typical of medieval sources, suuuuuuper repetitive which gets really annoying, means its kinda hard at times to figure out what's actually important information. I'd say as a book to read, its a 2 star; but since its a really good translation, and isn't really a reading book but is instead more of a historical primary source, it gets that extra star.