Merits of the Plague

by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Joel Blecher (Editor), Mairaj Syed (Editor)

The preeminent meditation on plagues and pandemics from the Islamic world, now in English for the first time

A Penguin Classic

Six hundred years ago, the author of this landmark work of history and religious thought—an esteemed judge, poet, and scholar in Cairo—survived the bubonic plague, which took the lives of three of his children, not to mention tens of millions of others throughout the medieval world. Holding up an eerie mirror to our own time, he reflects on the origins of plagues—from those of the Prophet Muhammad’s era to the Black Death of his own—and what it means that such catastrophes could have been willed by God, while also chronicling the fear, isolation, scapegoating, economic tumult, political failures, and crises of faith that he lived through. But in considering the meaning of suffering and mass death, he also offers a message of radical hope. Weaving together accounts of evil jinn, religious stories, medical manuals, death-count registers, poetry, and the author’s personal anecdotes, Merits of the Plague is a profound reminder that with tragedy comes one of the noblest expressions of our the practice of compassion, patience, and care for those around us.

For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Classics, Islam, Medicine, Philosophy

336 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and very necessary translation of a vital text. Ibn Hajar is a stunningly observant witness of his age, and this translation provides a window into a time and place long overlooked in histories that over-privilege western narratives.

[Azam Ch. · Rating 5 out of 5]

first of all, i am really glad that penguin published the translation of this book, way more books from all over the world need to be translated and published, sadly they dont because of poverty and a lack of funds in those areas, but we can hope that changes in the coming years as there's a lot of gems all around.
now onto this book,

this book - it was a breath of fresh air as it being from another world from another time,

but that's where the fresh air stops,
75% of the book is basically ibn hajar quoting other scholars from before his time and their various snippets of their takes on the plague, its meaning and why is it happening.
the other 25% of the book is ibn hajar attempting to give his own take in this book,
and out of the 25% another 10-15% is him quoting others to support his take.

the book is very repetitive in its style and content, ibn hajar tries to be scholarly and i commend him for that and for the way he keeps quoting different scholars (he must have been very well read) presenting their takes and then giving his own,
however it is not a pleasent read in any way, there's not much original in it and not much takes that will make you ponder about life or even the plague other than possibly the poems at the end which were mediocre at best but you'll be glad by the time you reach them that finally the torture is about to end.
even in the appendix when he talks about his dead children, there seems no hint of emotions,
and it all feels so mechanistic and dull.

i gave it 5 stars as it being something new to come across and experience drags up the rating for me from a 3.5 to a 5 in my personal take. (that's a lie, im rating it 5 stars so the books rating doesn't go down a lot and so hopefully penguin classics publishes and supports more books being translated from different parts of the world)

that's all. take care guys (and checkout conference of birds by fariduddin attar)

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updated review (25/6/2023) :

i feel much better about the book now and feel it was a great read having gotten to experience a glimpse inside the mind and world inside the book - a person far away and a time now in long past.
and i think of this book from time to time and wonder about it,
what felt like extremely repetitive quoting then feels like poetic now and appear like a man trying to grasp some meaning and symmetry in a chaotic dark muddled up world of his time,
a nice read to look back on

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A theological and medical (!!) treatise translated from medieval Arabic, written by an esteemed Egyptian jurist of the 1400s. This was the time of the Black Death that swept repeatedly through not just Europe but all of Eurasia, including the Islamicate. The treatise explains some contemporary theories as to the origin of the plague, and some methods to treat it thereof, though as far as I can tell there was not any sort of germ theory. In fact, the scholar all but dismisses rumor of contagion between persons. He settles on bad jinn (genies) being the cause. Apparently there are bad jinn and good jinn, in fact there are believer jinn (good) and infidel jinn (bad), just like there are believer and infidel people. But the main point of the treatise is to discover the "merits of the plague", to reconcile God's benevolence with untold death and destruction. This exercise in theodicy concludes that plague on unbelievers is just deserts, but plague visited unto believers is a test of their belief, a test that should be welcomed as a chance to show God the unshakeability of their faith. The analogy is to holy war, and the death of a believer is tantamount to martyrdom. Another interesting aspect of the treatise is its method of proof of its conclusions; the overwhelmingly dominant method of proof is through isnad, or chains of authenticated sources going back to the Prophet himself. This bears not a small resemblance to the use of citations in modern scholarship and science. There is almost no appeal to any other source of knowledge, such as theory or experiment. The book concludes with an excellent poem, "Tidings of the Plague" that skillfully deploys war and rapine as metaphors for the spread of the disease through the known world. In sum, this book is an introduction to a worldview and ways of thought and expression foreign to this reader, but interesting nevertheless for its insight into a historical mindset. A good question is whether the mindset still exists today.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If nothing else, this is fascinating to read through as a historical document as you're living through another goddamn wave of a plague that people keep trying to pretend is over. Ibn Hajar relates various stories of the plague in Islam's holy writings, and explains how to both keep faith but stay safe from the plague, and sets about reconciling some of the more contradictory stories. You get to see a historical sense of how people conceived of the plague, and how religious arguments of the day and what peoples' concerns were. He also includes a fairly general history of plagues in teh world to that point, which is always interesting to see reckoned. Definitely worth reading for the whole "lol we are living through History" angle as well.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group- Penguin Classics for an advance copy of this book on a man living through terrible times, losing family and using both faith, and science to make sense of it all.

The Black Plague ripped through Europe killed millions, depopulating cities, destroying families, leaving some to tell the tale, others to be buried forgotten. Nobles and peasants faced this reaper, some dying in the time it takes me to write this, some living in agony till finally passing on. European history and civilization was changed, society had to adapt to the losses, and life was forever changed. Plague was a recurring event, coming almost like the tide, waiting, killing and fading away. We know much about Europe and the bubonic plague, but other areas were affected also, Africa, the Middle East and of course Asia. People died, leaving emptiness in many lives, and changes to thinking and the way things were done. There stories are not as well known for many reasons, which gives scholars new material to draw from, thought these works are over 600 years old. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalānī was an Islamic scholar, writer, poet and a victim of the plague. His book Merits of the Plague is a study of the history of the plague from the past to his present, his thoughts on plague from both a religions, and scientific view, and his own loss from the plague and what effect it had on him.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalānī had a rough bringing losing both his parents early, but sponsored by a merchant who saw much in him. Ibn Hajar married had daughters, and a son in another marriage, and gradually become a scholar of merit and renown whose thoughts on religion and life are still studied today. In 1416 the plague returned to Cairo, where Ibn Hajar was living and took his two daughters. Ibn Hajar started collecting writings and research on the plague, but put it aside, until 1430 when the plague returned, killing his daughter who was pregnant, and infecting Ibn Hajar who lived. This made him return to his book, a meditation on plague, its history and reasons why plague was important and necessary, even though people had to die from it.

The book is a mix of history, theology, myth and practical science and medicine. Poetry, religious thought, mythological creatures and honest thought all mix on the page, which can be confusing for some, but really is a fascinating way to look at things. I can't speak about the translation, but I didn't have any problems understanding things, or getting lost in the narrative. The book is broken into chapters history, what life in a plague is like, can one flee a plague, even thoughts on martyrdom. Again some sections are easier to read than others, but this is a very interesting, very different kind of book. Both scholarly and personal, which one understands as the author is both a survivor, and a mourner. One is left with the idea that the book was written to both satisfy an intellectual and spiritual curiosity, how and why does a merciful God allow this, and an attempt to figure out why bad things happen, and what life means to those left behind.

Recommended for people who are interested in both the ideas and emotions that can be raised in stories about the plague. Also for people interested in both Islamic history, Egyptian history, and for those who want to support more works like this being published. Not for all tastes, but a very different look plague and its effects on history, from people that western history never really looks at.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this I really enjoyed, but I think I would have gotten more out of it, if I was more familiar with the debates/science/study of the hadiths that he includes in the book. Or at the very least some of the other writers he cites. The bits about the Jinn were very interesting, and the bits about his own experience in the plague as well was moving.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the 15th Century, this early science/history/religious work chronicles how his people and the surrounding areas dealt with the spread of the great plague. Primarily interesting for its historical value than for anything else.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book last ramadan (audiobook) and what an interesting topic. I did not know there was so much wisdom in sickness and death. Extremely insightful. At times, it felt slightly repetitive, but it was due to its academic nature.

[Daniel]

podcast.

[Hisham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The theory of bacterial infection stands no chance against my new theory of djinn-pricking disease spreading

[Zebediah Wichert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone unfamiliar with Islamic scholarly tradition, this was a lovely introduction into the space.