The Death of al-Hallaj: A Dramatic Narrative

By Herbert Mason

Book Overview

Although not widely known in the Western world, al-Hallaj is one of the great figures in the history of the Muslim religion. Martyred in 922 by the government for his teachings, al-Hallaj has lived on through the centuries in the legends and memories of Muslims the world over. The reader who meets al-Hallaj for the first time in this book will be impressed by the striking similarities he shares with Jesus Christ, Socrates, and the Jewish Hasidic masters. Al-Hallaj is a man so caught up in God's love that he speaks with the wisdom of a mystic. Yet he is worldly and down-to-earth in his affection, his wit, and his joy. In this dramatic narrative of the last days of al-Hallaj, Herbert Mason has distilled the essence of al-Hallaj in moving, beautifully drawn scenes with his son, his protectress, and a devoted disciple. The timeless confrontation between freedom and political expediency, between faith and fatalism, ends here in love that is stronger than death. So finely has Mason presented al-Hallaj that the fire of his love reaches across the centuries to glow again on these pages. This is a book to read, and to re-read.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0268008426
• ISBN13: 9780268008420
• Release Date: June 1979
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An easy read. Nicely taken with Massignon's "Hallaj"

This small book is a refreshing read that gives you some of Hallaj's ideas without having to sit down to a "meal" of dry scholastic material. This book does not have chronological life outlines or technical data, but it does show us a very digestable drama that brings us close to the man and his beliefs.