Description

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 thoughtan esteemed judge poet and scholar in Cairosurvived 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 plaguesfrom those of the Prophet Muhammads era to the Black Death of his ownand 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 deathcount registers poetry and the authors personal anecdotes Merits of the Plague is a profound reminder that with tragedy comes one of the noblest expressions of our humanity the practice of compassion patience and care for those around us

For more than seventyfive years Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the Englishspeaking world With more than 2000 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 uptodate translations by awardwinning translators