Chronicles of the Crescent

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The Ramadan Blitz is a 30 day retelling of stories drawn from across Islamic civilization. This podcast focuses on the stories and histories of Muslims. Blog: https://samosazen.wordpress.com/ Insta: @arlatif24 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Abdul Rahman Latif

  • Aug 15, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
  • infrequent NEW EPISODES
  • 8m AVG DURATION
  • 30 EPISODES


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Latest episodes from Chronicles of the Crescent

Language of the Birds: The Challenge of the Phoenix

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2019 12:30


A tale from al-Tha'labi's collection of stories of the Prophets. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Language of the Birds: To the Last Peak

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2019 17:57


A story about a bird and the soul on a journey for true freedom by Ibn Sina/ Avicenna. Translation by Willard Trask and Henry Corbin. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Language of the Birds: The Merchant's gift from India

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2019 6:42


New mini-series on bird stories in the Islamic tradition! This episode is on a tale about a caged Parrot from the Masnavi of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Prophetic Patience

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2019 10:21


A story of patience and loss from the seerah of the Prophet SAW with details from al-Tabarī's telling. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Discourse of Oman

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2019 7:15


A story about getting lost at sea from al-Harirī's maqamāt! with thanks to Steinglass's masterful translations. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Human Nonsense

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2019 6:15


Tales from Ibn Khallikan and Al-Safadī's works showcasing the humanness of notables and the allure of comedy and curiosity. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Chest Beneath Suleymān's Tomb

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2019 5:50


Stories from Tabirī's tafsir on the first part of verse 2:102 of the Qur'an. I used some wordings from the Oxford translation of the text. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Pity for the Wretch

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2019 6:38


An extract from the love story of Layla and Majnun as rendered by Nizamī (d. 1209 CE) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Black Snake

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2019 10:47


A turkish folktale about a strange birth and its consequences --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Man v. Animal

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2019 4:51


An extract from a story in the Epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa. Background info from IEP. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The White-Haired Boy

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2019 8:32


A story from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi and a brief introduction to the text. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Sons of the King, the Merchant, the Nobleman, and the Farmer

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2019 7:27


A story from the famed Kalila wa dimna! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

A Camel in the Clouds

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2019 5:13


A retelling of the story of the saint Ibrahim b. Adham (d.160-161 AH/ 777-778 CE) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Father of Orphans

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2019 8:16


Tales of Imam Ali, in commemoration of his passing as a shaheed. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

A Thief on a Roof and a Wandering Holy Man

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2019 7:10


A tale from Uyghur folklore! Our Uyghur brothers and sisters are being seriously oppressed. Check out saveuighur.org for ways to help. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Tattooing the Hero of Qazvin

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2019 5:40


A tale from Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi's Masnavi, as translated by Jawid Mojaddedi. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Deli Dumrul and the Hunt for the Angel of Death

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2019 12:25


A story from the Book of Dede Korkut! I used the black mask translation. Was first exposed to this text with Prof. Cemal Kafadar. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Stuck on an Obelisk out in the Sea

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2019 13:58


A story from Destan-e Amir Hamza/ the Hamzahnameh! I recommend Musharraf Ali Farooqi's translation. also this is such a cool project https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/the_modern_hamzanama_prize#!/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

A Duel of Brothers

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2019 7:33


From the Malay Epic Hikayat Hang Tuah as translated by Muhammad Hajji Salleh. Drawing from scholarship of Nancy Nanney and Virginia Hooker. (and fair warning i use the words state and public anachronistically. my b) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Lion of Mali

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2019 18:47


From SUNDIATA. AN EPIC OF OLD MALI by DJIBRILTAMSIR NIANE. TRANSLATED BY G.D. PICKETT. Sorry for messing up some pronunciations. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Demon and The Sage

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2019 9:02


A story from the Marzubannameh of al-Warawinī (13th century CE). Indebted to the translation of Reuben Levy and James Kritzeck's anthologizing efforts. Correction: def came from older stories and there are other versions of the work too. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Sorcerer, the King, and the Boy

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2019 9:42


Story from a Hadith of the Prophet about the heights of commitment to faith. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Book of the Dragon

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2019 7:58


18th century Turkish epic with possible older origins and certain older antecedants about Imam Ali battling a dragon. My translation is often quite literal, and its late in the fasting day, so please forgive the repetition of words. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Three Words

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2019 4:20


A story from Zanzibar in the 19th century and a tale from al-Mas`udī's (d.345 AH/ 956 CE) history sharing a motif! The former was recorded by Bishop Edward Steere. Wording of the later based on Claud Field's translation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2019 15:19


Episode 6 of the Ramadan blitz! This one is a classic but the original version is obscured. (Pic is painting by Maxfield Parrish! credits to wikipediaa) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The King who cut his finger

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2019 3:53


This story is from my grandfather! Variants found in the recent موسوعة الرقائق والأدب and in Naestri Sastri's (d.1909 CE) Indian Tales. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

The Discourse of the Lion

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2019 9:39


A tale from the the Maqāmāt of Badiuzzaman al-Hamdanī (d.485 AH/ 1008 CE). The original is quite literary arabic, so this is very boiled down and retold from memory. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

A Saintly Cat

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2019 4:30


Third entry in the Ramadan Blitz! A different kind of story about a very Muslim cat, as curated by the late Professor Simon Digby. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Sunset of the Third Day

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2019 5:01


Second entry in the Ramadan Blitz. A story about Umar (RA), a killer, and two brothers who lost their father. From Diyāb al-Itlidī's Nawādir al-Khulafah. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

Adhan at Midnight

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2019 13:03


First story in the Ramadan Blitz! A tale of justice from the Siyasetnameh of Nizam al-Mulk (d. 465 AH/1092 CE). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abdul-rahman-latif/support

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