Theology, Ethics and Metaphysics * Edited by HIROYUKI MASHITA (Royal Asiatic Society Classics of Islam. London: Routledge-Curzon, 2004), 5 vols., 2080 pp. Price 550.00 (set). ISBN 0-700-7167-0X.

Abstract

This is a set of well-produced reprints of works of European scholarship on various aspects of Islamic culture, originally published between 1831 (or 1830, according to the Arabic title page of Khwārazmī's Algebra) and 1953. Not only do the works contained in this set cover a long period, they also cover a wide variety of subjects, from mathematics through mysticism to Ḥadīth. Indeed, the range is so broad that one may wonder if the title of the series (Theology, Ethics and Metaphysics) is not somewhat misleading. On the other hand, it would seem that the choice of a broad range of topics is deliberate. It appears that its aim is to represent the work of the Royal Asiatic Society in general, and that of its (de facto) subsidiary, the Oriental Translation Fund, in particular. The introduction by C. E. Bosworth is most helpful in this respect, because it...