Thoughts?
>The Ring of the Dove’s profound impact on the European Medieval literature, with numerous textual examples, but also provides a hypothesis of its influence on Christian thought and philosophy.
>It is worth mentioning, why such a literary genre as a treatise on love had a great importance in the past. To start with, a particular literary and social code of behavior that later became known under the general term of courtesy, emerged from European Medieval lyric poetry. Of course this courtesy was influenced from various other traditions like Neo-Platonic and Ovidian. Though, the core of any courtesy is likely to be Islamic, as it is not as much about sensuality, but about forging the character. The very idea of ennobling power of love as an essential part of European courtly culture, seems to be taken from Ibn Hazm’s work rather than authors like Andrea Capellanus, who considered ennobling in the meaning of social hierarchy, due to the seeking love from women of higher social rank.
>There is a big misunderstanding regarding Ibn Hazm’s treatise that requires an explanation. For example, Juan Ruiz, a medieval Castilian poet, and archpriest, thought that Ibn Hazm’s work was mostly about adultery since Ibn Hazm clearly does not consider marriage as a necessary element of courtly love. In Islam, there is no concept of adultery as in Christianity, and in the historical context, the relationship does not necessarily require marriage as long as it is firm within Shariah law bounds. (There is a distinction in the law between spouses and “those whom one’s right hands possess”, i.e. slave girls).
islam4europeans.com
