Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Translation and Transliteration
List of Abbreviations

1. Ka'b ibn Zuhayr and the Mantle of the Prophet
Introduction
The Pre-Islamic Prototype
1. 'Alqamah's A Heart Turbulent with Passion: The Poem as Ransom Payment
2. Al-Nabighah's O Abode of Mayyah: Transgression and Redemption
3. Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulmá's The Tribe Set Out: The Tacit Panegyric Pact
The Pre-Islamic as Proto-Islamic
Ka'b ibn Zuhayr's Su'ad Has Departed
The Conversion Narrative
The Conversion Ode
Part 1: Lyric-Elegiac Prelude (Nasib)
Part 2: Desert Journey (Rahil)
Part 3: Praise (Madih)
Mythogenesis: The Donation of the Mantle
Conclusion
Hassan ibn Thabit's At Taybah Lies a Trace
2. Al-Busiri and the Dream of the Mantle
Introduction
Poetic Genre
Poetic Style: Classical and Post-Classical Badi'
The Poet and His Times
The Miracle and the Poem
'Umar ibn al-Farid's Was That Laylá's Fire
The Mantle Ode
The Structure of al-Busiri's Burdah
The Beginning of the Supplicatory Pattern: Parts 1-3
Part 1: Prophetic Nasib
Part 2: Warning against the Desires of the Self
Part 3: Praise of the Noble Messenger
The Sirah-Derived Passages: Parts 4-8
Poeticization and Polemicization
Part 4: The Birth of the Prophet
Part 5: The Miracles of the Prophet
Part 6: The Noble Qur'an
Part 7: The Night Journey and Ascension
Part 8: The Messenger's Jihad and Campaigns
Completion of the Supplicatory Pattern: Parts 9-10
Part 9: Supplication and Plea for Intercession
Part 10: Fervent Prayer and Petition
Conclusion
3. Ahmad Shawqi and the Reweaving of the Mantle
Introduction
Ahmad Shawqi and the Nahdah
Poetic Precedents
Authorizing the Text: The Khedive, the Shaykh, and the Adib
The Colonial Double Bind
Shawqi's Nahj al-Burdah: The Thematic Structure
Nahj al-Burdah Movement I: In the Path of al-Busiri-Parts 1-6
Part 1: Nasib: Complaint of Unrequited Love
Part 2: Chiding the Unruly Soul-Warning against Worldly Temptations
Part 3: Repentance, Submission, and Supplication
Part 4: Prophetic Praise
Part 5: Sirah Themes: The Birth of the Prophet; The Night Journey and Ascension; The Miracle of the Cave
Part 6: Metapoetic Recapitulation of Prophetic Praise
Nahj al-Burdah Movement II: The Ihya' Project: Parts 7-12
Part 7: Polemic against Christianity
Part 8: Defense/Praise of Jihad and the Prophet's Military Campaigns
Part 9: The Shari'ah
Part 10: The Glory of Baghdad
Part 11: The Orthodox Caliphs
Part 12: Benediction and Supplication
Conclusion
Umm Kulthum, al-Qaradawi, and Nahj al-Burdah

Appendix of Arabic Texts
Notes
Works Cited
Index