Hallaj

Rating:
Summary: A challenge for readers!
Review: I am working on translating the book from French to Arabic since 5 years, and Mr. Mason -although never met with him- was kind enough to send me his English translation of the 4 volumes book.
The book: It is a kind of encyclopedic bibliography with a great aim. Massignon believed that Hallaj, by becoming "the perfect Muslim" was leading himself all the way to be crucified for the mercy of mankind. And by trying to proof this theory, Massignon was hoping to unify all the people who believed in Abraham (Jews, Christians and Muslims) in one "spot of light", which is the violent death of a man in the attitude of "Qur'anic Christ" (according to the account of Jesus Christ in the Muslim's holy book).
The book is a useful reading if you are interested in history, sociology, monotheistic religions or knowledge in general.
The translation: Mason definitely made a fine job. Reading the English version is much easier than the French one, and most of the very complicated ideas of Massignon have been put in more comprehensive way, always without deteriorating the "unique flood" of Massignon writing. A lot of useful notes have been added and some important references have been corrected in the English version.
An important note: It is not an easy reading; Vol.2,3 & 4 are purely academic. The abreviated version (by Mason) is fair enough if you are not a specialist.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have read much of the original series that this book comes from, and taken a class by the author. Mason is a brilliant scholar and has done an excellent job of bringing to life the writings of one of the most important and fascinating of the sufi mystics.

Rating:
Summary: More Intersting for the Orientalist than the Mystic
Review: There are two audiences that this book might possibly interest. One is the student of medieval Islam, for whom this book is certainly worth a read. There is a great deal in here regarding the development of Islamic thought during the Abbasid period, and the central role that Al-Hallaj played as a focal point in that period. This was a time when much of Islamic theology was just starting to be articulated, the mihna was in operation and the great Islamic scholastics had not yet appeared. It was also a time before most of the major Sufic schools that we know today came into existence, and Al-Hallaj's legacy was to be central to a great deal of later Sufic material. However, it is not a book for the beginning student in this era, and if you are one, you are better off starting with a more general history of the thought of the era before tackling this book. This may be due to the fact that it is an abridgement of Massignon's original opus, and perhaps a lot of his supplementary explanation has been deleted. The Islamic sections of the Cambridge Medieval History wouldn't be a bad place to start. The other audience that would be interested in this book are those interested in the spiritual content of Al-Hallaj's teachings, and while Al-Hallaj is a central figure in the Sufi traditions and Massignon was certainly in sympathy with those traditions, I feel that if this is your interest you will have to work through a great deal of detail that will be extraneous to your interest. In short, it's a book for the serious student of the man and the era, and if that's what you are, go for it.