The writer’s book Azazeel was our book club selection for February 2015.
Find more information on the book, the author and his work on the book's page.
A highly respected Egyptian scholar specialising in Arabic and Islamic studies, Youssef Ziedan (born June 30, 1958) is director of the Manuscript Centre and Museum affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. University professor, public lecturer, columnist and prolific author, he has written two critically acclaimed and best-selling novels Azazel (winner of IPAF 2009) and The Shadow of the Serpent. He has worked as a consultant in the field of Arabic heritage preservation and conservation in a number of international institutions: UNESCO, ESCWA and the Arab League. He has also directed a number of projects aimed at the delimitation and preservation of Arabic manuscripts – the cataloguing, editing and publishing of these historic texts is something he is devoted to and they, in turn, influence and inform his fiction.
Literature:
Confluence of the Two Seas (Iltiqa’ al-Bahrin) : essays in literary criticism
The Shadow of the Serpent
Azazeel
The Nabatean
Cataloguing:
Rare Manuscripts of Alexandria Municipal Library
Catalogue of the Alexandria University Manuscript Collection
Catalogue of the Escorial Monastery Manuscript Collection
Catalogue of the Religious Institute of Sumuha
Catalog of Rifā‘a al-Tahtāwiy Library
Islamic Philosophy:
Hayy Ibn Yaqzan: the four texts and their authors
Al-Lahut al-‘Arabi: and the roots of religious violence
Sufism:
– Introduction to Sufism by Abū ‘Abdil-Rahmān al-Sulamiy – Introduction and Critical Revision.
– Abdul Karīm al-Jīliy ‘Philosopher of Sufism’
– Sufi Thought of ‘Abdul Karīm al-Jīliy’ – A Comparative Study
– Unknown Sufi Poets
– The Sufi Path and the Branches of al-Qādiriyya Order in Egypt
– Diwan of ‘Abdul Kādir al-Jīlāniy’ – A Study and Critical Revision.
– ‘Abdul Kādir al-Jīlāniy ‘God’s Silver Grey Falcon’
Miscellaneous studies and publications:
– Explanation of Hippocrates’ Aphorisms’ by Ibn al-Nafīs – A Study and Critical Revision.
– Diwan of ‘Afīf al- Dīn al-Tilmisāniy’ – A Study and Critical Revision
– Compendium of Hadith’ by Ibn al-Nafīs – A Study and Critical Revision.
– Interpretation of the Problems of Meccan Revelations by ‘Abdul-Karīm al-Jīliy – A Study and Critical Revision
– Fragrance of Beauty & Revelations of Majesty by Najm al-Dīn Kubrā – A Study and Critical Revision.
Awards
– 2013 Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation won by Jonathan Wright for his translation into English of Azazeel.
– 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) In Association with the Booker Prize Foundation
– The Kuwait 2005 History of Medicine Award in the field of Arabic Scientific Heritage from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, for the year 2005
– ‘Abdul-Hamid Shuman Prize in the field of social studies in 1996 for his book Fawā’ih al-Jamāl wa Fawā’ih al Jalāl- ‘Fragrance of Beauty & Revelations of the Magestic’ by Nijm al-Dīn Kubrā.
– A special Award from the International Academy of Learning in 1996 for his academic corpus.
– Imam Muhammad Madi Abul-‘Aza’im Award in the field of Islamic studies in 1995.
– Medical Knowledge and Heritage Study According to the Set Rules of the Art of Critical Study Award from the Islamic Organization of Medicine/Kuwait Organization for the Advancement of Knowledge, in 1994 for his work on Ibn al-Nafīs.
