Jahili
Phases of Consciousness
Over the centuries, layers of interpretation have mediated our experience and separated the self from the world, but glimpses of an older mode of consciousness can still be found. Even modern literature that is transfixed by the self and immersed in its workings can fleetingly reveal the older intimacy.
Poems of a Vanished World
A century ago, a vital debate was ignited over the authenticity of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. Among the many reasons to accept the antiquity of much of this body of verse is the distinct mindset it reveals, in which humans stand fully within the natural world.