What elements of the story appear Islamic, and what elements un-Islamic?
The two stories here recount the tale of King Yunan (of Zuman, in Armenia), his physician Duban, and the king’s evil wazir.
The narrator of the story is a fisherman, who has angered a jinn and is telling the jinn a story to convince the jinn not to kill him.
The story of Duban begins at the top of page 25 and goes to page 34.
Specific response guidelines:
Read carefully, and making specific reference to the text, come discuss one or more of the following:
What can we learn about science in the Abbasid era?
What does this tell us about palace politics?
What elements of the story appear Islamic, and what elements un-Islamic?
What lessons is the story trying to convey?
