Islamic Sensory History

Christian Lange is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Utrecht University. His research focuses on premodern Islamic intellectual and cultural history, particularly in the areas of Islamic eschatology, Islamic law and legal theory, Islamic mysticism, and the Muslim sensorium.Adam Bursi works at Fortress Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His research studies early Islam in dialogue with other late antique religions, focusing on the roles of relics, pilgrimage, and healing in the formation and performance of communal membership among early Muslims.ContributorsEyad Abuali, Tanvir Ahmed, Hanif Amin Beidokhti, Shahzad Bashir, Maroussia Bednarkiewicz, David Bennett, Hinrich Biesterfeldt, Julie Bonnéric, Adam Bursi, Fatih Han, Rotraud Hansberger, Jan Hogendijk, Domenico Ingenito, Anya King, Hannelies Koloska, Christian Lange, Danilo Marino, Richard McGregor, Pernilla Myrne, Nawal Nasrallah, Zhinia Noorian, Austin O’Malley, Franz Rosenthal (†), Everett K. Rowson, Abelhamid I. Sabra (†), George Sawa, Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, Jocelyn Sharlet, Cornelis van Lit, Geert Jan van Gelder, James Weaver, Ines Weinrich, Brannon Wheeler, Alan Williams, Cyrus Ali Zargar.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsNote on Dates, Transliteration, and CitationNotes on ContributorsPart 1: Scriptural Foundations1 The Senses in the QurʾānHannelies Koloska2 Ibn Isḥāq (d. ca. 151/768) on Vision in the Prophet’s BiographyRichard McGregor3 Ibn Abī Shayba (d. 235/849) on the Senses in the AfterlifeChristian Lange4 Ibn Abī l-Dunyā (d. 281/894) on Scrupulous Sensory Piety among Early Muslim AsceticsAdam Bursi5 Ibn Bābawayh (d. 381/991) on the Shiʿi SensoriumChristian Lange6 Ibn al-Athīr (d. 606/1210) on the Prophet’s Sense of SmellChristian LangePart 2: Literary and Aesthetic Perspectives7 Al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255/869) on Animal and Human SensationChristian Lange8 Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq (fl. Mid-fourth/Mid-tenth Century) on Multisensory Dining and WiningNawal Nasrallah9 Al-Sarī al-Raffāʾ’s (d. 362/973) Invitations to DelightJocelyn Sharlet10 Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī (d. 360/971) on the Conditions and Effects of MusicGeorge Sawa11 ʿAlī b. Naṣr al-Kātib (fl. Late Fourth/Tenth Century) on Erotic SensationsPernilla Myrne12 Ibn Jubayr (d. 614/1217) on the Illumination of the Sacred Mosque in MeccaJulie Bonnéric13 Abū l-Majd Tabrīzī (d. after 736/1336) on the Debate between the Ear and the EyeTanvir Ahmed and Shahzad Bashir14 Al-Maqrīzī (d. 845/1442) on the History of the Call to Prayer in EgyptMaroussia Bednarkiewicz15 Al-Badrī (d. 894/1489) on Hashish and the SensesDanilo Marino and Franz Rosenthal16 Al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) on the Four Princes of PerfumeGeert Jan van GelderPart 3: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives17 Al-Kindī (d. after 256/870) on the Effects of Music, Colors, and ScentsAdam Bursi and Anya King18 The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Fourth/Tenth Century) on Sense and SensibiliaChristian Lange19 Abū Zayd al-Balkhī (d. 322/934) on the Nature and Therapeutic Use of Odorous SubstancesHinrich Biesterfeldt and Everett K. Rowson20 Ibn al-Jazzār (d. 369/979–80) on Smell, Perfume, and HealthAnya King21 Ibn al-Haytham (d. ca. 432/1040) on VisionJan Hogendijk and Abdelhamid I. Sabra22 Suhrawardī (d. 587/1191) on Eyesight and VisionHanif Amin Beidokhti23 Ibn Rushd (d. 595/1198) on Sense PerceptionRotraud Hansberger24 Al-Jildakī (fl. 8th/14th Century) on the Alchemy of the SensesChristian Lange25 Nakhshabī (d. 751/1350) on the NoseZhinia NoorianPart 4: Theological Perspectives26 Al-Naẓẓām (d. ca. 230/845) on the Physics of Sensory PerceptionJames Weaver27 Al-Ashʿarī (d. 324/935–6) on Muʿtazilite Claims about the Senses and Sense PerceptionDavid Bennett28 Al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār (d. 415/1025) on the Impossibility of Seeing GodFatih Han29 Ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1037) on Dismissing Sense Perception and on the Eternal SenseCornelis van Lit30 Al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) on Visionary Experiences and the Internal and External SensesDomenico Ingenito31 Al-Khāzin al-Baghdādī (d. 741/1340) on the Evil EyeChristian Lange32 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) on the Virtues of the Eye and the EarChristian LangePart 5: Spiritual and Mystical Perspectives33 Al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) on Listening to MusicInes Weinrich34 The Ta‌ʾwīlāt Najmiyya (7th/13th Century) on the Body, the Soul, and the SensesEyad Abuali35 ʿAṭṭār (d. 618/1221) on the Wayfarer’s Encounter with the SensesCyrus Ali Zargar36 Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) on the Masters of SensationChristian Lange37 Najm al-Dīn Rāzī Dāya (d. 654/1256) on the Sequence of Visionary LightsAustin O’Malley38 Rūmī (d. 627/1273) on Sensory PerceptionAsghar Seyed-Gohrab and Alan Williams39 Saʿdī (d. 691/1292) on the Senses, the Body, and ImaginationDomenico IngenitoPart 6: Legal and Ethical Perspectives40 Ibn Abī Zayd (d. 386/996) on Scent, Sight, Taste, and Touch during the ḤajjAdam Bursi41 Al-Qudūrī (d. 428/1037) on PurityBrannon Wheeler42 Al-Sarakhsī (d. ca. 490/1096) on the Protocol of the GazeChristian Lange43 Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 543/1148) on Touching the QurʾānChristian Lange44 Al-Nawawī (d. 676/1277) on Kissing and HandshakingChristian Lange45 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) on the Legal Status of the SensesChristian LangeIndex of NamesIndex of Terms