Despite many a tattoo of his alleged verses decorating limbs of heartbroken US college students, the actual life, works and legacy of the Sunni Hanafi jurist and Māturīdī theologian Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī have been conveniently overlooked. To provide a historical introduction to Rumi, we are joined by Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, a University of Michigan graduate, translator, editor and founder of the persianpoetics.com project and is best known by his Twitter and Instagram handle @sharghzadeh. Timestamps 01:28 Rumi was born in 1207CE quite likely in modern-day Afghanistan. He would been alive d ..read more

Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d.944CE) was a Persian Sunni Hanafi jurist, theologian, and scriptural exegete based in Samarkand. His eponymous codification of Sunni creed became the dominant theological school for Sunni Muslims in Central Asia and later enjoyed a preeminent status as the school of choice for both the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire. Timestamps 01:40 Al-Māturīdī was born at Māturīd, a village or quarter in the neighbourhood of Samarkand during the reign of the caliph al-Mutawakkil whose main merit appears to be putting an end to the Muʿtazilite so-called Rationalist Mihna inquis ..read more

Our series concludes with this live session with our guest and listeners. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details ..read more

Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥillī was a Shʿī poet who was born in Iraq but lived much of his life in Mardin in modern day Turkey. He was an exemplar of versatility in verse for the much neglected Mamluk period of literary history. Timestamps 01:20 Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥillī was born in 1278 just over a decade after the Mongol sack of Baghdad. What do we know about his socio-political context? 08:27 War and disaster forced al-Ḥillī to leave his family and move to Mardin. What do we know about his life? 13:14 Al-Ḥillī’s poetic style is described as innovative and experimental. How would you characterise his work ..read more

Ibn ʿArabī was an Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher. He is renowned among practitioners of Sufism by the names al-Shaykh al-Akbar ("the Greatest Shaykh"; from here the Akbarian school derives its name). Timestamps 01:36 Ibn ʿArabī was born in 1165 in Andalusia whose literary history we covered in episode 35. What do we know about his socio-political context? 06:12 Ibn ʿArabī lived an iterant life and is buried in Damascus. What do we know about his life? 10:25 Ibn ʿArabī was a prolific writer. His collection of poetry is said tospan five volumes and is mostly unedited it ..read more

Abū al-Walīd Aḥmad Ibn Zaydūn al-Makhzūmī,  or simply known as Ibn Zaydūn, was considered the greatest neoclassical poet of al-Andalus. His love affair with the princess and poet Wallada and his exile inspired many of his poems. Timestamps 01:37 Ibn Zaydūn grew up during the decline of the Caliphate of Córdoba. What do we know about his socio-political context and also tell us about Arabic literature in al-Andalus more generally? 07:10 Ibn Zaydūn was born in 1003 in Cordoba to an aristocratic Andalusian Arab family and was involved in the political life of his age. What do we know about h ..read more

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, prince, prisoner, poet. Al-Ḥārith b. Abū al-ʿAlā Saʿīd ibn Ḥamdān al-Taghlibī, better known by his nom de plume of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler of northern Syria, whom we mentioned in episode 33. He best known for the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt during his time as a prisoner of war with the Byzantines. Timestamps 01:52 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī was born at a time when the Abbasid caliphate was beholden to de facto autonomous d ..read more

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of al-Mutanabbī, whose poetry continues to inspire. Timestamps 01:44 Al-Mutanabbī was born in 915CE in the city Kufah in modern day Iraq at the height of the Abbasid caliphate but with rising challenges from sectarian foes. What do we know about his  socio-political context? 05:34 Al-Mutanabbī was educated in Damascus and is said to have participated in Qaramatian revolts which we covered in episode 13 with Dr. Andani. What do we know about al-Mutanabbī’s life and what is the origin of his name? 19:22 Al-Mutanabbī is ..read more

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (865–925 CE), also known by his Latinized name Rhazes, was one of the greatest figures in the history of medicine in the Islamic tradition, and one of its most controversial philosophers. While we have ample surviving evidence for his medical thought, his philosophical ideas mostly have to be pieced together on the basis of reports found in other authors, who are often hostile to him. To discuss with us the life, work and legacy of al-Rāzī is Prof. Peter Adamson. Prof. Adamson is professor of philosophy in late antiquity and in the Islamic world at the ..read more

The laws of Dhimma, or governance of non-Muslim minorities in a Muslim polity, can arouse difficult feelings amongst both Muslims and non-Muslims especially at sites of tension and conflict between them around the globe. To discuss with us today a medieval legal work on these rulings is Dr. Antonia Bosanquet, author of Minding their Place: Space and Religious Hierarchy in Ibn al-Qayyim’s Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma published by Brill in 2021. She is currently a researcher at the University of Hamburg and a part-time farmer. Timestamps 02.25: Before we look at Ibn al-Qayyim on Dhimma governance. Let's ..read more