The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture

by Nerina Rustomji

Overview

Islamic conceptions of heaven and hell began in the seventh century as an early doctrinal innovation, but by the twelfth century, these notions had evolved into a highly formalized ideal of perfection. In tracking this transformation, Nerina Rustomji reveals the distinct material culture and aesthetic vocabulary Muslims developed to understand heaven and hell and identifies the communities and strategies of defense that took shape around the promise of a future world.

Ideas of the afterworld profoundly influenced daily behaviors in Islamic society and gave rise to a code of ethics that encouraged abstinence from sumptuous objects, such as silver vessels and silk, so they could be appreciated later in heaven. Rustomji conducts a meticulous study of texts and images and carefully connects the landscape and social dynamics of the afterworld with earthly models and expectations. Male servants and female companions become otherworldly objects in the afterlife, and stories of rewards and punishment helped preachers promote religious reform. By employing material culture as a method of historical inquiry, Rustomji points to the reflections, discussions, and constructions that actively influenced Muslims' picture of the afterworld, culminating in a distinct religious aesthetic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231140843
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	11/19/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nerina Rustomji is associate professor of history at St. John's University in Queens, New York.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Garden the Fire
2. Visions of the Afterworld
3. Material Culture and an Islamic Ethic
4. Otherworldly Landscapes and Earthly Realities
5. Humanity, by Servants
6. Individualized Gardens and Expanding Fires
7. Legacy of Gardens
Epilogue
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Syed Akbar Hyder

This splendid jewel of a book offers invaluable insight into the multifaceted afterworlds that Muslims fashioned during the first seven centuries of their history. Nerina Rustomji effectively traces the polyvocal idioms of heaven and hell by exploring a vast array of sources-from the Quranic commentaries to mosque mosaics, from the Prophetic traditions to mausoleums and books of illustrations—with consummate grace and interdisciplinary discretion. An intellectual and aesthetic treat of the first order, The Garden and the Fire transcends the domains of eschatology and comes as a boon to scholars working in cultural studies, religious studies, Near Eastern history, art history, and ethics.

Josef "Yousef" Meri

Nerina Rustomji vividly depicts how the Muslim understanding of the afterlife evolved in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Through a meticulous, well-organized, and easy to follow exploration of such broad-ranging themes as earthly and heavenly gardenscapes, the rewards and pleasures of paradise, the inhabitants of heaven and hell, the torments of hell, and the experience of human bodies in pain and pleasure, she has written a highly original and fascinating study based on a sensitive treatment of sources. Her book is essential reading for university students and professors as well as general readers who want to gain a deeper understanding of heaven and hell in Islam.

Editorial Reviews

A timely publication, highly recommended for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Times Higher Education Supplement - Youssef Choueiri

Rustomji has filled a real gap in the secondary literature.... [The Garden and the Fire] is one of the best introductions to the Islamic eschatological literature.

Journal of the American Academy of Religion - Walid Saleh

A wide-ranging... welcome addition to a small and growing body of scholarship.

Brannon Wheelern Historical Review

This gem of a book offers a thorough, evocative study... Essential.

Choice

Highly useful not only to students and educated lay people but also to comparativists and specialists.

Journal of Religion - Frederick S. Colby

A wide-ranging... welcome addition to a small and growing body of scholarship.

American Historical Review - Brannon Wheeler

A delightful book.

Journal of Islamic Studies - David Reisman

highly useful not only to students and educated lay people but also to comparativists and specialists.

— Frederick S. Colby

Journal of Religion

Rustomji has filled a real gap in the secondary literature.... [ The Garden and the Fire] is one of the best introductions to the Islamic eschatological literature.

— Walid Saleh

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

A wide-ranging... welcome addition to a small and growing body of scholarship.

— Brannon Wheeler

American Historical Review

A delightful book.

— David Reisman

Journal of Islamic Studies

A timely publication, highly recommended for specialists and non-specialists alike.

— Youssef Choueiri

Times Higher Education Supplement

Highly useful not only to students and educated lay people but also to comparativists and specialists.

Frederick S. Colby