This book offers a fresh perspective on religious culture in the medieval Middle East. It investigates how Muslims thought about and practised at sacred spaces and in sacred times through two detailed case studies: the shrines in honour of the head of al-Husayn (the martyred grandson of the Prophet); and the (arguably) holy month of Rajab. Author Daniella Talmon-Heller explores the diverse expressions of the veneration of the shrine and the month from the formative period of Islam until the late Mamluk period. She pays particular attention to changing political and sectarian affiliations and to the development of new genres of religious literature. And she juxtaposes the sanctification of space and time in individual and communal Sunni, Ithna'ashari and Isma'ili piety.

About the Author
Daniella Talmon-Heller, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Middle East Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.


Book Information
ISBN 9781474460972
Author Daniella Talmon-Heller
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Edinburgh University Press
Publisher Edinburgh University Press