Islamic mythology

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Muhammad and his companions advancing on Mecca, attended by the angels Jibril, Mikael, Israfil and Izrael. An illustration from Siyer-i Nebi. Siyer-i Nebi 298a.jpg
Muhammad and his companions advancing on Mecca, attended by the angels Jibril, Mikael, Israfil and Izrael. An illustration from Siyer-i Nebi.
Mi'raj by Sultan Muhammad in Persian literature Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg
Mi'raj by Sultan Muhammad in Persian literature

Islamic mythology is the body of myths associated with Islam and the Quran. Islam is a religion that is more concerned with social order and law than with religious rituals or myths. [1] [2] The primary focus of Islam is the practical and rational practice and application of the Islamic law. Despite this focus, Islamic myths do still exist. [1] The Oxford Companion to World Mythology identifies a number of traditional narratives as "Islamic myths". [1] These include a creation myth and a vision of afterlife, which Islam shares with the other Abrahamic religions, as well as the distinctively Islamic story of the Kaaba . [1]

Contents

The traditional biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who plays a central role in Islamic teachings, is generally recognized as being largely historical in nature, and Islam depends less on mythology than Judaism and Christianity. [1] However, the canonical narrative includes two key supernatural events: the divine revelation of the Quran and the Isra and Mi'raj — the night journey to Jerusalem followed by the ascension to the Seventh Heaven. [1] In addition, Islamic scriptures contain a number of legendary narratives about biblical characters, which diverge from Jewish and Christian traditions in some details. [1]

Types of Islamic mythology

The two types of myth and legends that make up Islamic mythology are cosmogony and eschatology. Cosmogony is a part of cosmogonic and cosmological myths, which are myths that deal in matters of the creation and origins of the universe, and more specially, the world. [3] A cosmology is a culture's specific story of creation, and how in that culture the universe is structured (the placement of the Earth, the stars, and the afterlife). These stores of creation explain in that specific culture the origin of people, the first "home", and the early place of people in the world.

Eschatology is a type of mythology that deals with the day of judgement, the end of the world, heaven, and hell. [4] Translated Eschatology means the "discourse about the last things". Eschatology deals with the question and ultimate quest for what is the "ultimate purpose" of humans in this life. [4]

The discussion of religion in terms of mythology is a controversial topic. [5] The word "myth" is commonly used with connotations of falsehood, [6] reflecting a legacy of the derogatory early Christian usage of the Greek word mythos in the sense of "fable, fiction, lie" to refer to classical mythology. [7] However, the word is also used with other meanings in academic discourse. It may refer to "a story that serves to define the fundamental worldview of a culture" [6] or to stories which a given culture regards as true (as opposed to fables, which it recognizes as fictitious). [8]

Creation myths

Creation myths are based on the Quran, the central scripture of Islam, and expanded upon in hadiths, Arabic and Persian writings, histories (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ), Muslim poetry, philosophical essays, and mystical writings. [9] While through syncretism, Islamic creation myths assimilated to African and Asian beliefs, Islam reshaped the indigenous cultural accounts on the origin of the world to fit the central Quranic teaching that, ultimately, everything in existence was created by a monotheistic God (Allah). [9] As consequence, all beings, especially humans, were expected to serve God alone. [9]

The Quran is heavily based by Middle Eastern descriptions of the origin of the world (cosmogony) and creation of mankind (anthropogony). [9] However, the Quran never portrays any of these in a continuous story, but rather alludes to them in order to illustrate a message. It is only in the 7th century, Muslims began to reconsile Quranic passages with Biblical material. Since the Quran refers to Biblical accounts only partly, Biblical stories were either unknown at the times of the revelation of the Quran or did not matter to the early Muslim community to convey the Quranic message. [9]

The creation of the world

While in Islam there is no single story of creation, it is made clear that God is the one who created the world. [10] Four different verses in the Quran mentions that the heavens and earth (As-Samāwāt Wa Al-Ard) were created by God in six days, [11] [12] with three verse mentioning creation and numbers of days—how many days it took to create only the earth (two days); [13] provide mountains, nutrients, etc. (four days); [14] God's giving of orders to heaven and earth; [15] and creating the seven heavens (two days). [16] The arithmetic of adding the numbers of days can be confusing, as critics (Ali Dashti) point out that two plus four plus two "increases creation from six to eight days", [17] but Quranic translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali argues that commentators understand the four days in verse Q.41:9 to include the two days in verse Q.41:10. [18]

In Sūrah al-Anbiyāʼ, verse 21:30, the heavens and the earth were joined ("of one piece") as one "unit of creation", after which they were "cloven asunder". God then created the landscape of the earth, placed the sky above it as a roof, and created the day and night cycles by appointing an orbit for both the sun and moon. [19] [20] The Quran states that the process of creation took sitta ayam (ستة أيام) or six periods. [21] [20] Critics note that modern cosmology does not fit well with creation of the universe in six (or eight) days and that it would be difficult to determine days before the sun and earth had been created, [17] [22] but many preachers argue the word youm (plural ayam) can be translated as "era" or "period", and sometimes is in translations of the Quran. [23]

According to the mufassirs (authors of Quranic commentary), Islam acknowledges three different types of creation:

The creation of humanity

According to Quranic creation narrative, God informed the angels, that He was going to create a khalifa (viceregent) on earth. The meaning of Khalifa holds different interpretations within Islamic exegesis:

Adam is according to Islam, both the first human and the first prophet. [32] The Quran says that he and his wife dwelled in Garden of Eden. Adam and his wife both eat from the forbidden Tree of Eternity. According to the Quran, as punishment God declares the earth as a dwelling place for humans. Only due to free will, humans are able to produce good . Thus, although Adam's disobedience created evil, only this made it possible to create good. [33] The disobediences of Adam and his wife were already forgiven by God during their life. [34] [35]

Islamic traditions are more extensive, adding further details into the Quranic creation narrative. According to a common narrative, God ordered the Archangels to collect a handful of soil from earth. But every time an archangel approached earth, the earth sought refuge in God, that it might not be distorted. All the archangels returned empty-handed, except Azrael, who succeeded because he sought refuge in God before, for that he will not return unsuccessful. [36] Another common traditions, portrayed the body of Adam lying on the ground for forty years, whereupon Iblis became curious of the new creation. After investigating the lifeless body, he promised that, if he will gain authority over it, he will destroy it. [37] In another tradition, it is not Azrael, but Iblis, included among the archangels, who succeeded in collecting soil from the earth, thus he later declined to prostrate himself before whose formation he just assisted. [38]

There is an extensive debate among the exegetes (muffasirun) on the creation of Eve as outlined in the foundational sources - Qur'an and Hadith. Surah an-Nisa verse one says "O people! Be mindful of your Lord who created you from a single soul (nafsin wahida) and created from it, its mate (zawjaha)..." Most Muslim exegetes have interpreted this verse as suggesting that Eve (zawjaha) is the secondary creation brought forth from Adam (nafsin wahida). Karen Bauer argues that since the nature and manner of Eve's creation in the Qur'an remains obscure, exegetes had no option but to read into the text of the Qur'an using Biblical, para-Biblical accounts and older myths. [39] The first spouse, according to the Qur'anic narrative, was created from (min) and for man (lahu) (Q. 7:189), but the meaning of from (min) is not clear. The exegetes have understood this in two key ways: first, from the "crooked rib" and second, "of the same type (substance)" It is worth mentioning that the Bible presents both accounts - of the same type (Genesis 1:26-7) and from the rib (Genesis 2:20-4) (109). The creation of man in the Quran differed from the Bible in that man was not made like the image of God but in the best of creation and not from Earth's dust but specifically from a dried pottery-like dark red clay, and that humans were made from a mixed fluid droplet that was recreated into a clinging thing, and that God made from water every living thing and that Eve was made from the person of Adam not his rib. [40] [41]

Muqatil b. Sulayman (d. 150/767), one of the earliest interpreters of the Qur'an says Eve was created from Adam's rib and this is reflected in her name - Eve (Hawwa), from the word living being (hayy). [42]

Another early exegete, Hud b. Muhakkam al-Hawwari (d. 3rd/9th century) presents the same reading by referring it to al-Hasan al-Basri who reported from Muhammad that "indeed, woman was created from a rib, and if you wish to straighten her you break her." [42] Many traditionalist exegetes like al-Tabari, Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi, Maybudi, etc. have quoted these opinions. But others like Abu Ja'far Muhammad al-Baqir and Ibn Bahr argue that Eve was created "of the same type." [43] In the modern period, the creation of Eve continues to be intensely debated. Pakistani scholar of the Qur'an, Israr Ahmed (d. 2010) was of the opinion that with the advances in our knowledge due to modern science, the notion of Eve's creation from Adam's rib is against human observation and reason. He believes the "crooked rib" hadith is using a metaphor to make a point regarding the psychological nature of women. Israr, in the evolution of the animal kingdom from a unicellular being like an amoeba, sees a clear indication that the creation was brought forth from the first unicellular being in which the characteristic of biological sex did not exist. [44]

Islamic traditions often use figures similar to the Biblical narrative. Adam's wife is commonly named Hawa, and the serpent reappears together with a peacock as two animals, which supported Iblis to slip into Adam's abode. [45] Many denied, that the Garden in which Adam dwelled with his wife, was identical with the Paradise in afterlife. They rather lived in paradisical conditions before their fall, while after their fall, they need to work to survive. Unlike Christian mythology, in Islamic thought, they did not simply walk out of paradise, but fell out of it. Hawa was punished with childbirth and menstruation, while Adam became bald [46] and the serpent lost its legs.

Regarding the creation of Muhammad, Islam developed the belief in the pre-existence of Muhammad. [a] This posits that God created the spiritual nature of Muhammad before God created the universe or Adam. [48] Following this belief, Muhammad was the first prophet created, but the last one sent to mankind. [47] When Adam walked in heaven, he once read the Shahada inscripted in the Throne of God, a belief attested by Al-Bayhaqi, who attributes it to Umar. [49] In a Shia version, the inscription also mentions Ali. [50]

Spiritual creatures

Islamic drawing of an angel blowing a nafir trumpet, probably Israfel. Israfel blowing nafir.jpg
Islamic drawing of an angel blowing a nafir trumpet, probably Israfel.
Persian literature of Depiction of Iblis with turban, refusing to prostrate Paris BnF Supplement Persan 1559 fol 10v All angels except Iblis bow to Adam cropped.jpg
Persian literature of Depiction of Iblis with turban, refusing to prostrate

In the Quran, fire (nar) makes up the basic substance for spiritual entities, [51] in contrast to humans created from clay (tin). Islamic hagiographic tradition commonly acknowledges three different types of spiritual entities. [51] A study of Muslim beliefs from Morocco offer the following picture: [52]

Structure of the world

Map of the world according to Zakariya al-Qazwini. The world is carried by a fish (Leviathan), a bull (Behemoth) and an angel. Islamic cosmology.jpg
Map of the world according to Zakariya al-Qazwini. The world is carried by a fish (Leviathan), a bull (Behemoth) and an angel.

The traditionalist account on the structure of the world is deeply embedded in the larger context of Middle Eastern mythological cosmology. [54] In contrast to the philosophical and some views deriving from speculative theology (Kalām), which agrees with Hellenistic cosmology on the distinction between a lower material world and an unchanging celestial world, the traditionalists describe both the earthly world and the heavens as composed of material nature. [54]

Accordingly, the heavens span in a dome-like structure over the earths, arranged in horizontal layers one upon another. [54] At top stands the Throne of God (Al-ʽArsh) separated from the seven heavens below. The lowest heaven is often associated with a firmly-enclosed water of a celestial ocean. [54] Below the heavens follow the seven earths. [54] The earths are likewise also part of the supernatural cosmos and serve as gradual stages of hell. [54] The surface is inhabited by humans, the lower stages are the abode of destructive winds and djinn, followed by brimstones of hell, scorpions and vipers, and eventually the devils at the bottom. [54]

The Kaaba

According to Islamic mythology, God instructed Adam to construct a building (called the Kaaba ) to be the earthly counterpart of the House of Heaven and that Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (Ishmael) later rebuilt it on its original foundations after was destroyed in the flood of Nuh (Noah). [55] [56] According to other opinions, Ibrahim and Ismail were the first to build it. [56] As Ismail was searching for a stone to mark a corner with, he met with the angel Jibrail (Gabriel). Jibrail gave him the Black Stone. According to the hadith , [57] the Black Stone is reported to have been milky white after being descended from Heaven but was rendered black due to the sins of the people, who had touched it. [58] [59] Muslims do not worship the Black Stone. [60]

The Kaaba was originally intended as a symbolic house for the one monotheistic God. However, according to Islamic mythology, after Ibrahim's death, people started to fill the Kaaba with "pagan idols". When Muhammad conquered Mecca after his exile, he removed the idols from the Kaaba. [61] [62] The inside of the Kaaba is now empty. [63] It now stands as an important pilgrimage site, which all Muslims are supposed to visit at least once if they are able ( Hajj ). [64] [63] Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day while facing in the Kaaba's direction ( qibla ). [63] [65]

Events

In Salafi thought

Beginning as a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and the threat of Western colonialism, Salafi reformism sought out a more practical model to "restore the ummah ", downplaying mystical, cosmic, and mythological aspects attributed to Muhammad, while simultaneously emphasizing the social and political role of the sunnah. [66]

Many adherents of the Muslim Brotherhood reject most traditional Islamic mythological narratives. Sayyid Qutb attempted to break the connection between Khidr and the Quran, eliminating his identification with God's servant mentioned in Surah 18. Accordingly, adherents of Qutbist thought began to no longer perceive Khidr (and his corresponding mythology) as related to Islam. [67] The teachings of Sulaiman Ashqar disapprove of many records about the traditional material regarding angels, including the Classical scholars who used them, which has led to a marginalization of Islamic thought of angels, including names and stories regarding their origin. [68]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The idea of Pre-Islamic Muhammad in deeply rooted in Islamic tradition and already attested in the Sunni-canonical collection (al-Tirmidhi). The association of Muhammads pre-existence with light can also be found in Ibn Ishaq's Sira. Later, both Sunni and Shia sources extended this motif to construct cosmological scenarios. [47]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 David Leeming (2005). "Islamic Mythology". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. pp. 207–211. ISBN   9780190288884.
  2. ↑ Bolle, Kees W.; Smith, Jonathan Z.; Buxton, Richard G.A.; Stefon, Matt (2017-01-03). "myth". Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  3. ↑ Leeming, David (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 82.
  4. 1 2 Leeming, David (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 125.
  5. ↑ David Leeming (2005). "Preface". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. vii. ISBN   9780195156690.
  6. 1 2 Grassie, William (March 1998). "Science as Epic? Can the modern evolutionary cosmology be a mythic story for our time?". Science & Spirit. 9 (1). The word 'myth' is popularly understood to mean idle fancy, fiction, or falsehood; but there is another meaning of the word in academic discourse. A myth, in this latter sense of the word, is a story that serves to define the fundamental worldview of a culture
  7. ↑ Eliade, Myth and Reality, 1968, p. 162.
  8. ↑ Eliade, Myth and Reality, p. 1, 8-10; The Sacred and the Profane, p. 95
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Campo, J. E. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. USA: Facts On File. p. 171
  10. ↑ "Creation stories in Islam - The existence of God - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - CCEA". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  11. ↑ Quran 10:3, Quran 7:52, Quran 11:9,Quran 50:37
  12. ↑ Dashti, 23 Years, 1994: p.162-3
  13. ↑ Quran 41:8
  14. ↑ Quran 41:9
  15. ↑ Quran 41:10
  16. ↑ Quran 41:11
  17. 1 2 Dashti, 23 Years, 1994: p.163
  18. ↑ Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The Meaning of the Glorious Quran. Dar al-Kitab. p. 1288, note 4470.
  19. ↑ Quran 21:31-33
  20. 1 2 "Islam Creation Story". www2.nau.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  21. ↑ Quran 7:54
  22. ↑ Ibn Warraq (1995). Why I'm Not a Muslim. Amherst NY: Prometheus Books. pp. 134–137.
  23. ↑ Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran: 7:54 Footnote- The word day is not always used in the Quran to mean a 24-hour period. According to 22:47, a heavenly Day is 1000 years of our time. The Day of Judgment will be 50 000 years of our time (see 70:4). Hence, the six Days of creation refer to six eons of time, known only by Allah.
  24. ↑ Husam Muhi Eldin al- Alousi The Problem of Creation in Islamic Thought, Qur'an, Hadith, Commentaries, and KalamNational Printing and Publishing, Bagdad, 1968 p. 29 and 96
  25. ↑ Husam Muhi Eldin al- Alousi The Problem of Creation in Islamic Thought, Qur'an, Hadith, Commentaries, and KalamNational Printing and Publishing, Bagdad, 1968 p. 179
  26. ↑ Husam Muhi Eldin al- Alousi The Problem of Creation in Islamic Thought, Qur'an, Hadith, Commentaries, and KalamNational Printing and Publishing, Bagdad, 1968 p. 53
  27. ↑ Patricia Crone, The Qurʾānic Pagans and Related Matters: Collected Studies in Three Volumes, Band 1 BRILL, 09.06.2016 ISBN   9789004319288 p. 200
  28. ↑ Mahmoud Ayoub The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1 SUNY Press, 1984 ISBN   9780873957274 p. 73
  29. ↑ Brannon Wheeler Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis A&C Black 2002 ISBN   9780826449566 Page 16
  30. ↑ Annemarie Schimmel Mystical Dimensions of Islam Univ of North Carolina Press, 1975 ISBN   9780807812716 p. 188
  31. ↑ Mahmoud Ayoub The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1 SUNY Press, 1984 ISBN   9780873957274 p. 79
  32. ↑ Lalljee, compiled by Yousuf N. (1981). Know your Islam (3rd ed.). New York: Taknike Tarsile Quran. p.  71. ISBN   978-0-940368-02-6.
  33. ↑ P. Koslowski The Origin and the Overcoming of Evil and Suffering in the World Religions Springer Science & Business Media 2013 ISBN   9789401597890 pp. 34-35
  34. ↑ Amina Wadud Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective Oxford University Press 1999 ISBN   9780198029434 p.25
  35. ↑ Quran 2:37
  36. ↑ Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 ISBN   978-1-461-71895-6 page 13
  37. ↑ Alexander Kulik, Catherine Mary MacRobert, Svetlina Nikolova, Moshe Taube, Cynthia M. Vakareliyska The Bible in Slavic Tradition BRILL 2016 ISBN   9789004313675 p. 351
  38. ↑ Leigh N. B. Chipman. “Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam.” Studia Islamica, no. 93, 2001, pp. 5–25. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1596106.
  39. ↑ Bauer, Karen (2015). Gender Hierarchy in the Qur'an: Medieval Interpretations, Modern Responses. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 104. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139649759. ISBN   9781139649759.
  40. ↑ Bucaille, Maurice (1 December 1983). the bible Quran and science. Fixot / Seghers; 6th edition. p. 272.
  41. ↑ Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Qur’ān ,ebook. Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus.
  42. 1 2 Bauer, p. 112
  43. ↑ Bauer, p. 117-124
  44. ↑ Ahmed, Israr (2013). The Process of Creation: A Qur'anic Perspective (PDF). Lahore: Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Quran. pp. 32–35.
  45. ↑ Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN   9780815650706 page 98-99
  46. ↑ Patricia Crone Medieval Islamic Political Thought Edinburgh University Press, 11.03.2014 ISBN   9780748696505
  47. 1 2 Marion Holmes Katz The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam Routledge 2007 ISBN   978-1-135-98394-9 page 13
  48. ↑ Macdonald, John. The Creation of Man and Angels in the Eschatological Literature: [Translated Excerpts from an Unpublished Collection of Traditions]. Islamic Studies, vol. 3, no. 3, 1964, pp. 285–308. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20832755.
  49. ↑ Uri Rubin, “Pre-Existence and Light—Aspects of the Concept of Nūr Muḥammad”, Israel Oriental Studies 5 (1975), 62–119 [Reprinted in: Uri Rubin, Muhammad the Prophet and Arabia, Variorum Collected Studies Series (Ashgate, 2011) p. 106)
  50. ↑ M.J. Kister Adam: A Study of Some Legends in Tafsir and Hadit Literature Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of The Qur'an, Oxford 1988 p.129
  51. 1 2 Tobias Nünlist Dämonenglaube im Islam Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015 ISBN   978-3-110-33168-4 p. 47 (German)
  52. ↑ Dieste, Josep Lluís Mateo. Health and ritual in Morocco: Conceptions of the body and healing practices. Vol. 109. Brill, 2012. p. 30
  53. ↑ M. Th. Houtsma E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Band 4 BRILL, 1993 ISBN   9789004097902 p. 615
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Heinen, A. (2012). Samāʾ. In P. Bearman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0991
  55. ↑ M. J. Akbar (2002). The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. p. 5. ISBN   9780415284707.
  56. 1 2 "Kaaba - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved 2018-09-15. Cube-shaped "House of God" located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Focal point of the hajj pilgrimage and a world spiritual center that all Muslims face during prayer. Muslims believe that it was built by Abraham (Ibrahim) and Ishmael (Ismail); some believe Adam built it and Abraham and Ishmael only rebuilt it. Often called the earthly counterpart to God's throne in heaven. Circumambulated seven times during the hajj ritual in imitation of angels circumambulating God's throne. Contains the Black Stone, which pilgrims often try to touch or kiss during circumambulations, believing that it physically absorbs sin; all pilgrims salute the stone as a gesture of their renewed covenant with God. Covered with a cloth called kiswah, which is embroidered with verses from the Quran.
  57. ↑ Jamiʽ al-Tirmidhi 877
  58. ↑ "Black Stone of Mecca | Islam". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  59. ↑ Elsebeth, Thompson (1980). "New Light on the Origin of the Holy Black Stone of the Ka'ba". Meteoritics. 15 (1): 87–91. Bibcode:1980Metic..15...87T. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1980.tb00176.x.
  60. ↑ Hedin, Christer. "Muslim Pilgrimage as Education by Experience". p. 176. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.1017.315 .
  61. ↑ "Cmje". Archived from the original on 2009-02-01.
  62. ↑ "Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys". bridgingcultures.neh.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  63. 1 2 3 "Important Sites: The Kaba". Inside Islam. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  64. ↑ "Hajj - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  65. ↑ "qibla | Art History Glossary". blog.stephens.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  66. ↑ Daniel W. Brown Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought Cambridge University Press ISBN   9780521653947 p. 65
  67. ↑ Quintan Wiktorowicz Quintan Wiktorowicz Pages 207-239 | Received 10 Jan 2005, Accepted 12 Apr 2005, Published online: 19 Aug 2006
  68. ↑ Stephen Burge Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-malik Routledge 2015 ISBN   978-1-136-50473-0 p. 13-14

Sources

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