Islamicate Occult Sciences in Theory and Practice (Brill, 2020) brings together the latest research on Islamic occult sciences from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, namely intellectual history, manuscript studies, and material culture. Its aim is not only to showcase the range of pioneering work that is currently being done in these areas but also to ... Show More
Sep 12
Han Hsien Liew, "Preaching Pious Rulership in Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Jawzi's Political Thought" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Han Hsien Liew’s fascinating and insightful new book, Preaching Pious Rulership in Medieval Islam: Ibn al-Jawzi’s Political Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2026) offers a new way of understanding the political thought of one of medieval Islam’s most influential preachers, Ib ... Show More
1h 29m
Sep 9
Ashish Koul, "Reinventing Caste: Islam and Hierarchy in Late Colonial India" (Stanford UP, 2026)
Reinventing Caste: Islam and Hierarchy in Late Colonial India (Stanford UP, 2026) reveals that caste, usually assumed to be a feature of Hindu society, was in fact a trans-religious phenomenon in colonial India, as it is today. Even in an Islamic religious milieu that was suppose ... Show More
1h 27m
Aug 28
Matthew Thomas Miller, "Feeling like Lovers: Affect in Medieval Sufism" (U California Press, 2026)
Matthew Thomas Miller's new book Feeling like Lovers: Affect in Medieval Sufism (U California Press, 2026), and is available as an open access book (see link below), considers how for many medieval Sufis, Sufism was the “path of love”, and God was the Beloved, and so one had to b ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 2024
Picatrix (Ghayat al-Hakim): The World's Most Famous Book of Magic?
Discover the mysteries of Picatrix (Ghayat al-Hakim), one of the most influential books of magic ever written. This ancient Arabic text has fascinated mystics, scholars, and occultists for centuries with its unique blend of astrology, alchemy, and Hermetic philosophy. In this epi ... Show More
28m 53s
Jun 2024
Ibn al-ʿArabī in Japan: The Life and Legacy of Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993)
Atif Khalil is on the faculty of Religious Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Khalil's primary area of research lies in Sufism, with secondary interests in Islamic philosophy and theology, comparative mysticism, interfaith relations, Jewish-Muslim relations, medieval philos ... Show More
20m 56s
Oct 2024
Francesco Piraino, "Sufism in Europe: Islam, Esotericism and the New Age" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Francesco Piraino’s Sufism in Europe: Islam, Esotericism and the New Age (University of Edinburgh Press, 2024) is a vital contribution to the growing field of Sufism in the Global North which often encompasses studies of North America and western Europe. This monograph study, the ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 2024
Francesco Piraino, "Sufism in Europe: Islam, Esotericism and the New Age" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Francesco Piraino’s Sufism in Europe: Islam, Esotericism and the New Age (University of Edinburgh Press, 2024) is a vital contribution to the growing field of Sufism in the Global North which often encompasses studies of North America and western Europe. This monograph study, the ... Show More
1h 3m
<p>This is the first in a series of episodes exploring the world of Occult Sciences in the Islamicate World, including such topics as Alchemy, Astrology, Talismanic Magic & the Science of Letters.</p><br><p><br></p><p>Sources/Suggested Reading:</p><ul><li>Melvin-Koushki, Matt ... Show More
<p>We continue our exploration of the Occult Sciences by taking a look at some of the earliest theories and practices surrounding astrology in the Islamicate World.</p><br><p><br></p><p>Sources/Suggested Reading:</p><ul><li>Adamson, Peter & Richard C. Taylor (ed) (2004). "The ... Show More