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Magic in Islam
The progenitor of "Muslim punk rock" and one of today's freshest spiritual voices pushes back against the common assumption that the historic faiths have no occult or magical tradition in this richly learned historical and personal journey through the practice of magic in Islam.
Magic in Islam offers a look at magical and occult technologies throughout Muslim history, starting with Islam's earliest and most canonical sources. In addition to providing a highly accessible introduction to magic as it is defined, practiced, condemned, and defended within Muslim traditions, Magic in Islam challenges common assumptions about organized religion.
Michael Muhammad Knight's deeply original book fills a gap within existing literature on the place of magic in Islamic traditions and opens a new window on Islam for general readers and students of religion alike. In doing so, the book counters and complicates widespread perceptions of Islam, as well as of magic as it is practiced outside of European contexts.
Magic in Islam also challenges our view of "organized religions" as clearly defined systems that can be reduced to checklists of key doctrines, texts, and rules. As a result, Magic in Islam throws a monkey wrench into the conventions of the "intro to Islam" genre, threatening to flip popular notions of a religion's "center" and "margins."
Magic in Islam offers a look at magical and occult technologies throughout Muslim history, starting with Islam's earliest and most canonical sources. In addition to providing a highly accessible introduction to magic as it is defined, practiced, condemned, and defended within Muslim traditions, Magic in Islam challenges common assumptions about organized religion.
Michael Muhammad Knight's deeply original book fills a gap within existing literature on the place of magic in Islamic traditions and opens a new window on Islam for general readers and students of religion alike. In doing so, the book counters and complicates widespread perceptions of Islam, as well as of magic as it is practiced outside of European contexts.
Magic in Islam also challenges our view of "organized religions" as clearly defined systems that can be reduced to checklists of key doctrines, texts, and rules. As a result, Magic in Islam throws a monkey wrench into the conventions of the "intro to Islam" genre, threatening to flip popular notions of a religion's "center" and "margins."
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2016
29 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Michael Muhammad Knight
35 books146 followersMichael Muhammad Knight (born 1977) is an American novelist, essayist, and journalist. His writings are popular among American Muslim youth. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "one of the most necessary and, paradoxically enough, hopeful writers of Barack Obama's America," while The Guardian has described him as "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature," and his non-fiction work exemplifies the principles of gonzo journalism. Publishers Weekly describes him as "Islam's gonzo experimentalist." Within the American Muslim community, he has earned a reputation as an ostentatious cultural provocateur.
He obtained a master's degree from Harvard University in 2011 and is a Ph.D. student in islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He obtained a master's degree from Harvard University in 2011 and is a Ph.D. student in islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 10, 2018
Two recent books on Islam present the good and ugly sides of postmodernism and critical studies. The first, "What is Islam?" by Shahab Ahmed, aims to disrupt academia's pseudo-metaphysics and give us a vision of Islam as the complex, deep product of historical continuity. This book does exactly the opposite: it highlights academic research which can be used to disrupt Islam's own historical continuity, insists on radical skepticism of any and all claims no matter their origin, and leaves the reader fairly confused by the end.
M. M. Knight views Islam from the eagle eye perspective of the postmodern scholar, as a convert who does not really know what he is looking at and feels like nobody else can claim to have such knowledge either. He provides a wealth of interesting historical examples to try to blur the boundaries of "magic" and "Islam". When he succeeds he provides insight, specifically regarding the power of dreams in Sunni tradition, and an endorsement of the orthodoxy of some aspects of lettrism -- lacking, however, any suggestion of how that orthodoxy might work as part of a larger metaphysics.
Most of the rest of the book is a mess. A mountain of academic articles are cited regarding the formation of orthodoxy in early Islamic history. One might expect Knight to dig in deep regarding "magical Islam in practice" in far flung places like Morocco, Pakistan or Indonesia. In fact there is literally zero discussion of this, other than a stray note that the Islam of Africans captured as slaves was possibly "syncretic" (a word Knight wants to avoid). We do get a very long chapter about scientific, rationalist and Masonic themes found in Nation of Islam teaching, which was educational but not really what I think of when I think about the topic of "magic in Islam".
The reason for all this mess is because Knight wants Islam to be a certain way, namely to give him a specific answer about how to achieve social justice, and he feels that the actually existing tradition falls short of his desires. Hence the desire for total disruption, not only of secular structures, but of any and all structures -- the best hope for reintroducing magic to Islam seems to involve allowing Derrida and Deleuze to take the place of Sunni commentators.
I have not read Knight's book "Why I Am a Five Percenter" but he also gives a description of the Five Percenters in this book and I think I can already guess his argument. Namely, he can choose to define "Five Percenters" however he pleases, so why not identify as one?
M. M. Knight views Islam from the eagle eye perspective of the postmodern scholar, as a convert who does not really know what he is looking at and feels like nobody else can claim to have such knowledge either. He provides a wealth of interesting historical examples to try to blur the boundaries of "magic" and "Islam". When he succeeds he provides insight, specifically regarding the power of dreams in Sunni tradition, and an endorsement of the orthodoxy of some aspects of lettrism -- lacking, however, any suggestion of how that orthodoxy might work as part of a larger metaphysics.
Most of the rest of the book is a mess. A mountain of academic articles are cited regarding the formation of orthodoxy in early Islamic history. One might expect Knight to dig in deep regarding "magical Islam in practice" in far flung places like Morocco, Pakistan or Indonesia. In fact there is literally zero discussion of this, other than a stray note that the Islam of Africans captured as slaves was possibly "syncretic" (a word Knight wants to avoid). We do get a very long chapter about scientific, rationalist and Masonic themes found in Nation of Islam teaching, which was educational but not really what I think of when I think about the topic of "magic in Islam".
The reason for all this mess is because Knight wants Islam to be a certain way, namely to give him a specific answer about how to achieve social justice, and he feels that the actually existing tradition falls short of his desires. Hence the desire for total disruption, not only of secular structures, but of any and all structures -- the best hope for reintroducing magic to Islam seems to involve allowing Derrida and Deleuze to take the place of Sunni commentators.
I have not read Knight's book "Why I Am a Five Percenter" but he also gives a description of the Five Percenters in this book and I think I can already guess his argument. Namely, he can choose to define "Five Percenters" however he pleases, so why not identify as one?
September 12, 2016
A hot mess of a book, but still worth reading. Michael Knight is now a postmodern conventionally educated scholar, and that is beginning to show. He has obviously read VERY widely and the book contains countless extremely interesting tidbits about magic and magical ideas in Islamicate tradition. But all of this wonderful research is embedded within a curious postmodern framework that can be off-putting and irrelevant to the story. The story he COULD have told is the story of magic and related ideas in the history of Islam and Islamicate culture. THAT story would have been a fascinating and interesting tour through a history that is not well known, especially to outsiders and Western-educated Muslims (like us). And he provides some of that and that is why the book is worth reading. But he is also eager to "correct" our supposed misconceptions about religion and history and too much pleading takes up too much space in this book. Then again, many people seem to want that kind of "mandatory re-education/rectification of names", so maybe you will like that part too. But personally, I would have preferred more historical details, fewer lectures about orientalism and "the clash of civilizations".
Best new bit of information for me: that Ibn ul Arabi claimed he had sex with the Arabic letters in paradise. I wish i knew more about the context of that particular quote. But like many fascinating little details in the book, Michael mentions it and moves on. He has clearly read a lot, I wish he had spent more time presenting the information he has collected and less time lecturing us about how "opening space for new fields of knowledge potentially decenters traditions of jurisprudence, even forcing increased opening of an Islam outside normative Muslim legal traditions" and suchlike. Sure, that would be nice. But let us hear the story first, then we can figure out what it means for magic to be (as he describes it) "deconstructive".
Not that I disagree with his project of "engagement and deep intersection", just that I wanted more of the facts, less of the postmodern interpretation.
Best new bit of information for me: that Ibn ul Arabi claimed he had sex with the Arabic letters in paradise. I wish i knew more about the context of that particular quote. But like many fascinating little details in the book, Michael mentions it and moves on. He has clearly read a lot, I wish he had spent more time presenting the information he has collected and less time lecturing us about how "opening space for new fields of knowledge potentially decenters traditions of jurisprudence, even forcing increased opening of an Islam outside normative Muslim legal traditions" and suchlike. Sure, that would be nice. But let us hear the story first, then we can figure out what it means for magic to be (as he describes it) "deconstructive".
Not that I disagree with his project of "engagement and deep intersection", just that I wanted more of the facts, less of the postmodern interpretation.
December 31, 2020
This was not at all what I expected, but that's not the book's fault! And hey, I learned a lot, even if some of it was not that interesting to me!
I think that the first chapter, which deconstructs the concept of "Muslim" magic, is worth reading for the big ideas it presents. Mostly, I came away from this with one major point: that Islam is not as culturally and religiously pure as the Sunni majority would have you believe. It raises questions about Islam's syncreticism and cultural exchange and what qualifies as a "true" Islam, if that even exists.
I think that the first chapter, which deconstructs the concept of "Muslim" magic, is worth reading for the big ideas it presents. Mostly, I came away from this with one major point: that Islam is not as culturally and religiously pure as the Sunni majority would have you believe. It raises questions about Islam's syncreticism and cultural exchange and what qualifies as a "true" Islam, if that even exists.
September 9, 2021
I didn't know anything about the author when I started reading this so the introduction caught me by surprise, it turned me off a little bit actually because I had been expecting something more academic and I was having flashbacks to Corey Taylor's autobiography...
Anyway, I think overall this serves as a great lit review. I don't know that I would recommend it as an introductory text to someone who isn't familiar with Islam, I could see it easily leaving someone lost. There is some valuable practical information in this book, stuff which is difficult to find in English, but he doesn't really explore anything too deeply, at least not in a way which felt satisfying to me, great citations though. Also, despite the critique he presents it with, the book is very much centered in an Arab Orthodox Sunni framework and I really would have liked to see the topic taken up with broader horizons.
He presents modern discourse and its historical lineage from different angles which I appreciated but was less interested in the author's opinions and experiences.
Excited to dig into the references :3
Anyway, I think overall this serves as a great lit review. I don't know that I would recommend it as an introductory text to someone who isn't familiar with Islam, I could see it easily leaving someone lost. There is some valuable practical information in this book, stuff which is difficult to find in English, but he doesn't really explore anything too deeply, at least not in a way which felt satisfying to me, great citations though. Also, despite the critique he presents it with, the book is very much centered in an Arab Orthodox Sunni framework and I really would have liked to see the topic taken up with broader horizons.
He presents modern discourse and its historical lineage from different angles which I appreciated but was less interested in the author's opinions and experiences.
Excited to dig into the references :3
June 3, 2017
Honestly, at least 70% of this book went way over my head. Way. I expected that though. I was able to glean that a) Religions are more than their texts. They exist through the living people who practice them and are always changing, a protean nature that they share with languages. b) Religions do not exist in isolation. Through their practitioners religions are constantly interacting with one another as well as with other traditions often considered less legitimate or superstitious. c) The demarcation between religion and magic, religion and superstition is generally quite silly and has mostly to do with the preferences of the powerful.
March 14, 2018
Thinking this was a history of how folks of all stripes thought about and thought they used magic in an Islamic context, I perhaps should've looked at the title more closely. This is very much not what I thought it was and very much a study of what it means within the religion itself. It thus devolves rather quickly into a light, Quranic exegesis which is too bad because the author seems to have set out to make a nice, anti-polemical work. Instead, he succumbs to the same weaknesses that many religious studies do, an over-reliance on justification, minutiae, and little of actual, practical phenomena. Much time is spent on what hadith- and the isnad-obsessed thought about what Muhammad thought, numerology, and other things that would perhaps be of an interest to anyone who knows what those terms I just used mean, but, otherwise, will be likely more confusing than not to anyone else.
March 1, 2021
Magic in Islam was a welcome challenge to me as I discovered how ignorant I am of a major population's belief system. It was a joy because the cultural anthropologist in me saw so many connections to belief systems I've studied previously. Wonderful stuff!
(reread Feb 2021)
Magic in Islam came through a friend's recommendation. I took a look because I value the friend - they always make me think - and I know nothing about Islam except what I learned from obviously bigoted sources.
Imagine my surprise when Knight essentially writes that any sources will be prejudiced, including canonical Islamic sources. I appreciate and recognize this. No "inspired" text is free of it. The trick is to recognize it and get past it.
Magic in Islam is a thoughtful, insightful book about modern Islam explained through a sidelight to modern Islam. Knight discusses magic (not what westerners think), how it appears in various Islamic traditions, and how it's moved through and transformed those traditions.
Is it a good book for someone wanting to learn about Islam? Not for most people, me thinks. It has a great deal of information from an academic or scholarly perspective, and Knight is a practicing Muslim who knows his systems. I found it enlightening and a great launching point for further explorations, but I have a background in fields Knight called upon when writing this book. It was a wonderful walk for me. For people wanting to know the Do's and Don't's of Islam, this may not be the best read.
(reread Feb 2021)
Magic in Islam came through a friend's recommendation. I took a look because I value the friend - they always make me think - and I know nothing about Islam except what I learned from obviously bigoted sources.
Imagine my surprise when Knight essentially writes that any sources will be prejudiced, including canonical Islamic sources. I appreciate and recognize this. No "inspired" text is free of it. The trick is to recognize it and get past it.
Magic in Islam is a thoughtful, insightful book about modern Islam explained through a sidelight to modern Islam. Knight discusses magic (not what westerners think), how it appears in various Islamic traditions, and how it's moved through and transformed those traditions.
Is it a good book for someone wanting to learn about Islam? Not for most people, me thinks. It has a great deal of information from an academic or scholarly perspective, and Knight is a practicing Muslim who knows his systems. I found it enlightening and a great launching point for further explorations, but I have a background in fields Knight called upon when writing this book. It was a wonderful walk for me. For people wanting to know the Do's and Don't's of Islam, this may not be the best read.
August 20, 2016
I wanted to read this book from the second I learned of its existence from my friend Matt's goodreads feed. It wasn't at the bookstore and I was pondering a special order when I saw it at the library. (Though now that I've read it, I'm pretty sure I'm still going to need my own copy.)
The best thing about this book is how it interrogates the meanings of the words "magic" and "Islam." Knight pushes at the boundaries and examines what is intended to stay inside and outside. For instance, I think I learned about as much about the history of Christianity as I did about Islam, because both, existing in the same times and at nearly the same places, had similar world views about things like what and where the stars were, and how they related to Earth. And as those views changed along with the writings of new philosophers and scientists which would have been read by all the cultures in the area at the time (given time for translation and percolation).
I really could go on and on and on, and on...
This was exactly the book I didn't know I wanted until it was there. I need to put a copy on order right now.
The best thing about this book is how it interrogates the meanings of the words "magic" and "Islam." Knight pushes at the boundaries and examines what is intended to stay inside and outside. For instance, I think I learned about as much about the history of Christianity as I did about Islam, because both, existing in the same times and at nearly the same places, had similar world views about things like what and where the stars were, and how they related to Earth. And as those views changed along with the writings of new philosophers and scientists which would have been read by all the cultures in the area at the time (given time for translation and percolation).
I really could go on and on and on, and on...
This was exactly the book I didn't know I wanted until it was there. I need to put a copy on order right now.
December 9, 2016
I've been waiting a while for a book like this. Read it in a single night.
July 18, 2022
Did you know that what is now considered magic (i.e. incantations, love charms, curses, exorcisms, astrology, divination, the conjuring of spirits, and the creation of amulets) once crossed religious boundaries to the point where these were commonly accepted and widely practiced by Christians, Jews, Moslems, and Zoroastrians? Did you know that prophetic dreams constitute 1/46th of prophecy, according to the Messenger of Allah? Did you know that a book can be magical without actually containing any magic? Did you know that the Honorable Prophet Mohammed utilized the Qur'an as a technology of protection?
If any of the preceding questions whet your magico-intellectual appetite, then pick up this book now! Knight writes what I consider to be an extremely well-researched book into how magic and religion have dialogued across the centuries, some of the ways that so-called magic is subtly practiced in Islam, and the ways that these streams of influence informed Islam as practiced in North America (the history of the Black Moslems). In sum, the practice of so-called islamic magic provides the user with superior intellectual rigor compared to the average man-beast, impeccable moral character, and extraordinary religious devotion without the fear of ideological castration.
If any of the preceding questions whet your magico-intellectual appetite, then pick up this book now! Knight writes what I consider to be an extremely well-researched book into how magic and religion have dialogued across the centuries, some of the ways that so-called magic is subtly practiced in Islam, and the ways that these streams of influence informed Islam as practiced in North America (the history of the Black Moslems). In sum, the practice of so-called islamic magic provides the user with superior intellectual rigor compared to the average man-beast, impeccable moral character, and extraordinary religious devotion without the fear of ideological castration.
February 21, 2024
Within the MMK corpus this is one of the first books where we see a turn towards the academic. The text no longer feels revolutionary, imaginative, inventive or transgressive as his early masterpieces.
Nevertheless, it’s still excellent writing and scholarship. I feel this is both a good intro to magical practice for Muslims (who often are frightened at even the word ‘magic’) and it’s also a good intro to the history of magic in the Islamicate world.
I find many of the theses that course through this book to be vitally important, such as: traditional Muslim societies didn’t split the world into the secular materialist trinity of science/religion/magic, magic is far more nuanced than ideologues make it seem, where does mysticism end & religion begin, where does magic begin and mysticism end, we view the world through limited paradigms/episteme (the overton window) & what we moderns now classify as magic was in the pre-modern era just simply viewed as capital T truth, and finally that when people claim to “speak on behalf the tradition” they’re really just making up the tradition as they go along.
Overall, it’s a good intro to magic in the Islamicate world & i look forward to further work in this field.
Nevertheless, it’s still excellent writing and scholarship. I feel this is both a good intro to magical practice for Muslims (who often are frightened at even the word ‘magic’) and it’s also a good intro to the history of magic in the Islamicate world.
I find many of the theses that course through this book to be vitally important, such as: traditional Muslim societies didn’t split the world into the secular materialist trinity of science/religion/magic, magic is far more nuanced than ideologues make it seem, where does mysticism end & religion begin, where does magic begin and mysticism end, we view the world through limited paradigms/episteme (the overton window) & what we moderns now classify as magic was in the pre-modern era just simply viewed as capital T truth, and finally that when people claim to “speak on behalf the tradition” they’re really just making up the tradition as they go along.
Overall, it’s a good intro to magic in the Islamicate world & i look forward to further work in this field.
March 15, 2020
A lot of intriguing, thought-provoking argument. What is the difference between miracle and magic? Between prayer and spell? Between prophecy and fortune-telling? Between command of the jinn and summoning demons? And what is Islam anyway? What did Muhammad really say or believe? What do Muslims believe? When you consider the vast geographical and historical context of Islam, you realize the true diversity of Islamic thought, and how different views of magic are all embraced in it.
What was disappointing, though, was that I wanted to know more about the actual magical beliefs and practices, not just about attitudes to them. I wanted to know about alchemy and astrology and sorcery and divination and all those other wonderful things. There were tantalizing hints here, enough to suggest interesting parallels between Islamic magic and Kabbalah and esoteric Christianity, but it didn't have the level of detail I was hoping for.
What was disappointing, though, was that I wanted to know more about the actual magical beliefs and practices, not just about attitudes to them. I wanted to know about alchemy and astrology and sorcery and divination and all those other wonderful things. There were tantalizing hints here, enough to suggest interesting parallels between Islamic magic and Kabbalah and esoteric Christianity, but it didn't have the level of detail I was hoping for.
August 3, 2021
Really dynamic and informative! I found this book after hearing Knight's interview on NPR and immediately had to have it. As someone who writes fantasy stories about different religions and mythologies, I read 'Magic in Islam' as more of a reference, returning to it time and time again over the past year or so to pick up a little more information, rather than absorbing the entire thing at once. Only newly familiar with Islamic tradition, I thoroughly enjoyed Knight's ability to weave the historical context of his religion with the practical application in day to day life. I would absolutely recommend this read for anyone interested in mysticism, history, religion, or just eager to understand this facet of belief often removed from our science-minded culture.
June 2, 2023
I was originally going to give this book a 2/5, because the author often repeats himself or goes off on long tangents referencing generations of scholars to the point where you, as an average reader, just get lost. However, the subject matter Knight presents is fascinating. What really carries this book, however, is when Knight flies off the handle in the second half of the book and talks about his ayahuasca-induced hallucinations of Muhammad and various historical Islamic figures and his belonging to the Five Percenters, a Nation of Islam offshoot. This guy is wild and it's worth just reading about him on his Wikipedia page. "Islam's gonzo experimentalist," indeed!
Read
September 12, 2020If you’re looking to learn more about the theories regarding deeper meanings of the Quran, mysteries of concepts like letterology and astrology and their compatibility with Quran and Hadith interpretations, and controversies of cultural mysticism overlapping with Islamic thought, you’ll definitely enjoy reading this book. Another truly magic text from one of my favourite authors, Michael Muhammad Knight. Be forewarned: reading it just once will not be enough, and like any good book on Islam, it may leave you itching for deeper self-research and more (possibly unattainable) answers.
February 14, 2025
Could've been written without all the postmodernist theory, the text is too bloated with it. Where it does get interesting are the sections where Ibn Arabi's mystical vision where he had sex with the letters of the alphabet, the astrology relating to Muhammad, the correspondence with Muhammad's ascension to the seven heavens with the seven planets, and Hermes. The part at the end with Nation of Islam, Moorish Temple of Science, and Five Percenters wasn't interesting. He tends to write a lot about them in his books.
Overall, some good bits with too much postmodern theory.
Overall, some good bits with too much postmodern theory.
June 16, 2018
A good but wandering read. I had the privelege of being a student of Knight's, and the book basically mimics how he teaches. All of the information provided is very thought provoking, and tons of research has been poured into this. He talks about the same historical Islamic figures repeatedly, but he knows his stuff. Also, he walks the walk. He practices both what most would consider orthodox Islam and carries some magic tokens with him regularly. It's the real deal.
August 23, 2017
I am pretty much exactly Knight's target audience for this exact book. I love nonfiction that isn't quite a dissertation but isn't exactly not a dissertation. Please note that this quite different than what Knight typically produces and has become famous for; my tastes are kind of weird so it may or may not be your cup of tea.
April 1, 2024
Read this last year. Changed the way I think about traditions and how we interact with religions through "traditionalist" narratives. Knight has an incredible sociological/anthropological take on the history of Islamic magical practices in a very broad sense. This is a good book to introduce some popular practices and general ideas around magic in the context of the Islamic world.
May 6, 2024
Playful but suffers for it
Could be called: Nichey McNiches-alot goes Niching in Niche-town.
Touches upon magic considerations and then delves into sect focus when there was so much more to explore.
Last few chapters are more focussed on sects, and views of them than magic practise within them.
Could be called: Nichey McNiches-alot goes Niching in Niche-town.
Touches upon magic considerations and then delves into sect focus when there was so much more to explore.
Last few chapters are more focussed on sects, and views of them than magic practise within them.
April 26, 2023
This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but that is not a bad thing at all. I learned a lot and am fascinated by the way things intersect. A fascinating look at Islam, magic, religion, and how they all inform and relate to each other. Not an easy ready, but a satisfying one.
Want to read
June 26, 2019in all honesty, i've had a 'muslims at hogwarts' fic bouncing around the back of my head for a couple of years and i mostly want to read this for research
October 27, 2020
Enjoyed most of it a great deal and a lot of information I never even heard of, some chapters lost me, overall disjointed but that feels appropriate for the messy message he was sharing.
March 7, 2022
been looking for a book like this for a while
It’s a good intro to the topic! Looking forward to reading more on this.
I would recommend .. good book to have in your library
It’s a good intro to the topic! Looking forward to reading more on this.
I would recommend .. good book to have in your library
May 28, 2016
Knight, adding to his works that address Islam in the United States, examines some of the intersections of "magic" (a slippery term he addresses), "science" (a term that can be equally slippery), and Islam, notably without normative boundary defending. The work is somewhat less personal than some of his other works, but his ability to draw from wide-ranging Muslim and academic authors makes this informative for those in Islamic studies, although it may be somewhat off-putting for those less knowledgable about the various understandings of Muslim history and religious undertakings.
Knight frequently uses the metaphor of holes or tunnels in the boundaries or fences of constructed orthodoxies, showing that even some of the medieval or early modern scholars who are held up as "orthodox" or "rational" were also engaged in knowledge systems that today might be labeled as "esoteric" or even "occult". For this alone, I wish I could add this book to the required reading list of Muslims everywhere.
Knight sidesteps contemporary constructions of science out of the Qur'an (called "ijaz" or "ilmyi i'jaz"), and even pushes denials of evolution off onto Christians, leaving the reader incorrectly presuming that such narratives don't have a Muslim voice as well. He also solidly locates these narratives in Saudi constructions, despite their thorough infusions throughout much of the Muslim world. These enter the conversation in his discussions of "rationalism" and "modernity" as elements that are often juxtaposed with "magic".
Well worth a read, especially if you're trying to break out of presentations of a rigidly bounded "Islam".
Knight frequently uses the metaphor of holes or tunnels in the boundaries or fences of constructed orthodoxies, showing that even some of the medieval or early modern scholars who are held up as "orthodox" or "rational" were also engaged in knowledge systems that today might be labeled as "esoteric" or even "occult". For this alone, I wish I could add this book to the required reading list of Muslims everywhere.
Knight sidesteps contemporary constructions of science out of the Qur'an (called "ijaz" or "ilmyi i'jaz"), and even pushes denials of evolution off onto Christians, leaving the reader incorrectly presuming that such narratives don't have a Muslim voice as well. He also solidly locates these narratives in Saudi constructions, despite their thorough infusions throughout much of the Muslim world. These enter the conversation in his discussions of "rationalism" and "modernity" as elements that are often juxtaposed with "magic".
Well worth a read, especially if you're trying to break out of presentations of a rigidly bounded "Islam".
August 4, 2016
Not quite the "gonzo" work one might expect, the book is still quite daring in its propositions of magic's centrality to the environments of Islam, then and now. More sober than soaring, Knight's words have the heft of deep research and strength of bridge-building to all of them. Challenging notions of "pure" or "true" Islam, he has made something very strong and concrete out of something very amorphous, a spell unto itself.
December 27, 2016
interesting research
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews