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

by Nerina Rustomji

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.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2008

Reviews

[Michael VanZandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thought-provoking. Rustomji's study of the 11–12th centuries is almost exclusively Persian. Of course, that provided an abundance of "Islamic" literature yet more attention could have been paid to Andalusía and North Africa, where gardens played a critical role in the establishment of political power and as representative of the intermediary plane between the heavens and earth.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about just how many ideas there are in Islam regarding Heaven and Hell, since in Christianity they are deliberately vague and in Judaism they are barely a topic. I can't really say that this improved my previous impressions of a rather material afterlife, but this was good to read once.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid, concise, scholarly summary of the relevant traditional material that rarely ventures beyond it. Useful reminders of the polyvalency of garden/Garden symbolism.