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1/ Medieval Muslims were fascinated by Christian monasteries, which they celebrated as places of refreshment, beauty, and entertainment

These little-known images come from the Book of Wonders (Kitāb al-Bulhān) of ʿAbd al-Ḥasan al-Iṣfahānī, now at the Bodleian Library, Oxford
2/ The manuscript comes from mid-13th c. Baghdad. The image on the right portrays the "Monastery of the Maidens" (Dayr al-Banāt) and the one on the left portrays the "Monastery of the Raven" (Dayr al-Ghurāb)
3/ The Monastery of the Raven was apparently located in al-Andalus and was renowned for its talking raven (portrayed on the dome) which would identify visitors as they arrived
4/ Monasteries were found across al-Andalus, North Africa, and the Middle East long after the Islamic conquests. Muslims admired their lush gardens, hidden courtyards, and orchards, which transported visitors to a luxurious world far removed from daily life
5/ Islamic sources describe how Muslims sometimes held wine-soaked parties in monasteries, enjoying song, poetry, and the company of handsome Christian youths. For their part, Christian sources decried this, especially the intoxication, feasting, and desecration of sacred space
6/ The Kitāb al-Bulhān has been digitized by the Bodleian Library: iiif.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/iiif/viewer/5c…
7/ You can read more about its history in this article by Stefano Carboni: slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/…
8/ And for a nice study of Muslim attitudes towards Christian monasteries, see Elizabeth Key Fowden, "The lamp and the wine flask. Early Muslim interest in Christian monasticism," in Islamic Crosspollinations (Cambridge, 2007), 1-28
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Christian Sahner
@ccsahner
1/ What does the #Quran have to say about #Christmas, and what does this ruined church located between #Jerusalem and #Bethlehem have to do with it?
2/ The Quran contains its own version of the Nativity story (Q. 19:22-27), in which Mary is said to withdraw to a remote place and to be overcome by the pains of labor. She then finds shelter under a date palm tree

quran.com/19/22-28
3/ In agony, Mary cries out for help, and a voice tells her that God has placed a brook beneath her for her relief. The voice then instructs her to eat the dates of the tree and drink the water of the brook. She does so, and shortly after, gives birth to Jesus
Read 14 tweets
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Christian Sahner
@ccsahner
1/ If you're a Christian in medieval #Egypt, and the church won't grant you a divorce, what do you do? Head to the Muslim court!

This fascinating papyrus from the Fayyūm is dated to 909 AD. It records the divorce proceedings of a Christian named Sawīrah (Severus)
2/ It states that Sawīrah divorced his wife, Qasīdaq (the daughter of a monk named George) "three times [and] irrevocably." The divorce was witnessed by a series of Muslim men, who are named in the papyrus (His father-in-law, the monk, could not have been happy!)
3/ The triple divorce refers to the Islamic practice of ṭalāq, whereby a man may repudiate his wife by uttering the phrase "ṭalāq" three times, thereby dissolving the marriage
Read 9 tweets
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Christian Sahner
@ccsahner
1/ This week @UniofOxford we explored the origins of Shīʿism. One of the most interesting but little known forms is Zaydism, which began with the revolt of Zayd ibn ʿAlī in 740. Read on for more about this unique Zaydī coin and what it says about the doctrine of the Zaydī imamate
2/ Zaydīs believed that the imam had to be a descendant of ʿAlī through his sons al-Ḥasan or al-Ḥusayn. Among Shīʿīs, they were unique for also believing that the imam proved himself by his ability to lead a revolt (khurūj) against an unjust power
3/ This coin belongs to al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd, the founder of the Zaydī state of the mountains of Northern #Iran in 864. Zaydism also took root in #Yemen in 897. It eventually disappeared in Iran but survives to this day in Yemen (e.g., the #Houthis are Zaydī Shīʿīs)
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M.B. Yimam
@BilalAlHabashi
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Karol 🌿
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Secular Syria🇸🇾
@syria_true
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