Please join the Islamic Studies Workshop for our last session of the fall term this Thursday!

Antonio Musto

“Beyond Mere Asceticism: The zuhd of Wakīʿ b. al-Jarrāḥ (d. 196/811)”

Thursday, Dec. 3rd, 12:00pm

Swift Hall room 208

Abstract: In secondary scholarship, the term zuhd is rendered as asceticism or renunciation, and its origins are said be found in the Qur’ān, the example of Muḥammad, and the actions of his companions (ṣaḥaba pl. aṣḥāb).  While in the subfield of Sufi studies, zuhd is understood to be a rough precursor to mysticism, and is thus relegated to a mere stepping stone in the course of Sufism’s history. Recently, however, scholars have shown that the notion of zuhd goes beyond the simple abnegation of material things and includes a prescriptive, ethical component.  Building upon these recent developments, this talk will provide biographical information on the life of Wakīʿ b. al-Jarrāḥ, an early Muslim intellectual, and elucidate his conceptualization of zuhd as encapsulated in his work titled Kitāb al-Zuhd.  These two endeavors will show us that zuhd deserves to be explored in its own right and offer us an important glimpse into the pious milieu of the 8th and 9th centuries CE, a time where the Islamic sciences were very much in their incipient stages.

Hope to see you there!

Francesca Chubb-Confer

Graduate Student Coordinator

Islamic Studies Workshop