© Columbia University Press
The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture
November, 2008
Cloth, 240 pages, 13 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-14084-3
$45.00
/ £31.00
"A timely publication, highly recommended for specialists and non-specialists alike." — Youssef Choueiri, Times Higher Education Supplement
"This gem of a book offers a thorough, evocative study . . . Essential." — Choice
"Nerina Rustomji vividly depicts how the Muslim understanding of the afterlife evolved in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Through a meticulous, well-organized, and easy to follow exploration of such broad-ranging themes as earthly and heavenly gardenscapes, the rewards and pleasures of paradise, the inhabitants of heaven and hell, the torments of hell, and the experience of human bodies in pain and pleasure, she has written a highly original and fascinating study based on a sensitive treatment of sources. Her book is essential reading for university students and professors as well as general readers who want to gain a deeper understanding of heaven and hell in Islam." — Josef "Yousef" Meri, fellow and special scholar in residence at the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought
"This splendid jewel of a book offers invaluable insight into the multifaceted afterworlds that Muslims fashioned during the first seven centuries of their history. Nerina Rustomji effectively traces the polyvocal idioms of heaven and hell by exploring a vast array of sources-from the Quranic commentaries to mosque mosaics, from the Prophetic traditions to mausoleums and books of illustrations—with consummate grace and interdisciplinary discretion. An intellectual and aesthetic treat of the first order, The Garden and the Fire transcends the domains of eschatology and comes as a boon to scholars working in cultural studies, religious studies, Near Eastern history, art history, and ethics." — Syed Akbar Hyder, associate professor of Asian and Islamic studies, The University of Texas at Austin