UCLA Department: Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Rather than existing as a practice limited to Shīʿī and Su Muslims in Islamic history, religious pilgrimage (ziyāra) to local shrines was a widespread phenomenon across medieval Muslim communities. This practice has long played an integral role in the spiritual lives of Muslims across all strata of society and continues to hold prominence for Muslims worldwide. Through a close examination of previously unstudied ziyāra liturgies in the works of Sunni authors, this project challenges the prevailing notion that ziyāra as scripted liturgy was restricted to Shīʿī sources. Particularly, it seeks to shed light on a number of understudied aspects of ziyāra such as the study of female saints and women’s ziyāra and grant key insight into an understanding of intra and inter-religious relations in the medieval Middle East.