Mukhtar Ali
Join the live classDescription
This course explores the rich interplay between healing, spirituality, and religious thought in the Islamic tradition by examining how conceptions of health, illness, and treatment are rooted in Islamic cosmology, theology, Sufism, and ethics. We will delve into the historical and philosophical foundations of Prophetic Medicine (al-ṭibb al-nabawī), Greco-Islamic humoral theory, and Sufi approaches to spiritual healing, investigating how Islamic conceptions of the sacred inform medical practice and the pursuit of human well-being.
Texts
Abu-Asb et al., Avicenna’s Medicine
Ali, “Reading the Soul”
Chishti, , The Book of Sufi Healing
Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study
Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines
Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic Medicine
Schedule of Meetings & Readings
November 3
Topic: A Brief History of Islamic Medicine
Readings: Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic Medicine, 6–40
November 10
Topic: Sacred Foundations of Medicine
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Science, 153–192
November 17
Topic: Islamic Cosmology and Human Flourishing
Readings: Nasr, An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, 44–66
November 24
Topic: Spiritual Perspectives on Health
Readings: Chishti, The Book of Sufi Healing, excerpts
December 1
Topic: Diagnosis and the Spiritual Physician
Readings: Ali, “Reading the Soul”
December 8
Topic: Greco-Islamic Medicine: Theory and Practice
Readings: Abu-Asb et al., Avicenna’s Medicine, excerpts
Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic Medicine, 41–80
