Animal Sacrifice and the Origins of Islam
Animal Sacrifice and the Origins of Islam
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USDIslam is the only biblical religion that still practices animal sacrifice. Indeed, every year more than a million animals are shipped to Mecca from all over the world to be slaughtered during the Muslim Hajj. This multi-disciplinary volume is the first to examine the physical foundations of this practice and the significance of the ritual. Brannon Wheeler uses both textual analysis and various types of material evidence to gain insight into the role of animal sacrifice in Islam. He provides a 'thick description' of the elaborate camel sacrifice performed by Muhammad, which serves as the model for future Hajj sacrifices. Wheeler integrates biblical and classical Arabic sources with evidence from zooarchaeology and the rock art of ancient Arabia to gain insight into an event that reportedly occurred 1400 years ago. His book encourages a more nuanced and expansive conception of “sacrifice” in the history of religion.
- Provides 'thick description' of prophet Muhammad's camel sacrifice
- Examines connection between camel sacrifice of the prophet Muhammad and the totem meal of camel described by St Nilus and featured in Robertson Smith's Lectures on the Religion of the Semites
- Theorizes about 'sacrifice' using the example of prophet Muhammad's camel sacrifice
Reviews & endorsements
‘Wheeler’s book is not only timely but also prodigious, as it engages with an impressive range of primary sources and secondary scholarship pertaining to Islam and several other religious traditions of the ancient world … Wheeler’s book is an impressive contribution that should appeal to students of early Islam as well as those interested in the significance of sacrifice in religious history.‘ Journal of the American Oriental Society
Product details
June 2022Hardback
9781316511862
350 pages
235 × 159 × 32 mm
0.86kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Animal sacrifices in the life of the prophet Muhammad
- 2. Burial of camels at the tombs of warriors
- 3. Pagan origins of Muslim Ḥajj sacrifice
- 4. Abraham as the originator of Ḥajj sacrifice
- 5. Distribution of the body of the prophet Muhammad
- 6. Martyred bodies and the demarcation of territory
- Conclusions: Sacrifice and nostalgia for the origins of religion.
