The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture * By NERINA RUSTOMJI

Abstract

This is a delightful book directed at a non-scholarly audience about a very important facet of all monotheist faiths including, here, the example of Islam. It concentrates on the many perceptions with regard to the concepts of the afterlife and the afterworld in Muslim historical and religious literature. The author also strives to analyse the impact those perceptions have had on what she terms the material culture of that world and the faithful’s articulations of it. To achieve this focus, Rustomji evaluates the attendant manifestations of such perceptions through multiple lenses of analysis. After cursorily addressing methodological concerns, Rustomji begins the narrative with an historical introduction to the parameters of the concept in early Islamic religious history. She then goes on to present latterly developed themes. These include for instance, the topographical envisioning of heaven and hell by medieval Muslim thinkers and artists; and findings in the intellectual literature (especially theology), etc. The first theme notably has importance for modern scholars’ interpretations of Islamic art and spaces. Another important contribution expands on the so-called ‘denizens’ of heaven and hell. Here, a section concerning cultural perceptions of gender roles is very illuminating.