In this Book

buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary
In this study of devotional hagiographical texts and contemporary ritual performances of the Shi'a of Hyderabad, India, Karen Ruffle demonstrates how traditions of sainthood and localized cultural values shape gender roles. Ruffle focuses on the annual mourning assemblies held on 7 Muharram to commemorate the battlefield wedding of Fatimah Kubra and her warrior-bridegroom Qasem, who was martyred in 680 C.E. at the battle of Karbala, Iraq, before their marriage was consummated.

Ruffle argues that hagiography, an important textual tradition in Islam, plays a dynamic role in constructing the memory, piety, and social sensibilities of a Shi'i community. Through the Hyderabadi rituals that idealize and venerate Qasem, Fatimah Kubra, and the other heroes of Karbala, a distinct form of sainthood is produced. These saints, Ruffle explains, serve as socioethical role models and religious paragons whom Shi'i Muslims aim to imitate in their everyday lives, improving their personal religious practice and social selves. On a broader community level, Ruffle observes, such practices help generate and reinforce group identity, shared ethics, and gendered sensibilities. By putting gender and everyday practice at the center of her study, Ruffle challenges Shi'i patriarchal narratives that present only men as saints and brings to light typically overlooked women's religious practices.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page, Copyright Page
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. xi-xiii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes on Transliteration
  2. p. xv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. pp. 1-22
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1 SAINTS ARE “REAL” PEOPLE: Imitable Sainthood in Shi'ism
  2. pp. 23-58
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2 GOD’S STRONG WOMEN: Female & Feminine in Shi'i Sainthood
  2. pp. 59-83
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3 THE SADDEST STORY EVER TOLD: Translating Karbala through Feminine Voices & Emotions into a Deccani Shi'i Idiom
  2. pp. 85-120
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4 A BRIDE OF ONE NIGHT, A WIDOW FOREVER: Text & Ritual Performance in the Constitution of an Idealized South Asian Shi'i Selfhood
  2. pp. 121-143
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5 WHO COULD MARRY AT A TIME LIKE THIS?: Debating the Mehndī kī Majlis in Hyderabad
  2. pp. 145-170
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Glossary
  2. pp. 171-176
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 177-187
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 189-205
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 207-222
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.