Spring 2024 & Spring 2026
Law and philosophy are often considered to be the foundational disciplines of Islam. At the same time, the esoteric dimensions of Sufi thought and ritual that have attracted believers across diverse geographies and the expressive cultures – art, architecture, music – have come to define the religion for millions of Muslims. Starting with the early modern Indo-Persian world, which witnessed the rise of Sufism within courtly patronage systems, this seminar focused on the ways in which poetry, painting, and building was integrated into the social, political, and intellectual spheres of Timurid courts and their successor states in Iran and South Asia.
The works in the exhibition were selected from collections at Yale and researched by students in Professor Kishwar Rizvi’s Spring 2024 and Spring 2026 course, Mystical Dimension of Islamic Art. The aim of the assignment was to put together a preliminary study, similar to a museum catalog, that explored the affective and emotive impact of the arts on Muslim piety. This page is a collection of material objects, manuscripts, and artworks ranging from Persian manuscripts to a North African pendant. Surveying diverse geographies, time periods, and spiritual contexts, these works exhibit the different facets – the esoteric, the poetic and literary, and the sensory – in which Muslims engage with their faith.
Abridged entries from Spring 2024 were edited and curated in this online exhibition by Daniella Sanchez, ‘25.
Abridged entries from Spring 2026 were edited by Ali Hassani, PhD candidate in History of Art & Comparative Literature, and curated in this online exhibition by Dingzhong Ding, ‘28.
