RELIGION 1801/HDS 3351: The House of Allāh: Origin and History of the Meccan Sanctuary

Instructor: Mohsen Goudarzi

The Meccan Sanctuary, also known as the Kaʿba, is a focal point of worship for Muslims, who pray towards it daily and strive to make a pilgrimage to it at least once in their lifetime. This course is an advanced graduate seminar centered on a host of primary sources (in Arabic) which provide information about Mecca and its shrine in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. We will read sources in the genres of historiography, geography, exegesis, law, hadith, and poetry. We will also engage with secondary academic literature on Mecca, the Kaʿba, and West Arabia's other sacred spaces and festivals.  Requirement: advanced knowledge of classical Arabic (3 years).