NMC240H1

For the Love of the Prophet: Muhammad in the Islamic Tradition

The Prophet Muhammad became a focal point of the Islamic tradition. This course covers the development of this relationship with Muhammad, through various forms of expressions, from poetic to religious to artistic. Various emotional rubrics were given to the relationship to Muhammad: from honoring him, to emulating him to loving him. The course covers the theological debates about the status of Muhammad (his nature, his relationship to God, his powers to intercede). The course includes the Sufi movement relationship to Muhammad and culminates in the study of the poetic corpus that Muslims call madih.