Sexuality and Islamic Spirituality in Early Malay Writings
A Textual History of Sex and Gender
Maznah Mohamad author Syahirah Rasheed author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:21st Aug '25
£85.00
This title is due to be published on 21st August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Based on Malay manuscripts and publications, this book examines the relationship between sex and Islamic spirituality since the seventeenth century in Southeast Asia
It is argued here that before the extensive formalization of sharia laws from the late nineteenth century onwards, Islam was prominently influenced by elements of enchantment and mysticism, mirrored in its textual portrayal of passionate and sexual relations.
This book’s analysis is based on Malay manuscripts and texts about the body, sex, and sexuality. These include religious guidebooks on sexual techniques and etiquette, of which some are translated from the original Arabic or Persian, but almost all of which have been adapted for local Malay relevance. Also analyzed are collections of Malay erotic poetry from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries and the only known female-authored early twentieth-century text on sex and women’s sexual pleasure.
Over the centuries changing sexual norms and attitudes in the Malay world has disengaged sex and sexuality from being a crucial component of faith and spirituality—gradually receding into the discreet margins of contemporary discourse on gender relations.
Sexuality and Islamic Spirituality in Early Malay Writings offers a fresh, interdisciplinary lens on Malay literature, uncovering ties between sexuality, spirituality, and gender. By challenging patriarchal narratives and illuminating female sexuality’s spiritual dimensions, it redefines Islamic studies, gender discourse, and literary analysis—a must-read for anyone exploring religion, history, and human experience. * Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Professor, University of Economics and Human Sciences, Poland. *
Deploying a feminist perspective, this landmark book traces the relationship between Islam and sexuality from the sixteenth century to the present. Speaking through a range of little-known sources, Malay voices, including women, offer their perspectives on the significance of sexual intimacy in Muslim lives. The authors have delivered a truly groundbreaking addition to Malay and Islamic studies. * Barbara Watson Andaya, Professor Emerita, University of Hawai'I, Hawai'i *
Maznah Mohamad and Syahira Rasheed uncover here a sufistic textuality in which the pious subject not only prays and obeys the shariah but also achieves transcendence through sexual activity. They open up new possibilities in a scholarly field that has generally been content to accept a contemporary notion of female piety founded on the denial of passion, desire and sexual expression. * Julian Millie, Professor, Monash University, Australia *
ISBN: 9780755648511
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
268 pages