"Leaves from the Garden: The Place of Aromatics in Early Islamic Culture"

Muhammad's fondness for perfume is a well-known aspect of his personality. At the same time, in Islam, perfume has lost much of the ritual function it possessed in ancient religions.There is no regular liturgical use of incense. Yet aromatics and perfume occupy a vital position in early Islamic practice and thought. Men wore perfume to mosque as part of their proper grooming, and the mosque itself was anointed and censed to purify it. The use of aromatics was also an integral part of practice at shrines. The traditions of Muhammad emphasized aromatics as purifying and wholesome. Aromatics, especially from the Indian Ocean world, thus became the ambiance of Islam. Embodying heavenly scent, they represented holiness and purity.

About the speaker

Anya King is Associate Professor of History at the University of Southern Indiana. She is the author of Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World (2017). Her research interests include perfumery, pharmacology, and medieval Islamic relations with Asia.

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