The Intermediate Worlds of Angels: Islamic Representations of Celestial Beings in Transcultural Contexts

Description

This volume brings together fifteen new perspectives on the angel in primarily Islamic contexts. The contributions examine the origin, evolution, visual representation, and conceptual elaboration of this vital class of beings that bridges the gap between divine and human realms. A detailed introduction surveys the history of research on this topic and maps out the key contemporary debates. Individual contributions shed light on Hellenistic and ancient Near and Middle Eastern precursors of the angel figure, as well as on Jewish and Christian traditions that can be recognised in the Islamic doctrine of angels. Islamic discourses on the nature, meaning, and types of angels are examined in their specific contexts, and pictured narratives and other elements of visual culture are considered in relation to the textual representation of these entities. The Intermediate World of Angels thus offers a nuanced and varied picture of the angel and provides new insights into the defining characteristics of this class of being and the pivotal role played by the figure of the angel in religious and cultural history. Table of Contents Notes on Contributors Introduction Part I: Angels in Relation to Near and Middle Eastern Polytheistic Traditions Les origines hellénistiques de la représentation des anges dans le Christianisme ancien • Nada Hélou Les anges de l’Arabie antique • Christian Robin Paleo-Muslim Angels and Other Preternatural Beings • Aziz al-Azmeh “Panangelon”: Angelology and Its Relation to Polytheism: A Case Study Exploring Meteorological Angels in Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s Al-Ḥabāʾik fī akhbār al-malāʾik • Stephen Burge Part II: Nature, Substance and Significance of Angels in Monotheistic Traditions The Primordial Cycle Revisited: Adam, Eve, and the Celestial Beings • Sara Kuehn Angelic Anagogy: Silver and Matter’s Mire in Late Antique Christianity • Glenn Peers Création et êtres angéliques d’après un manuscrit arabe inédit: L’Hexaémeron du Pseudo-Épiphane de Salamine • Marlène Kanaan Where Angels Dwell: Uranography in Jewish-Christian Antiquity • Johann Hafner Uniting Fire and Snow: Representations and Interpretations of the Wondrous Angel ‘Ḥabīb’ in Medieval Versions of Muḥammad᾽s Ascension • Frederick Colby Part III: Approaches to Angels in Islamic Contexts The Carriers of the Throne of God: Islamic Traditions Between Sunnī Angelology and Shīʿī Visions • Roberto Tottoli “As the Angels Stretch Out Their Hands” (Qurʾān 6:93): The Work of Heavenly Agents According to Muslim Eschatology • Sebastian Günther The Ikhwān as-Ṣafāʾ on Angels and Spiritual Beings • Godefroid de Callatay Angels as Part of Human Civilisation: Ibn Khaldūn’s Conciliating Approach • Stefan Leder Zakariyyāʾ al-Qazwīnī on the Inhabitants of the Supralunar World: From the First Persian Version (659/1260-61) to the Second Arabic Redaction (678/1279-80) • Karin Rührdanz L’ange et le roi dans la culture visuelle de l’Orient médiéval: Le cas des miniatures du Shahnāma de Firdawsī de Ṭūs • Anna Caiozzo Qurʾānic Quotations Index