‘Stay up during the night, except for a little' (Q 73:2): the qurʾānic vigils as ascetic training programs

In the field of history of religion, the Qurʾān and early Islam often seem to be ignored in discussions of asceticism and cultural evolution. With the usage of Peter Sloterdijk's definition of áskesis as ‘training', this article proposes a new way to understand the qurʾānic attitude(s) to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion
Main Author: Christiansen, Johanne Louise (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge [2019]
In: Religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Koran. Sure al-Muzzammil / Islam / Asceticism / Sleep deprivation
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
BJ Islam
Further subjects:B Vigils
B The Qurʾān
B Early Islam
B Asceticism
B Peter Sloterdijk
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:In the field of history of religion, the Qurʾān and early Islam often seem to be ignored in discussions of asceticism and cultural evolution. With the usage of Peter Sloterdijk's definition of áskesis as ‘training', this article proposes a new way to understand the qurʾānic attitude(s) to ascetic practices. By seeing the text's articulations of vigils as two types of ascetic training programs, I argue that a hypothetical chronological development of the vigils takes place, and that this development illustrates a shift from the Prophet's own extraordinary ‘improvement' to a more general ‘maintenance' practice for the ordinary believer. That the Qurʾān calls the believers to participate in such training programs may also explain the text's divergent approach to other religious traditions' ascetic practices. Through Sloterdijk's definition of asceticism, it is made clear that the Qurʾān in its own way partakes in and negotiates the overarching ascetic tendency of its time.
ISSN:1096-1151
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2019.1578295