medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Jeffrey,
The Islamic prayer for rain in times of drought is the salat
al-istisqa', and it is very well attested from the early Islamic period
onwards. It was (and still is) performed collectively. There's a brief
article on it (s.v. istiska') by Toufic Fahd in the Encyclopedia of
Islam, 2nd ed., which includes a bibliography. Interestingly, during the
Mamluk period the prayer was adapted for the purpose of attempting to
ward off the Black Death.
Best,
Noah Gardiner
Dr. Jeffrey R. Woolf wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> (Please x-cuse the x-posting)
>
> I'm interested in knowing whether there is a tradition or formal
> liturgy for fasts and/or special prayers in the event of drought in
> Medieval Islam and Christianity (as there is in Judaism).
>
> Also, does rain have any unique symbolism attached to it in these
> traditions?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Jeffrey Woolf
>
> Dr. Jeffrey R. Woolf
> Senior Lecturer, Talmud Department
> Director, Center for the Study of Post-Talmudic Halakhah
> Director, The Rashi Project
> Bar-Ilan University
> Ramat Gan 52-900 Israel
> O. 972-3-531-8593
> F. 972-3-535-1233
> C. 972-52-274-7375
> Website: http://myobiterdicta.blogspot.com
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