A Collection of Talismanic Bāzūbands from the Safavid and Qajar Epochs: A Descriptive and Analytical Study (original) (raw)
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Tahkik İslami İlimler Araştırma ve Neşir Dergisi, 2022
The need for achieving something and protection has always been prevailing in all societies throughout history, whether it is nature, spirits or a higher deity that have been recourse to. Amulets and talismans are put in use as the mediums for this purpose. Even though their definition and use in practice is not clear-cut, amulets are described as some kind of magical object that can be used continuously and by different users for different purposes the person needs. Talismans, on the other hand, are designed for defined needs and purposes and a specific person. They do not display a monotype characteristic in terms of structure, production, use and perception. However, the fact that their functions are perceived as a way to communicate with the supernatural in the hope of getting divine intervention and help for the specific purpose and need they are being used. Amulets and talismans reflect the socio-cultural and historical background in which they emerged and developed as objects of religious, medical and mystical practices for protection from evil, diseases, etc. Amulets and Talismans of the Middle East and North Africa in Context, a collection of articles focused on various aspects of amulets and talisman and edited by Marcela A. Garcia Probert and Petra M. Sijpesteijn aims to examine these historical objects, their use, interpretation, transformation in time, how people perceived them as well as their functions within the framework of a living religion.
Materialized Beliefs: 'Industrialized' Islamic Amulets
Amulets are one of the founding stones of traditional healing, manifested in various cultures for thousands of years. While anthropologists and folklorists delved into this unique world, an inter-disciplinary viewpoint of this phenomenon may be of further use. We wish to describe Islamic amulets from a material culture perspective, combining socio-cultural and material elements. Analyzing a particular amulet, prepared by a traditional Arab woman healer in Israel, we claim that today, some amulets are imbued with agentic abilities, rendering their material aspects irrelevant. This observation, in light of current literature, point to a dual process of industrialization and abstraction Islamic amulets undergo in recent years. This viewpoint will benefit, in our eyes, researchers in various fields from archaeology to design studies. It will contribute, specifically, to the way materials are being perceived in a spiritual context such as ritual, healing and belief.
Materialized Belief: "Industrialized" Islamic Amulets
2014
Amulets are one of the founding stones of traditional healing, manifested in various cultures for thousands of years. While anthropologists and folklorists delved into this unique world, an inter-disciplinary viewpoint of this phenomenon may be of further use. We wish to describe Islamic amulets from a material culture perspective, combining socio-cultural and material elements. Analyzing a particular amulet, prepared by a traditional Arab woman healer in Israel, we claim that today, some amulets are imbued with agentic abilities, rendering their material aspects irrelevant. This observation, in light of current literature, point to a dual process of industrialization and abstraction Islamic amulets undergo in recent years. This viewpoint will benefit, in our eyes, researchers in various fields from archaeology to design studies. It will contribute, specifically, to the way materials are being perceived in a spiritual context such as ritual, healing and belief.
Qur'anic Amulets: Concept and Origin
The concept of carrying amulets, regardless of the material used, is a practice derived from the early culture of the kuffar (disbelievers) and mushrikoon (polytheists). Using Qur'anic verses in their physical form as a protection by adopting methods that do not have any basis in Islam is a religious innovation and contradicts some of the principles of the said religion. A first semester requirement in AQD 101 (Usool al Aqidah).