Islamic Stories
HMML Stories — Islamic
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![A Decade in Mali](../../../assets/img/500x280/cs-mali_3_2017-12-12-savama_P1020770_500x280.jpg)
A Decade in Mali
“It began with a dinner in 2013...”
- Dr. Columba Stewart
![What Are The Animals Trying To Tell Us?](../../../assets/img/500x280/ad-pn3_ELIT_AQB_01575_004r_500x280.jpg)
What Are The Animals Trying To Tell Us?
“In historical Timbuktu—as in any part of the pre-modern world—animals were...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![An Excerpt on the Properties of April’s Rain in a Curious Collection of Arabic Texts Found in One Manuscript](../../../assets/img/500x280/CG-weather-1-Prologue_500x280.jpg)
An Excerpt on the Properties of April’s Rain in a Curious Collection of Arabic Texts Found in One Manuscript
“The term “April showers” derives from the frequency of short and regular showers that are...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Eclipses in Early Muslim History — Between Myth and Reality](../../../assets/img/500x280/AP-weather_ELIT_AQB_01974_001v_500x280.jpg)
Eclipses in Early Muslim History — Between Myth and Reality
“The best-known eclipse mentioned in Muslim sources was the solar eclipse that occurred on...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Remembering an Earthquake](../../../assets/img/500x280/JM-Earth_ZMT_01291_001_500x280.jpg)
Remembering an Earthquake
“Many of the regions where HMML has worked are no stranger to earthquakes...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![Nasheeds from West Africa: Uniting Texts and Sound](../../../assets/img/500x280/APmusic1_SAV_BMH_22545_004r_500x280.jpg)
Nasheeds from West Africa: Uniting Texts and Sound
“All of Timbuktu’s family libraries that were digitized by HMML include numerous compositions that...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Where We’re Working: Lucknow](../../../assets/img/500x280/WWW-lucknow_AnjumanTaraqqiUrdu_500x280.jpg)
Where We’re Working: Lucknow
“HMML’s preservation work in India began in 2008 with the manuscript collections of...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![Deadly snakes and remedies against their venomous bites in the handy charts of a copy of the “Kitāb al-diryāq” (Book on antidotes)](../../../assets/img/500x280/CG_death_1_Snakes.jpg)
Deadly snakes and remedies against their venomous bites in the handy charts of a copy of the “Kitāb al-diryāq” (Book on antidotes)
“The Arabic manuscript tradition is rich in medical works discussing remedies and...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Treatises of Consolation: Muslim Scholars Comfort Themselves and Others Who Have Lost Children](../../../assets/img/500x280/JM_dm3_GAMS_01240_011-500x280.jpg)
Treatises of Consolation: Muslim Scholars Comfort Themselves and Others Who Have Lost Children
“The Black Death pandemic of the 14th century dramatically reshaped many cultures...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![Why so Many Fragments? Incomplete Manuscripts in the Timbuktu Collections.](../../../assets/img/500x280/ad-pn-fragment2_SAV_BMH_19155_005r-500x280.jpg)
Why so Many Fragments? Incomplete Manuscripts in the Timbuktu Collections.
“A large amount of the manuscripts digitized in Timbuktu, Mali, that we at HMML have cataloged are fragments...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Postscript — Luqmān the Sage](../../../assets/img/500x280/AKDI-1686-214__001-500x280.jpg)
Postscript — Luqmān the Sage
“Luqmān the Sage (also known as Luqmān al-Ḥakīm, the wise) is a legendary character in Arabic and Islamic storytelling...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Poetic fragments at the Great ʿUmarī Mosque in Gaza](../../../assets/img/500x280/CG_Poems_5_OMM_D0004_002-500x280.jpg)
Poetic fragments at the Great ʿUmarī Mosque in Gaza
“The Great ʿUmarī Mosque in Gaza is the largest and oldest mosque in the Gaza Strip...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Censorship Without Censorship](../../../assets/img/500x280/jm_Zamakhshar-500x280.jpg)
Censorship Without Censorship
“Maḥmūd ibn ʻUmar al-Zamakhsharī did not have an easy childhood. He was born in 1075 CE into a...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![A Book You Would Love to Read...](../../../assets/img/500x280/BB13-IMG_2096-500x280.jpg)
A Book You Would Love to Read...
“A book you would love to read is lost, altered, destroyed, buried, hidden, left unpublished, unwritten, banned.”
- Dr. Catherine Walsh and Margaret Bresnahan
![Where We’re Working: Mali](../../../assets/img/500x280/WWW-Mali_IMG_0263_OP-CMYK-500x280.jpg)
Where We’re Working: Mali
“In the spring of 2012, the desert city of Timbuktu in northern Mali was attacked and...”
- Dr. Columba Stewart
![Astronomical Technology and Religious Practice in Islam](../../../assets/img/500x280/jm-stars-AKDI-1845-979-500x280.jpg)
Astronomical Technology and Religious Practice in Islam
“Astronomical observation is built into the most basic religious practices of the...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![Signs in the Heavens — Astrological Books of Daniel in Eastern Christianity](../../../assets/img/500x280/dc-stars-OLM_1887_114r_113v-500x280.jpg)
Signs in the Heavens — Astrological Books of Daniel in Eastern Christianity
“In Syriac Christian communities, astrological texts were sometimes appended to medical books and...”
- Dr. David Calabro
![Smoking in the Desert — Between Supporters and Opponents of Tobacco](../../../assets/img/500x280/pn-ad-dessert-Image2-500x280.jpg)
Smoking in the Desert — Between Supporters and Opponents of Tobacco
“The use of tobacco in the Sahel, whether smoking, chewing, or taking as snuff, was widespread and...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![The Story of the Talking Camel and the Exploits of Ali Genre in West Africa](../../../assets/img/500x280/pa-st-image1-500x280.jpg)
The Story of the Talking Camel and the Exploits of Ali Genre in West Africa
“While some elements of the story are fiction, others are clearly inspired by real events in Khaybar.”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Tracing Folktales in Magic Texts — The Story of Umm al-Ṣibyān](../../../assets/img/500x280/cg-st-Image_7-500x280.jpg)
Tracing Folktales in Magic Texts — The Story of Umm al-Ṣibyān
“Despite having been contested in Islamic history by powerful groups rejecting them as illegitimate practices, magic and...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Four Family Libraries in Jerusalem](../../../assets/img/500x280/jm-4-3_DINL_Nashashibi-500x280.jpg)
Four Family Libraries in Jerusalem
“At many points in its history, Jerusalem has been one of the world’s most important cultural crossroads...”
- Dr. Josh Mugler
![Travelers and Texts Crossing the Sahara](../../../assets/img/500x280/pn-ad-travel-Image_2-500x280.jpg)
Travelers and Texts Crossing the Sahara
“Mobility was a central feature of individuals, societies, and texts within Muslim West Africa’s...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Accounts on Plague and Infectious Diseases from Three Arabic Manuscripts](../../../assets/img/500x280/Image 2_DINL_0056-180_141RV-sm.jpg)
Accounts on Plague and Infectious Diseases from Three Arabic Manuscripts
“The disastrous impact of plague epidemics in the Middle East has been documented in numerous accounts...”
- Dr. Celeste Gianni
![Yeɗi Sanba Ɓooyi, a Fulani Scholar and Poet](../../../assets/img/500x280/Senegalese-sketches-bl-uk.jpg)
Yeɗi Sanba Ɓooyi, a Fulani Scholar and Poet
“Yeɗi Sanba Ɓooyi was a scholar who belonged to the Fulani, a traditionally nomadic people who...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Creating Cataloging Standards for Regional Names](../../../assets/img/500x280/SAV-BMH-20919-1R-500x280.jpg)
Creating Cataloging Standards for Regional Names
“Yeɗi belonged to the Fulani people, one of West Africa’s many ethnic groups, which...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor
![Postscript — A Fāʼidah](../../../assets/img/500x280/SAV_ABS_04020_006v_social.jpg)
Postscript — A Fāʼidah
“Along with the direct physical resistance to this unjust trade, the text shows...”
- Dr. Ali Diakite and Dr. Paul Naylor