Art of Devotion in Islam
Join us for our Fall Quarter Seminar, The Art of Devotion in Islam facilitated by Resident Scholar, Gianni Izzo, and guest artists and speakers. This 8-week series draws on various genres—supplication (duʿāʾ), invocation (dhikr), whispered prayer (munājāt), and amuletic formulas (ḥirz/taʿwīdh)—with guided discussions of their structure, rhetoric, and affect, considering the emotions and sensory registers they engage. Each session opens space for the meaning and historical context of each term, alongside creative practice.
Thursdays, October 2 - Nov 20, 2025 | 3:00PM - 4:30PM
Participants will engage with Islamic devotional forms not merely as observers but through reading, creating, and reflecting. Each workshop blends discussion with hands-on practice: participants may practice calligraphy, create their own personalized tasbih, or design protective amulets, echoing practices historically cherished in Muslim communities.
Theological and cultural questions—including debates around bidʿa (innovation in religious practice)—are approached openly, inviting reflection on both tradition and personal significance.
Emphasizing tactile, sonic, and visual dimensions of devotion, the workshops foster immersive engagement beyond the purely intellectual. They are designed for the scholarly and spiritually curious alike, welcoming participants drawn to religion, art, ritual, and cultural heritage.
Weekly Themes
Week 1: Calling Out to God: Duʿāʾ in the Qur’anic Tradition — October 2, 2025
Guest Speaker: Alireza Doostdar, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and the Anthropology of Religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School
This session explores Qur’anic prayers and their rhetorical structures, as well as the etymology and lineage of duʿāʾ in hadith literature. Participants will reflect on how the language of need, gratitude, and praise shapes devotional life. They will listen to duʿāʾ recordings while attending to rhythm, intonation, and emotional tone, and view historical manuscript pages, considering how form and materiality influence the experience of supplication.
Week 2: The Sound of the Line: Musicality and Calligraphy — October 9, 2025
Guest Artists: Nuria Garcia Masip & Bahman Panahi, Acclaimed Master Calligraphers — Seldon Visiting Artists for Journey Chicago and CalligraVie
This session explores how musicality and rhythm can inform the visual design of script, alongside the basic principles of classical calligraphy, including measured lines and harmonious proportions. Participants will observe demonstrations by guest artists, seeing how auditory qualities shape the movement of the pen and how the line can embody both musical and visual harmony.
Week 3: Wird and Way: Litanies and the Rhythms of Daily Practice — October 16, 2025
Guest Speaker: Yousef Casewit, Associate Professor of Qur’anic Studies and Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School
Participants will explore the concept of a wird and its role in Sufi ṭarīqa lineages, balancing adherence to tradition with personal adaptation. They will engage with a sample passage from Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shādhilī’s Ḥizb al-baḥr, listening as the facilitator reads each line and repeating together, with transliteration provided for those without Arabic proficiency.
Week 4: Counting Presence: Dhikr and Taṣbīḥ — October 23, 2025
Guest Artist: Mousa al-Sweis, Ta’leef Collective
This session focuses on practices of remembrance (dhikr) and the concept of ḥuḍūr (presence), exploring how repetition shapes embodied and meditative experience. Participants will craft a misbaḥa, linking the physical act of stringing beads to the rhythm and focus of ritual practice.
Week 5: Gilding the Word: The Visual Power of Islamic Manuscript Art — October 30, 2025
Guest Speaker: Dina Rehab, Student of the Süheyl Ünver Atelier and Founding Director of Seldon Institute
This session introduces the principles of illumination in Islamic manuscript art, emphasizing the integration of color and geometric or floral patterns with text to enhance both meaning and visual impact. Participants will experience centuries-old techniques of illumination art and create a small, decorated piece, experimenting with color, pattern, and composition.
Week 6: Words as Shelter: Amulets and Protective Formulas — November 6, 2025
Guest Speaker and Artist: Zeinab Vessal, Historian of Islamic Art, Visual Culture, and Material Religion at the Graduate Theological Union
Participants will examine talismans, seals, and written amulets, considering cultural and theological contexts, including debates around bidʿa, and how protective objects functioned in classical daily life. Guided by Zeinab Vessal, we will create simple protective amulets, practicing shaping, decorating, and assembling a tangible example of historical practice.
Week 7: Binding Devotion: The Liturgical Book as Artifact* — November 13, 2025
Guest Speaker: Marlis Saleh, Bibliographer for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago Library
Participants will explore historical Islamic manuscript traditions, focusing on structure, layout, and materiality, with examples from special collections. They will observe small-scale binding techniques and tour the University of Chicago’s Islamic manuscripts collection, including new acquisitions, gaining a tactile and visual understanding of manuscript culture.
*Please note: We will meet at the Hannah Holborn Gray Special Collections at the University of Chicago library.
Week 8: Reflection and Sharing — November 20, 2025
In the final session, participants reflect on the practices, learning, and personal engagement of the course. A presentation circle will allow participants to share selections, reflections, or objects, followed by discussion on how these practices have shifted their perception of devotional expression.