Sacred Orientation in Late Antiquity and Early Islam

The Qibla as Ritual, Metaphor, and Identity Marker

Ari M. Gordon

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781040711316
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

Sacred Orientation in Late Antiquity and Early Islam: The Qibla as Ritual, Metaphor, and Identity Marker offers a groundbreaking study of how the qibla—Islam's ritual direction of prayer—served not only as a sacred practice but also as a powerful marker of communal identity in Islam's formative centuries.

Situating the qibla within the wider ritual culture of Late Antiquity, this book examines how sacred orientation shaped the evolving boundaries of religious belonging across the early Islamic world. It traces how the Qur??n's treatment of prayer direction emerged within a shared ritual discourse with Judaism and Christianity, and how the qibla became an embodied metaphor for inclusion and unity within an increasingly diverse Muslim community. The volume also explores interreligious polemics, legal and theological debates, and the symbolic significance of mosque architecture, maps, and scientific instruments, portraying the qibla as a dynamic vehicle for both religious expression and communal cohesion. From medieval controversies to contemporary technologies, Sacred Orientation argues that the qibla remains an "inexhaustible" ritual symbol— constantly evolving, yet deeply rooted in the construction and performance of Islamic identity.

Essential reading for scholars of Islamic studies, religious studies, ritual theory, and Late Antiquity, this book offers a fresh and richly contextualized perspective on one of Islam's most enduring and meaningful practices.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transliteration
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 “Each has a Direction to which they Turn”: Sacred Orientation in the Qurʾān and Religions of Late Antiquity
• 2 Becoming the “People of the Qibla”: How an Unusual Phrase Created an Islamic “Big Tent”
• 3 Does God’s Mind Change?: The Qibla in Tenth-Century Interreligious Polemics
• 4 A New Direction in Qibla Studies: Reconsidering Alignment and “Misalignment” of Early Mosques in Light of Identity
• The Inexhaustible Qibla: A Kind of Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index