We are pleased to announce that the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia will be hosting a lecture by professor Mairaj Syed (UC Davis) entitled "Science and scripture in classical Islam: an Analysis of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's Treatise on the Plague.

Professor Syed has recently published an English translation of the 15th century Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's treatise on the plague (co-translated with Joel Blecher). His lecture will focus on Ibn Hajar's attempt to interpret the spread of the plague.

Date and time: December 20, 2023 (Wed), 17:00~19:00

Venue: Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, 2nd Meeting Room (302)／Zoom

Speaker: Mairaj Syed (UC Davis)

Title: Science and scripture in classical Islam: an Analysis of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's Treatise on the Plague

Chair: Jun Akiba (IASA, U Tokyo)

Registration form: https://forms.gle/8turkcAReYR1S4Ui8 (Closed at 16:00, December 19)

Lecture Abstract:
In the mid-15th century, amidst the aftermath of the Black Plague, the eminent Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani composed one of Islam's most influential treatises on the plague, titled Merits of the Plague. Having contracted and survived the disease himself, while losing two children to it, Ibn Hajar aimed to compile and synthesize texts from Islamic scripture, theology, medicine, and law on the plague. This presentation will examine Ibn Hajar's attempts to resolve two key interpretive issues: first, how he synthesized the competing explanations of the plague's origins from theology and medicine; and second, how he reconciled contradictory scriptural texts (hadiths) about the nature of jinns, supernatural beings he believed spread the plague. It will demonstrate how Merits of the Plague exemplifies an important method and aim of scholarship: the coherent balancing and reconciliation of competing truth claims and epistemologies.

Contact: Jun Akiba (IASA, U Tokyo, j-akiba[at]ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp）