The expression’s various sources contribute Other sources and other accounts of old women, drawing attention to their manyĪppearances across multiple texts. For this reason, some forum contributors refer to Passages do not mark the origins of the expression nor are they the most significantĬomments about the old women. The last section below includes two passages written by the anthropologist Talal Asad. 1111) Iḥyā’ ʿulūm al-dīn ( The Revival of the Religious Sciences), in which he prescribes the religion of the old women to people who lack scholarly abilities.

1085) embrace of “the dīn of the old women.” We then quote a passage from al-Ghazali’s (d. 1328) recounting the deathbed declaration of al-Juwayni’s (d. We first present two accounts written by Ibn Taymiyya (d.

Each text is prefaced by a brief introduction to the thinker. To give readers the ability to read and interpret these texts directly, we include them here in English along with links to the original Arabic texts where relevant.

Several texts prompted the forum on the religion of the old women of Nishapur. Translations from Arabic and bibliographical research by Shahrouz Khanjar introductory notes by Katherine Lemons and Setrag Manoukian.

Abu al ghazali