Overview

It is argued here that before the extensive formalization of sharia laws from the late nineteenth century onwards, Islam was prominently influenced by elements of enchantment and mysticism, mirrored in its textual portrayal of passionate and sexual relations. This book’s analysis is based on Malay manuscripts and texts about the body, sex, and sexuality. These include religious guidebooks on sexual techniques and etiquette, of which some are translated from the original Arabic or Persian, but almost all of which have been adapted for local Malay relevance. Also analyzed are collections of Malay erotic poetry from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries and the only known female-authored early twentieth-century text on sex and women’s sexual pleasure. Over the centuries changing sexual norms and attitudes in the Malay world has disengaged sex and sexuality from being a crucial component of faith and spirituality—gradually receding into the discreet margins of contemporary discourse on gender relations.

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9780755648511

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Reviews

Sexuality and Islamic Spirituality in Early Malay Writings offers a fresh, interdisciplinary lens on Malay literature, uncovering ties between sexuality, spirituality, and gender. By challenging patriarchal narratives and illuminating female sexuality’s spiritual dimensions, it redefines Islamic studies, gender discourse, and literary analysis—a must-read for anyone exploring religion, history, and human experience. * Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Professor, University of Economics and Human Sciences, Poland. *

Author Information

Maznah Mohamad is Honorary Fellow and former Associate Professor of the Department of Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore. Her authored books include The Divine Bureaucracy and Disenchantment of Social Life: A Study of Bureaucratic Islam in Malaysia (2020) and Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Malaysia (2006). Syahirah Rasheed has a PhD in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore. She has an MA in development studies (International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam), specialising in women, gender and development. Her research fields are in medical anthropology, sexual and reproductive health, and feminist epistemology.

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