Intersex and the (non)binary body in classical Muslim legal, medical, and literary discourses / edited by Mehrdad Alipour & Indira Falk Gesink.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Alipour, Mehrdad, editor.

Gesink, Indira Falk, editor.

Series:

Iranian studies series (Leiden, Netherlands)

Iranian studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intersexuality--Religious aspects--Islam.

Intersexuality.

Gender nonconformity--Religious aspects--Islam.

Gender nonconformity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (chiefly color).

Place of Publication:

Leiden : Leiden University Press [2026]

Summary:

"This book offers the first sustained scholarly exploration of intersex embodiment and identity in premodern Islam. Bringing together leading scholars in the field, it examines how classical Muslim thinkers conceptualised, categorised, and regulated bodies that defied binary understandings of sex and gender. Spanning legal reasoning, medical treatises, and literary representations, the chapters uncover the complex ways in which intersex figures—variously described in premodern sources—shaped debates over personhood, spirituality, care, legal practice, ritual, and bodily integrity. By situating these discussions within the broader intellectual and institutional history of Islam, the book demonstrates that intersex was not a marginal curiosity but a category that tested and refined classical understandings of human difference, divine creation, and social order. The volume will appeal to readers of Islamic studies, gender and sexuality studies, the history of medicine, and religious studies more broadly, inviting reflection on how traditions of interpretation continue to shape contemporary understandings of sexed and gendered embodiment within and beyond the Islamic world."--From JSTOR.

Contents:

The intersex character (al-khunthā) in classical Arabic lexicography and literature / Indira Falk Gesink and Mehrdad Alipour

Intersex and effeminate characters (khunthā and mukhannath) in classical Persian poetry / Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab

‘Al-khunthā laysa bi-nawʿ:’ the absence of the khunthā in the qurʾānic narrative of the creation of the humans / Saqer Almarri

Of camel-drivers and glass vessels: gender (in)stability in a ḥadīth’s interpretive history / Ash Geissinger

Shurayḥ, ʿalī, and the khunthā: gender and narrative fluidity / Saqer Almarri

The intersex body in classical shiʿi scriptural and legal traditions: embodiment, agency, and beyond / Mehrdad Alipour

The khunthā in classical sunni jurisprudence / Indira Falk Gesink

Tracing difference: zakariyyā l-rāzī and the intersex body in classical persian medical discourse / Mehrdad Alipour.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (JSTOR, viewed on May 22, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Intersex and the (non)binary body in classical Muslim legal, medical, and literary discourses.

ISBN:

9789400605541

9400605544

OCLC:

1587654750

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license