How does listening to the Qur'an differ from reading it? What does it mean to approach the Qur'an not with your mind but with your whole existence?In this episode of Thinking Islam, Dr Abdolkarim Soroush proposes an existential encounter with the Qur'an, one that asks us to set aside our assumptions and approach it not as a book of law or philosophy but as maw'iẓa (admonition) that speaks to the whole being. This conversation explores the difference between reading and listening, why Rumi's Mathnawi is called the Persian Qur'an, and what it means to have a pure heart as a precondition for understanding the Qur’an. We delve into how kufr in the Qur'an is not about non-belief but about arrogance before truth, and why, as Dr Soroush tells us, the companion according to Sufis is everything.Dr Abdolkarim Soroush is a distinguished philosopher of religion and a leading voice in Islamic intellectual reform. A Visiting Scholar at the University of Maryland and former Professor at the University of Tehran, he has held visiting positions at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Universities. Dr Soroush is renowned for his influential work on prophetic experience and his contributions to contemporary Islamic philosophy and Qur'anic hermeneutics.

Audio Chapters:

0:00 - Highlights

01:30 - Relation between Qur’an & Its Reader

07:20 - Uneven depth of the Qur’an

13:09 - Reading vs Listening to Qur’an

24:44 - Existential Reading of the Qur’an

32:36 - Losing the Sense of Maw’iza in Translation

39:33 - Rumi’s Mathnawi: A Persian Qur’an

44:50 - Pure Heart & Qur’an

49:17 - Love & Companionship

55:19 - Is Qur’an not a Kitab?

58:32 - Thinking Islam Question

Who writes Islamic history — empires and rulers, or ordinary believers?In this research seminar hosted by AMI on 14 January 2026, Dr Hassan Abbas presents insights from his forthcoming book project, A People’s History of Islam. Challenging state-centred and court-sponsored historiography, Dr Abbas explores Islam through the lived faith of pilgrims, mystics, poets, and everyday communities across centuries.Drawing on extensive travels to major pilgrimage sites — from Fez, Konya, and Baku to Lahore, Karbala, and Makkah — the seminar highlights how oral tradition, spirituality, and devotion preserve histories often absent from official archives. Dr Abbas also reflects on the role of mysticism alongside juridical tradition, the challenge of writing accessible yet rigorous scholarship, and the problem of sectarian framing in Western representations of Islam.Speaker:Dr Hassan Abbas is a Distinguished Professor of International Relations based in Washington, DC, and a Senior Advisor at Harvard University’s Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs. He is the author of The Prophet’s Heir (Yale University Press) and several other widely cited works on Islam and global affairs.

Can mourning become a pathway to the divine?

Has the modern world sanitised death, and does Muharram insist we don’t look away?

Drawing from his forthcoming book Senses of Mourning, Dr Babak Rahimi of UC San Diego asks a question many have wondered, but few have explored: why do Shi'as keep mourning? This episode reveals mourning not as passive grief but as active devotion, a technique for connecting to God through the body, the senses, and collective memory. We explore how modernity's devotion to pleasure has pushed death to the margins, how Muharram insists we confront what modern life conceals, and why the senses are not obstacles to the sacred but pathways toward it. From the festive dimensions of grief to the standardisation of ritual by state and digital platforms, this conversation moves through the space where philosophy meets performance, and where the body becomes a site of hope.

Dr Babak Rahimi is an Associate Professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego, where he directs the Program for the Study of Religion and the Middle East Studies Program. His research focuses on sensory religion, public sphere theory, and the historical contexts of early modern Islamicate societies. He is the author of "Theatre-State" and "The Formation of the Early Modern Public Sphere in Iran" (Brill, 2011) and editor of "Performing Iran" (I.B. Tauris, 2021).

Audio Chapters:

0:00 – Highlights

01:30 – Why Muharram Performances?

5:50 – Mourning as Religiosity?

18:06 – Mourning as Technique

26:02 – Muharram as Festive Events

36:01 – Role of Senses in Muharram Devotion

46:14 – Panja and Symbolism

51:00 – Memory as a Sense?

57:00 – Gender and Muharram Performances

59:50 – Self-Flagellation as Performance?

1:06:40 – Muharram and the Other

1:11:00 – Why Western Thinkers?

1:19:40 – Modern World and the Sense of Smell

1:24:27 – Digital and the Standardisation of Muharram Rituals

1:38:28 – Thinking Islam Question

📖 Get the Book: "Senses of Mourning" by Dr. Babak Rahimi

🔗 Penn Press: https://www.pennpress.org/9781512828344/senses-of-mourning/

🔗 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Senses-Mourning-Moharram-Performances-Qajar/dp/1512828343