While the iconography of 17th-century gardens
such as the Taj Mahal complex in India certainly
suggests paradise, it is difficult to make the same
argument for all gardens in Islamicate realms.
Archaeological studies of garden remains and medi-
eval Arabic and Persian literature suggest that
gardens served many roles, especially within the
imperial palatial complexes of the Islamic empires.
Ninth-century palace gardens of Samarra and bagh-
dad, for example, were showplaces of hydraulic
engineering. Hidden waterworks caused mechani-
cal birds to whistle and sing from tree branches in
one such garden, dazzling foreign ambassadors. The
10th- and 11th-century gardens of Andalusian Spain
contained experiments in irrigation and botanical
science. The 15th-century Topkapi Palace gardens
in istanbUl provided revenue for the sUlta n, and
large parks housed exotic animals from throughout
the realm for hunting and display.
The most ubiquitous and well-known garden
form is the chahar-bagh (four-part garden), a
garden crossed by water channels separating tree
or flower beds within which is placed a centrally
positioned pavilion. This form was probably
influenced by pre-Islamic Roman and Sasanian
gardens. Gardens also exist in a linear format and
as larger unstructured parklands.
While descriptive studies abound on gardens
in Islamic history, more analytical work on con-
textual meanings associated with these gardens
needs to be carried out. Similarly, contemporary
garden design deserves further attention. Private
gardens abound in inward-facing urban residen-
tial areas, and green spaces have become essential
elements of land use and landscape design in
expanding urban centers such as cairo, Istanbul,
and Riyadh.
See also aFterliFe; agricUltUre; andalUsia;
cities.
Margaret LeemingFurther reading: Jacob Lassner, The Topography of
Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages (Detroit: Wayne State
University Press, 1970); Gulru Necipoglu, Architec-
ture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the
Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (New York: Architec-
tural History Foundation, 1991); D. Fairchild Ruggles,
Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic
Spain (University Park; Pennsylvania State University
Press, 2000).Gaza See palestine.
genie See jinni.
Ghadir Khumm
Ghadir Khumm is one of the most important
religious holidays for the Shia. It is named after a
spring located between mecca and medina in the
Hijaz (western Arabia) where mUhammad stopped
with his companions after performing his fare-
well pilgrimage to Mecca in 632. At that location,
Muhammad stood next to his cousin and son-in-
law ali ibn abi talib (d. 661) and told his listen-
ers to consider Ali their master (mawla). This
event is recounted in Sunni and Shii sources, but
there are different versions of it; each community
interprets it differently. According to accounts
favored by the Shia, Muhammad delivered a
sermon in which he stated that he would soon
depart this world and that he was leaving his fol-
lowers two things: the qUran and the ahl al-bayt,
his family. Taking Ali by the hand, he asked his
audience if he, Muhammad, did not have priority
over other believers. When they agreed that he
did, Muhammad then declared, “Ali is the mas-
ter [mawla] of whomever I am the master.” The
Shia therefore understand this declaration as the
divinely inspired transfer of aUthority to Ali and
the other holy imams, whom they consider to be
the true leaders of the Muslim community. It also
serves as a precedent for their belief in nass, the
God-given power that an imam has to designate
his successor. The Sunnis, however, do not accept
this interpretation of what happened at GhadirGhadir Khumm 257 J