Two volumes: 1. Pages 464, 2. Pages 390

Through a complete picture of the doctrines and rituals of Islam, in which religious and mystic elements are highlighted, Eliade identifies the sacred and intertextual dimension of Islam. The author draws parallels with prophets and messengers from other faith traditions, who experienced an ascension into heaven and received a text of divine revelation. In the unraveling of the voices we meet Allah «deus otiosus», we read the religious environment of pre-Islamic Central Arabia as essentially imbued with «structures of the Semitic polytheism» not modified by the impact of Christianity or Judaism, we focus on the mystical experiences of Muhammad when he received the first revelation of the Koran. Eliade notes the lack of a formal priesthood in pre-Islam, in contrast to Judaism. He focuses on aspects of the sacred hajj ritual in the jahili period; he also shows a particular fascination for the «symbolism and function» of the dhikr, of the sufi litany and the sama, the «spiritual concert» of the Sufis. Given Eliade's intellectual and mystical interests, it is not surprising that he is fascinated by the history of the mi'raj, the ascension of Muhammad to Heaven. The author characterizes it not in the normal Arab and Islamic terminology of Israel - nocturnal journey and ascension through the skies to Heaven - but as the «ecstatic journey of Muhammad to heaven and the holy book».