The Odour of Paradise: Scent in Islam

This class is a module in the course

The Scent of Gods & Monsters: Olfaction & Belief 

This ticket is to audit this lecture only. Join the course here.

Why does paradise promise the scent of musk and saffron? And why must you never wear perfume at night near trees?

Join perfumer and historian Nuri McBride for an immersive two-hour lecture exploring how olfaction shaped the theology, rituals, and spiritual imagination of the Islamic world. In Islamicate societies, fragrances were never mere decorations; they were deeply woven into faith, marking the boundaries between the earthly and the divine, purity and pollution.

In this session, we will examine the profound role of scent and sensing within sacred texts. We will trace how a massive religious revolution fundamentally transformed the material world of Southwest Asia, reshaping older, pre-Islamic scent cultures of the Arabian Peninsula. Discover how new spiritual imperatives fueled the scientific triumphs…