Against Smoking

A fascinating cultural history of the Ottoman response to tobacco, which includes one of the earliest fatwas on the subject. "Michot provides an introduction into the work (Risaleh Dukhaniyyeh) and an outline of the scholarly debates concerning smoking that occured in Turkey in the 16th and 17th centuries." —Islamic Horizons "Against Smoking is a gem of scholarship. This compact book is a major contribution to the study of Islamic pietism in general and Ottoman religious and cultural history in particular." —Professor Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Washington University in St. Louis One of the earliest Arabic texts against smoking, Ahmad al-Aqhisari's Epistle on Tobacco is presented here for the first time in a scholarly edition, together with a fully annotated English translation. Yahya Michot expertly sets the epistle within its Ottoman social, intellectual, and historical context. Includes thirty illustrations.