Tahera Qutbuddin

Tahera Qutbuddin is Professor of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on intersections of the literary, the religious, and the political in classical Arabic poetry and prose. Her latest monograph is Arabic Oration: Art and Function (Brill, 2019), in which she presents a comprehensive theory of this preeminent genre in its foundational oral period, 7th-8th centuries AD, and discusses its continuing influence on contemporary Muslim sermons. Earlier, she published a book on the Fatimid da’i Mu’ayyad Shirazi (Brill, 2005), and two edition-translations of ethical sayings by Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali (NYU Press, 2013, 2016). Her research articles address topics related to Qur’an exegesis and style; women of the Prophet’s family; Fatimid and Tayyibi (Da’udi Bohra) Shi’i doctrine, history, and literature; and Arabic in India.

Professor Qutbuddin obtained her PhD (1999) and MA (1994) from Harvard University, Tamhidi Magister (1990) and BA (1988) from Ain Shams University, Cairo, and high school diploma (1984) from Sophia College, Mumbai. During her Guggenheim fellowship year, she will work on her new monograph, Ali ibn Abi Talib: Life, Teachings, and Eloquence of the Sage of Islam, drawing primarily on Ali’s orations to reconstruct his biography and thought.

Publications

Photo Credit: Qutbi Jubilee Scholarship Program