Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Judith Brown, Gandhi and Civil Disobe-

dience, 1928–1934 (Cambridge: Cambridge University 

Press, 1977); Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: 

The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Boston: Beacon 

Press, 1957); Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Met-

calf, A Concise History of India (Cambridge: Cambridge 

University Press, 2002); Rudrangshu Mukherjee, ed., 

The Penguin Gandhi Reader (New York: Penguin Books, 

1993).

garden

 

(Arabic: 

bustan or janna; Persian: 

bagh)

Gardens have played a central role in Islamdom as 

locations of revenue production, display, scientific 

exploration, entertainment, and relaxation. Medi-

eval poetry from throughout Islamdom, inscrip-

tions on garden pavilions and palaces, medieval 

botanical manuals, and travel literature all attest 

to the central role of the garden in public and 

private 

architectUre

.

calligraphy

 adorning religious architecture 

within or adjacent to gardens indicates that 

patrons consider these spaces as earthly repre-

sentations of the heavenly 

paradise

. Both the 

q

Uran

 and 

hadith

 literature contain numerous 

descriptions of paradise as a tree-filled, pleasantly 

perfumed, and peaceful place in which the righ-

teous and pure followers of Islam will dwell after 

J

Udgment

  d

ay

. One of the most often-repeated 

Quranic phrases about paradise mentions gardens 

of eternity beneath which four rivers flow (Q 

4:57; 5:85; 9:72; 18:31). The inhabitants of para-

dise (also referred to as Eden and al-Firdaus) will 

live in complete comfort with their loved ones in 

palaces built of silver and gold. These descriptions 

of paradise in the Quran and hadith are often 

paired with descriptions of hell (the F

ire

).

Paradisal garden in Chefchaouen, Morocco 

(Federico R. 

Campo)

K  256  

garden

---

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 b

agh

-

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  i

stanbUl

 provided revenue for the 

sUltan

, 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 c

airo

, Istanbul, 

and Riyadh.

See also 

aFterliFe

; 

agricUltUre

;  a

ndalUsia

; 

cities

.

Margaret Leeming