Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Adam Bursi, "Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Aired: January 26, 2026
Host: Shobana Xavier
Guest: Adam Bursi (Editorial Assistant, Fortress Press)

Overview of the Episode

This episode of the New Books Network’s “Islamic Studies” series features a rich conversation between host Shobana Xavier and scholar Adam Bursi about his new book Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam. The episode explores how early Muslims conceptualized and engaged with relics, tombs, and the physical remains or traces of prophets—especially within the overlapping religious context of the 8th and 9th centuries Near East. Bursi’s research draws from an exceptionally diverse archive and addresses how veneration of physical traces became both a site of religious practice and communal boundary-making vis-à-vis Jews and Christians. The discussion also covers scholarly debates around materiality, piety, intercession, and the lasting influence of these early Islamic debates on contemporary shrine cultures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Adam Bursi’s Intellectual Journey (04:21–07:23)

• Bursi traces his academic lineage from an undergraduate focus on classics and religious studies to a graduate immersion in Near Eastern studies at Cornell.
  • Mentors emphasized Islam’s diversity, historically and contemporaneously.
  • Gained skills in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Hebrew, and Arabic, blending Mediterranean religions with late antique methodologies.
• Dissertation focused on how bodies (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) were used to rhetorically delineate licit religion versus illicit magic.
• The book is a developed version of the dissertation, now focusing specifically on relics.

Notable Quote:
"As a classics major, I studied Greek and Latin and did a lot of work with ancient Mediterranean religions. ... My dissertation at Cornell was looking at the ways that bodies were used by Jews, Christians and Muslims in late antiquity and sort of rhetorically and ritually distinguishing between, like, licit practice or, you know, religion and illicit magic or sorcery." (04:32–07:23, Bursi)

2. Methodology: Textual Analysis Across Genres and Traditions (07:23–11:46)

• Bursi’s research employs digital search techniques, allowing for comprehensive textual mining across genres: hadith, Quranic commentary, hagiography, jurisprudence, historical chronicles, and a diversity of sectarian traditions (Sunni, Shia, Ismaili).
• Relic references are often scattered—not found in isolated chapters but spread across sections as disparate as clothing (e.g., prophetic hair in Bukhari’s Sahih) and appropriate greetings at tombs in early compilations.
• Importance of looking for stray references and cross-genre appearances to unearth hidden narratives.

Notable Quote:
"There's not often, say, a chapter on relic practices or something like that. Although in some texts after the 10th or 11th century, there start to be more focused attention. But in the earlier period it seemed like this was just something that… might get a stray mention here or there." (08:24–11:46, Bursi)

3. Broader Interventions and Scholarly Context (12:18–16:22)

• Situates early Islam as deeply embedded within late antique religious landscapes; Muslims were in active conversation and boundary negotiation with Jews and Christians.
• Challenges the dominant narrative that Islam altogether rejects relic and tomb veneration.
  • "Popular religion" versus "elite scholarly religion" divide is critiqued; evidence shows relic veneration among various social strata.
• Points to the overlooked persistence and integration of material piety (relics, tombs) within early Islamic practice and identity construction.

Notable Quote:
"Once I actually started to look at sources, it seemed like there was a pretty good amount of evidence that there were a good number of Muslims that found relic and tombs veneration as, you know, perhaps not the key part of their religious practice as Muslims, but certainly a component part of it." (12:18–16:22, Bursi)

4. Periodization and Source Critical Challenges (16:22–19:10)

• Main historical focus: 8th to 9th centuries (broadly late antiquity into early medieval).
• Many sources are not directly contemporaneous but record earlier traditions; source criticism and isnad-cum-matin analysis are key tools for teasing out origins and evolutions of traditions.
• Traditions are evaluated as reflecting what early communities thought and did, not necessarily what the Prophet himself sanctioned.

5. Prophet Muhammad, Relic Veneration, and Boundary Marking (19:10–25:23)

• Central hadith: Prophet, on his deathbed, warns against taking prophets’ tombs as places of worship, as Jews and Christians allegedly did—used both for religious boundary-setting and as polemic.
• Material and archaeological evidence (e.g., Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, mosque at Rusafa, and Cathisma Church site) depict real, complex interactions with sacred spaces and relics, including adaptation of Jewish and Christian relic sites.

Notable Segment:

• [22:00]–[25:23] Discussion of how hadith and physical evidence present a tension: literary polemic versus practical veneration.

6. Case Studies: Relics Beyond Muhammad (25:23–34:59)

A. Maqam Ibrahim (25:23–29:50)

• Story of “George/Jirges” stealing the Maqam Ibrahim, echoing Christian legendry about relic theft for piety.
• Maqam Ibrahim’s footprints: miraculous relic, center of veneration practices, including ritual acts (pouring and drinking water).

B. Hidden Tomb of Prophet Daniel (29:50–34:59)

• Islamic conquest narrative: Prophet Daniel’s undecayed body is discovered and then intentionally reburied or hidden by Muslims, following caliphal orders.
• Contrasts with Christian traditions, where such bodies would become shrine centers.
• Bursi reads such stories as forming a sacred geography marked by “present absence”—hidden but potent sites of holiness.

Notable Quote:
"I read these stories about finding holy bodies and then reburying them as part of this creation of an early Islamic sacred space... there's a sort of present absence or absent presence of the holy person's relics..." (30:38–34:59, Bursi)

7. Post-Mortem Presence of the Prophet Muhammad (36:27–42:52)

• Heated debates among literate, theological communities about:
  • Whether the Prophet’s body decayed or remained undecayed.
  • Whether Muhammad’s soul ascended immediately (like Jesus or Moses) or remained.
  • How long “traces” of his presence lingered at his tomb (three days, forty days, etc.).
  • Whether pilgrimage to his tomb was necessary, beneficial, or discouraged.
• Debates transcend Sunni/Shia divides; evidence found for both pro/anti relic/pilgrimage positions within each camp.

Notable Quote:
"What was interesting to me is that while this is usually thought of as something that... divides Sunnis and Shiites... in fact, we have both... voices... pro pilgrimage... and... voices... against that kind of practice... transcending these sectarian communities..." (36:27–42:52, Bursi)

8. Places as Traces: Trees, Minbars, and Everyday Sacredness (44:15–49:37)

• Focus on spaces connected with the Prophet's actions: places prayed, trees rested under, rocks sat on, pulpit (minbar).
  • Examples: Women would sit on a rock the Prophet had used, seeking fertility; others would touch and wipe the minbar, seeking baraka (blessing).
• Ritual actions often unclear but embody tactile, sensory, and commemorative piety.
• Scholars rarely declare such practices outright forbidden; mostly framed as expressions of individual piety rather than prescribed obligations or serious innovations.

Notable Quote:
"For the most part, Muslim scholars are not saying this is like a required part of Islamic practice. Right. But nor are they saying, absolutely don't do it... more saying it's a sign of your own piety that you can do if you would like to do it." (45:04–49:37, Bursi)

9. Contemporary Resonance and Scholarly Takeaways (49:37–52:27)

• Bursi's findings resonate powerfully with what fieldwork in modern shrine cultures observes—continuities rather than ruptures.
• The book challenges the myth that relic/tomb veneration was medieval accretion; shows it as a native, perennial site of negotiation in Islam.
• Relevant for historians and scholars of contemporary Sufi and shrine traditions.

Notable Quote:
"This is something that the Islamic tradition has been grappling with from the very beginning. ... Not... wholeheartedly accepted... but... a set of practices and stories and attitudes... discussed from very early, both positively and negatively." (51:20–52:27, Bursi)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On why studying relics matters:
  “Once we actually start looking for it… there’s lots of evidence… that Muslims are building mosques on the tombs of their prophets or in the case of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, incorporating the Prophet’s tomb into the mosque space.” (23:00–24:30, Bursi)
• On diversity in Muslim approaches:
  “We have traces of evidence of these different positions that different Muslims, different Muslim communities were taking… what was interesting to me is… this is something that was transcending these sectarian communities in a way that I think will be surprising to some people.” (36:27–42:52, Bursi)
• On sacred geography:
  “I read these stories about finding holy bodies and then reburying them as part of this creation of an early Islamic sacred space or early Islamic… geography by saying there are all these different hidden tombs throughout the landscape.” (34:12–34:59, Bursi)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Background & Intellectual Formation: 04:21–07:23
• Textual Methodology: 08:24–11:46
• Broader Argument & Late Antique Context: 12:18–16:22
• Source Criticism & Periodization: 16:49–19:10
• Prophet Muhammad & Hadiths on Tomb Veneration: 19:10–25:23
• Maqam Ibrahim & Relic Theft: 25:23–29:50
• Prophet Daniel’s Hidden Tomb: 29:50–34:59
• Post-Mortem Presence, Sectarian Diversity: 36:27–42:52
• Everyday Sacred Traces (Spaces): 44:15–49:37
• Contemporary Resonance & Takeaways: 49:37–52:27

Overall Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is dense, collegial, and highly accessible, with frequent cross-references between early sources and the lived realities of both historical and modern Islamic practice. Bursi and Xavier are both attuned to the nuances of how relics and sacred spaces have animated Muslims’ emotional, ritual, and communal lives since the earliest centuries. The episode is essential listening for scholars and curious listeners interested in Islamic history, material religion, sacred space, and interreligious dynamics.