The topic of the present volume lies at the crossing of two main subjects in Islamic studies: sanctity and family. Seeking to explain the relationships between saints and society through the family institution, the book strives to enlarge the vision of the family as well as to analyse more concretely the role of saints – the patterns of the Prophet and his relatives, problems related to the hereditary transmission of charisma; the relations between the spiritual family and the physical family, or between disciples and the saint’s family; the spiritual master as father and the father as spiritual master; and the crucial role of women. Accordingly, the table of contents resembles a family portrait, and features synthetic articles as well as case studies which cover the medieval, modern and contemporary periods, throughout different parts of the Muslim world (Maghrib and Mashriq, Anatolia, Iran, India, Pakistan and Central Asia). This collective reflexion is the result of previous research done on Islamic hagiography from an anthropological or historical perspective; also, it seeks to benefit from the recent development of family history in Islam.
