The Tree as an 'Animal-esque Plant' ( Nabat Hayawani ): Arboreal Thoughtscapes in Islamic Lands

Abstract: Over the centuries, trees have held a prominent place in the greater Middle East, in both Muslim and non-Muslim spheres. Not only did they inspire the scriptural landscape of the Qur'an, whose cosmic trees stretch from hell to heaven, but they also provided an arboreal pivot for prophecy within Muhammad's sacred mosque complex located in the palm city of Medina. In Morocco, Iran, Turkey, and elsewhere, trees also have fulfilled manifold duties, both real and symbolic, for various Muslim and non-Muslim communities such as Sufis, the Amazigh (Berbers), Shi'is, and Yezidis. In these non-Sunni majoritarian milieus, trees, tree-saints, and tree-shrines function as centers of sacrality, shade-providers, pillars of saintliness, homeopathic healers, carriers of the life blood of their communities, and ribboned relics of individuals whose lives—and natural environments—are increasingly endangered today. Trees and humans thus conjoin in a "natural Sunna way," in which a deep reservoir of historical thought, practice, and creative expression can serve as points of reference and inspiration to help support and sustain a multitude of life-forms in the future.