Ali, Aun Hasan

Research

research overview

Aun Hasan Ali's research centers on Islamic intellectual history and he is the author of two forthcoming books: The School of Hillah and the Emergence of Twelver Shiism: Social Networks and the Concept of Tradition, and Why Hadith Matter: The Evidentiary Value of Hadith in Imami Law (7th/13th to 11th/17th Centuries) (co-authored with Hassan Ansari). His recent publications include: “The Canonization of Nahj al-Balaghah between Hillah and Najaf: al-Sistani and the Iconic Authority of the Maraji,” “The Rational Turn in Imamism Revisited,” and “Some Notes on the History of the Categorization of Imami Hadith.” At CU Boulder, Ali teaches Religious Dimensions of Human Experience, Islam, The Quran, Sufism, and Fundamentalisms. In addition to intellectual history, he maintains an interest in Urdu and Persian literature.

keywords

islam, islamic history, shi'ism, iraq, iran, islamic law, islamic theology, islamic philosophy, islamic jurisprudence, quran, hillah, ilkhanid history, intellectual history, social history, abbasid history, islamic intellectual traditions, shi'i hadith, tradition

Publications

selected publications

chapter
- Kitāb muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh 2010
- Masāʾil-i namāz kā insā’iklopidiya 2009
journal article
- Reading the Story of Moses and Khidr through the Lens of Islamic Law. English Language Notes. 209-213. 2018
- The discourse on ʿilm al-waḍʿ in modern Shīʿī scholarship. Islamic studies. 325-345. 2011

Teaching

courses taught

RLST 1620 - Religious Dimensions of Human Experience
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Surveys different approaches to the study of religion. Students will grow familiar with key thinkers, texts, and movements that shape how we understand religious phenomena. Students will also examine critiques of how religion is studied. In the end, students will have gained insight into significant aspects of religious life, belief, and practice that will empower them to navigate a world in which religion is increasingly relevant.
RLST 2202 - Islam
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
Introduces students to foundational Islamic concepts, texts, core practices, historical narratives and intellectual, spiritual and literary traditions. Topics covered include: the figure of Muhammad; the Quran; the emergence of distinct Muslim identities; Hadith; Sharia; Islamic theology; Islamic philosophy; science in Islamic civilization; Islamic mysticism; the impact of colonialism and modernity on the Muslim world; gender and sexuality; political Islam.
RLST 3040 - The Quran
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Examines how Christian constructions of religion and scripture have shaped Muslim understandings of the Quran and marginalized other views with a much longer history. Helps students appreciate how this process of marginalization is negotiated and explores the Quran from other perspectives including sound, performance, embodiment, and occultism. By highlighting marginalized approaches to the Quran, it promotes a better understanding of how social and religious differences are shaped by different political legacies. Previously offered as a special topics course.
RLST 3070 - Islamic Mysticism: Ibn Arabi, Rumi, and the Sufi Tradition
Primary Instructor - Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Introduces students to the philosophical, literary, and musical traditions of Islamic Mysticism or Sufism. Figures covered include: Rumi, Hallaj, Ibn Arabi, Mulla Sadra, Ghazali, Hafez, Ibn al-Farid, Ghalib, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Students will learn how Islamic Mysticism differs across cultural contexts and how it compares to other mystical traditions.
RLST 4610 - Topics in Islam
Primary Instructor - Fall 2023
A detailed exploration of diverse intellectual approaches to central questions in Islamic traditions. Department consent required. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as RLST 5610.