SMCE3019 F26 Introduction to Islamic Prayer and Spirituality

Course Overview

Explore the rich spiritual traditions of Islamic prayer in this introductory course on Muslim devotional life. Learn about the structure and meaning of daily ṣalāh (ritual prayer), supplications (duʿāʾ), and a wide range of devotional practices across Sunni, Shiʿī, and Sufi traditions.

Through guided readings and discussion, engage deeply with key spiritual texts, including the Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya (Psalms of the Family of Muhammad), a classical collection of supplications attributed to Imam ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn).

This course invites learners to move beyond abstract knowledge into a more reflective and experiential understanding of Islamic spirituality, supporting meaningful and informed interfaith dialogue.

SMCE3019 is an elective course within the Diploma in Interfaith Dialogue. Learners who wish to complete this program can learn more on our website. Enrolment in this course is open to all learners.

SMCE3019 is part of the Micro Certificate in Muslim Studies, offered in partnership with the Shi’a Research Institute.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Describe the role and structure of daily prayer in Islamic life

Explain key forms of Islamic devotion, including supplication and liturgical practices

Analyze differences and commonalities across Sunni, Shiʿī, and Sufi approaches to prayer

Engage critically with classical devotional texts such as the Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya

Apply principles of interfaith dialogue to discussions of Islamic spirituality

About the Instructor

Mehreen Zahra Jiwan

Mehreen Zahra Jiwan (MPhil) is a PhD candidate in the Religion Department at Columbia University. She completed her first Master’s degree at the University of Toronto, where she developed her interest in approaches to early Islam and Shīʿism that foreground sensory and material culture studies. Her dissertation explores the (re)configuration of sacred geography as central to a shifting praxis of mediating sacred authority between the ninth and tenth centuries.

Jiwan’s work engages oft-neglected sources such as early pilgrimage manuals, hadith collections, and understudied mosques and gravesites in Baghdad and Samarrāʾ to recover early Shīʿī voices. She brings five years of undergraduate teaching experience at Columbia University and Barnard College, both within and beyond religious studies. She has also led introductory workshops on Islamic theology in collaboration with the Sacred Door Project and the ABSA Network at NYU’s Islamic Center. 

In both academic and community settings, she employs an inquiry-driven teaching approach that emphasizes student-led textual engagement and collaborative thinking. Her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is shaped by her background as a Shīʿī Muslim and her focus on voices marginalized in both religious and academic contexts. Jiwan’s teaching and scholarship highlights the plurality and complexity of the Islamic past while fostering inclusive and respectful learning environments.

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