A remarkable book analysing the importance of oratory for transmitting religious knowledge, legitimising rulers and inculcating moral values in the medieval Islamic world.

Introduction; 1. Laying the foundations; 2. The khutba: the 'central jewel' of medieval Arab-Islamic prose; 3. The khutba: rhetorical and discursive strategies of persuasion; 4. Putting it all together: the khutba, texts, and contexts; Part I. Canonical Questions: 5. Putting it all together: the khutba, texts, and contexts; Part II. Thematic and Occasional Orations: 6. Homiletic exhortation and storytelling: challenging the 'popular'; 7. 'The good eloquent speaker': profiles of pre-modern Muslim preachers; 8. The audience responds: participation, reception, contestation; Conclusion.

Linda G. Jones is Visiting Professor of History of Religions at the University of Barcelona. She is the co-author of the Handbook to Life in the Medieval World (with Madeline Pelner Cosman, 2007) and has been published in many journals, including The Bulletin of Middle East Medievalists, al-Qantara, Anuario de Estudios Medievales, Medieval Sermon Studies and Religion.