Sacred Sexuality

The Perfumed Garden by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature. The full title of the book is The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight (al-rawd al-'âtir fî nuzhat al-khâtir). The book presents opinions on what qualities men and women should have to be attractive, gives advice on sexual technique, warnings about sexual health, and recipes to remedy sexual maladies. It has a section on the interpretation of dreams. Interspersed with these there are a number of stories which are intended to give context and amusement. According to the introduction of Colville's English translation, Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi probably wrote The Perfumed Garden sometime between 1410 and 1434. Sheikh Nefzawi, full name Abu Abdullah Muhammad ben Umar Nafzawi, was born in the Nefzawa region in the south of present-day Tunisia. Circa 1420 he compiled at the request of the Hafsid ruler of Tunis, Abû Fâris `Abd al-`Azîz al-Mutawakkil, the present work. The reputation acquired by this work in the Arab world was similar to that of the Arabian Nights.