Mughal gardens are often interpreted as symbols of an Islamic paradise, but the precise relations between historical gardens and religious meaning remain vague. To clarify these relations, this paper compares garden imagery of the Qur'an with historical places of Lahore, Pakistan, “the Mughal City of Gardens”. Part one surveys garden imagery in the Qur'an to identify theological and aesthetic attributes of paradise. Part two shows how historical gardens, mosques, and shrines in Lahore exemplify different aspects of paradise symbolism. The results suggest new directions for the study of historical gardens and paradise symbolism in Muslim cultural landscapes.
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