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Sensory experience
Abundant Arabic and Persian literature reflect the sensory experience of interacting with the environment of the garden. Thanks to the poetry on Islamic gardens, scholars can examine how people in the past interacted with the environment in the garden, especially about the scented plants that no longer exist on current sites of historical Islamic gardens. Given that Islamic gardens are mostly located in arid areas, the worldly embodiment of paradise provided the space for poets to contemplate the nature and beauty of life. For instance, water is the most prevalent motif in Islamic garden poetry, as poets render water as semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli and pearls, and features of their beloved women or men. Contemplating within an earthly representation of the paradise, Muslim poets engaged multiple sensations to perceive the dematerialized nature of the garden. Sounds, sights, and scents in the garden lead poets to transcend the dry climate in mostly desert-like locations. Classical literature and poetry relating to Islamic gardens allow scholars to investigate the significance of water and plants in Islamic culture. The texts reflect that in addition to the ornamental function, water and vegetation in Islamic gardens embody religious, symbolic, and practical quality.

The Use of Water
In the Quran, rivers are the primary constituents of the paradise, and references to rain and fountains abound, highlighting the significances of water in Islamic culture. For a religion emerged in the desert, the thirst and gratitude for water are embedded in the nature of Islam. Religious references explain the extensive use of water in the earthly paradise. Firstly, the sacred text reveals that water is the materia prima of the Islamic world-"God preferred water over any other created thing and made it the basis of creation, as He said: 'And We made every living thing of water'" Quran(31:30). The centrally placed pools and fountains in Islamic gardens remind visitors of the essence of water in the Islamic world. Second, water embodies the virtues God expects from His subjects. "Then the water was told, 'Be still'. And it was still, awaiting God's command. This is implied water, which contains neither impurity nor foam" (Tales of the Prophets, al-Kisa'). Examining their reflections in the water allows the faithful to integrate the quality of stillness and purity, and the religious implication of water sets the undertone of the multi-dimensional experience of being in an Islamic garden.

(Before "due to the hot and arid...") Based on the spiritual experience, water serves as the means of physical and emotional cleansing and refreshment.

(role in echoing the overall architectural style of the garden) As an integral part of the landscape architecture, water plays a role in interconnecting the exterior and interior spaces by mirroring the building structures. (Structures, such as...) The reflection creates an illusion that enlarges the size and volume of the building and doubles the effect of solemnity and formality. (The interaction of reflections...) In general, mirroring the surrounding structures combined with the vegetation and the sky creates a visual effect that expands the enclosed space of a garden. Given the water's direct connection to paradise, its illusionary effect contribute to one's spiritual experience visiting the garden.

(Another use of water...), engaging sights and sounds to vitalize the imposing atmosphere. Salsabil fountains play a crucial role in creating a sense of movement. Salsabil refers to the fountain in the paradise in Arabic, and varieties of salsabil fountains are prevalent in medieval Islamic palaces and residences. Unlike the pools that manifest stillness, these structures demonstrate the movement of water, yet celebrate the solidity of water as it runs through narrow channels extending from the basin. In the Alhambra Palace, around the rim of the basin of the Fountain of the Lions it is inscribed the admiration for the water's virtue: "Silver melting which flows between jewels, one like the other in beauty, white in purity; a running stream evokes the illusion of a solid substance; for the eyes, so that we wonder which one is fluid. Don't you see that it is the water that is running over the rim of the fountain, whereas it is the structure that offers channels for the water flow."

By rendering the streams of water melting silver, the poem implies that though the fountain creates dynamics, the water flowing in the narrow channels allow the structure to blend into the solemn architectural style as opposed to disrupting the harmony. (Many Nasrid palaces...)

As the central component of Islamic architecture, water incorporates the religious implications and conduces to the spiritual, bodily and emotional experience that visitors could hardly acquire from the outside world.

The Use of Sensory Plants
(With the use of irrigated channels) In contrast to water whose aesthetics extend from its functionality, the aesthetic effect of plants contributes to its primary function to constitute a pleasure-giving environment. (Many of the existing...and lilies.) According to the medico-botanical literature, many plants in the Islamic garden produces therapeutic and erotic aromatics. Many Muslim scientists like al-Ghazzi who believed in the healing powers of Nature, experimented with medicinal plants in their gardens and wrote extensively on scented plants. A garden retreat was even a "royal" prescription for treating headaches and fevers. The patient was advised to 'remain in cool areas, surrounded by plants that have cooling effects such as sandalwood trees and camphor trees. While the therapeutic function of aromatics in Islamic medicine is indisputable, the pleasures provided by aromatic plants enhances one's sensory experience in the garden.

Yunani medicine explains the role of scent in boosting one's mood, creating exhilaration while visiting a scented garden. In Yunani medicine, the scent is the food of the spirit; hence it enhances one's perception of beauty and pleasurable sensations. While the magnificent architecture provokes the wondrous feeling 'ajab by seeing from afar, scented plants in the garden provide pleasures by stimulating both vision and olfaction, which makes the visiting experience personal and intimate. As Islamic medico-botanical literature suggests the erotic nature of some aromatic plants, medieval Muslim poets indicate the role of scents in love games. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah reflects the scents worn by lovers to attract each other, and the presence of aromatic bouquets that provides sensual pleasures in garden spaces.

Aside from the aesthetics, the royal gardens signify the power and wealth of the country. (Exotic plants....) By the tenth century AD, the royal gardens of the Umayyads at Cordova became the forefront of botanical gardens that experimented with seeds, cuttings, and roots brought from the outermost reaches of the world.'