Islamic Mysticism

LIturgia de los mundos

by Salvador Peña

Published in 'Achipiélago: cuadernos de crítica de la cultura' 66 (2005), pp. 141-142.

Review of Henry Corbin's 'Templo y contenplación' and 'Tiempo cíclico y gnosis ismailí'. Review of Henry Corbin's 'Templo y contenplación' and 'Tiempo cíclico y gnosis ismailí'.

Univocism and Monadology in Post-Avicennan Iranian Philosophy: Mulla Sadra Shirazi and the Philosophical Development of Ibn al-'Arabi's Gnosis (Spanish)

by Carlos Segovia

"Univocismo y monadología en el pensamiento iraní postaviceniano: La prosecución filosófica del 'irfan de Ibn al-'Arabi en la obra de Mulla Sadra Shirazi," Anales del Seminario de Historia de la Filosofía 18 (2001) 78-108.

Univocism and Monadology in Post-Avicennan Iranian Philosophy: Mulla Sadra Shirazi's Ishraqi Hermeneutics of Ibn 'Arabi's Gnosis and His Discussion of Avicennan Ontology

by Carlos Segovia

in: Endoxa. Series Filosóficas 16 (2002) 295-209.

On the (Extra-)Quranic Sources of Ibn 'Arabi's Ontology (Spanish)

by Carlos Segovia

"En torno a las fuentes (extra)coránicas de la ontologia de Ibn Arabi y al uso de los nombres divinos al-Gami' y al-Baqi en las Futuhat," in El Corán ayer y hoy. Perspectivas actuales sobre el islam: Estudios en honor del profesor Julio Cortés, ed. Miguel Hernando de Larramendi y Salvador Peña Martín (Córdoba: Berenice, 2008), 91-105.

Taking the Place of Martyrs: Afghans and Arabs Under the Banner of Islam

by Darryl Li

Arab Studies Journal 20(1), Spring 2012, pp. 12-39

This article examines how so-called “Afghan Arabs” – Islamist activists drawn to war-torn Afghanistan in recent... more This article examines how so-called “Afghan Arabs” – Islamist activists drawn to war-torn Afghanistan in recent decades – reconciled their pan-Islamist commitments with the experience of doctrinal and cultural difference vis-à-vis Afghans. Previous approaches to transnational Islamist activism have tended to either uncritically assume a monolithic Muslim identity or posit a rigid dichotomy between fanatic “foreign fighters” and the relatively moderate “local Muslims” who they putatively seek to indoctrinate. Eschewing both types of reification, this article argues that pan-Islamist projects should not be understood as attempts to erase intra-Muslim differences, but rather as endeavors to process them. Afghan Arabs struggled to understand, evaluate, and respond to doctrinal and cultural differences in ways that often defied the conventional juxtaposition of radical Salafi Arabs versus moderate Sufi/Hanafi Afghans. Diverse longstanding discursive traditions in Islam – including discussions over miraculous events [karāmāt] and visitation of saints’ tombs [al-ziyāra] – provided common terms of reference that Arab activists and their Afghan counterparts could invoke to ensure that even contentious disputes could contribute to a shared project.

Gramática y santidad: la 'taifa' de al-Jalil a la luz de Massignon

by Salvador Peña

Published in J. A. Antón Pacheco et alii, ''Louis Massignon, 1908-2008: cien años de la visita del extranjero', Madrid: Mandala, 2008, pp. 57-80.

The Seven Seals of Judeo-Islamic Magic: Possible Origins of the Symbols

by Lloyd Graham

First release: ePublication on Academia.edu, 15 April 2012.

The Seven Seals of medieval Islamic magic, which are believed to constitute the Greatest Name of God, also feature in... more The Seven Seals of medieval Islamic magic, which are believed to constitute the Greatest Name of God, also feature in Jewish Kabbalah from the same period. While many Seal symbols make sporadic appearances in early Islamic amulets bearing Kufic script, the source of the symbols and their eventual ordering remains a matter of legend. As this topic was first – and last – examined systematically by Dr. Hans Winkler in 1930, a wider-ranging and more modern review is long overdue. The present survey focuses on potential sources for the symbols rather than on their exegesis. It first examines the possibility that a precedent for the Seal series exists in an undecipherable “seven signs repeated seven times” inscribed on a Late Babylonian amulet. It then considers the possibility that the Seals’ origins lie in other cuneiform symbols from ancient Mesopotamia; in Egyptian hieroglyphs or scripts; in paleo-Hebrew characters or the letters of ancient South Arabian scripts; in Libyco-Berber or Tifinagh letters from North Africa; or in the symbol repertoire of Late Antique magic, including the highly potent seven Greek vowels. The review also explores the possibility that at least some of the symbols originated in numerological ciphers or religious emblems, canvassing sources as diverse as Indian Hinduism and Byzantine Christendom. The article concludes by considering the recent suggestion that the Seal series may have acquired its privileged status because its symbols reflect “shape archetypes” that are hard-wired into the human nervous system.

Term Sufi: Spiritualizing Simple Words

by Maxim Romanov

Romanov, Maxim G. “The Term Ṣūfī: Spiritualizing Simple Words.” Pismennye Pamyatniki Vostoka (Written Monuments of the Orient) 2, no. 5 (2006): 149-159.

Every scholarly book that deals with Islamic mysticism contains at least some details on the etymologies of the tenn... more Every scholarly book that deals with Islamic mysticism contains at least some details on the etymologies of the tenn Sufi and its derivatives. The origin of this term was a matter of debates among the scholars of Sufism in the West from the very inception of Sufi studies until it has become widely accepted that it is derived from the Arabic word for "wool," suf, i.e. a woolen garment that was commonly worn by ascetics in the Middle East. While the Sufis themselves are not interested in the academic studies of the etymology of their denomination, they nevertheless have taken great pains to explain its meaning. Major Sufi authorities of the late 4th/5th-10th/11th centuries, who endeavored to systemize and assert the legitimacy of the Sufi tradition and who claimed to possess the knowledge of the true realities of Islamic faith (haqa'iq), found it hard to accept this quite prosaic name, all the more so since it was most likely given to them by outsiders. That is not to say that all medieval Sufi authors rejected the idea that their name, sufiyya, takes its origin in the practice of wearing woolen gannents. However, almost all of them (except Abu Talib al-Makki) sought to endow this mundane name with a more subtle and spiritual meaning in order to bring it in line with the complexity of their esoteric teaching. Besides, many Muslims considered this name to be an innovation (mubdath), so Sufis had to make every effort to prove its antiquity.

A Translation of Nasir al-Din Tusi's Commentary upon Ibn Sina's al-Isharat wa'l-Tanbihat, al-Namat al-Tasi' fi Maqamat al-'Arifin: Namat Nine on the Stations of the Mystics

by Keven Brown

LISY, Preliminary Remarks for the Comparative Study of Mysticism - Mysticism is, what unio mystica is, in Communio viatorum 54, 2012, (in print)

by Keren Mice

The article will be published in: Communio viatorum 54, 2012, pp. (in print). When I receive the article from the author it will be available here for free.

I found his article very interesting and useful in its new perspective. It is obvious that the author follows Huss' and Balagangadhara's approach and his final argument is based on Wittgenstein. Also, we can understand his article as a polemic with a book: The Origins of Jewish Mysticism by Peter Schäfer.

Interestingly, the author mentioned in the article that a part of the material was already discussed at the international conference Rethinking Religion in India III. I followed for some time links of its participants and it seems to me there is a research group using Balagangadhara's approach from different countries and from various fields in Humanities. If you follow their links it is possible to find more books and articles on the study of comparative religion and most of them you can download for free (see more links in my About section and Profile). And all of them share a common ground. It is Balagangadhara's framework very well argued in his book: Heathen in His Blindness. Note, there are scholars who sharply disagree with him. The whole scientific discussion is very interesting and inspiring and leads to new directions in the study of mysticism and religion. Some of them you can find through Web of Science.

There is an abstract in the article.

The Conceptual Development of Deviance among Islamic Mystics: The Malāmatiyya

by John D. Martin III

This paper was submitted to Prof. Amina Elbendary's seminar on Protest, Rebellion and Revolt in Pre-Modern Islamic History at AUC, Fall 2010.

The concept of deviance in early Islamic mystic piety developed as an aspect of the same social and intellectual... more The concept of deviance in early Islamic mystic piety developed as an aspect of the same social and intellectual processes which defined Sufism as a normative or orthodox mode. The mysticism which developed in and around Baghdad and in Khurāsān was varied in its outward forms for the first several centuries. Asceticism was common, but it was not homogeneous in its expression. The process of systematizing and normalizing Islamic mystic doctrine and practice was concurrent with a similar systematization in legal and theological contexts. In this process of systematization some previous forms were marginalized and some were subsumed into what would become the normative Ṣūfī practice. Other forms were continued and taken up by movements which would eventually be regarded as heterodox. One label that stands out as representing a heterodox mode is that of the Malāmatiyya—those who followed the “path of Blame.” This paper will explore the development of that term and its usage as first a descriptive and then a derogatory term over the course of several centuries and explore how that change reflected concurrent Khurāsānian societal changes.

Aesthetic Principles of Islamic Mysticism: Beauty and the Human Form in the Writings of Ibn'Arabī and'Irāqī

by Cyrus Zargar

Dissertation. This has been revised and published as "Sufi Aesthetics" with the University of South Carolina Press.

This study aims to present the theoretical and poetic writings of two 7th/13th-century Islamic mystics, Muhyī al-Dīn... more This study aims to present the theoretical and poetic writings of two 7th/13th-century Islamic mystics, Muhyī al-Dīn ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) and Fakhr al-Dīn ‘Irāqī (d. 688/1289), from the perspective of visionary aesthetic values. It is proposed that an unstated but applied system of perception and the evaluation of beauty can be discerned in their writings, one that places particular emphasis on the human form. The purpose of doing so is twofold. First, a discussion of aesthetic principles puts forward the esoteric assertions of these Sufis not as abstract theory, but rather in the manner that they themselves describe: as a way of perceiving, a way of seeing all things, including the sensory world. Second, the failure to understand Sufi amorous poetry – on the part of these poets’ contemporaries as well as those who study them today – seems to stem from a lack of familiarity with the perceptive experiences of such mystics.
The approach of this study is comparative insofar as it examines two Muslim mystics from backgrounds diverse in terms of literary heritage and somewhat diverse in terms of spiritual training. A careful consideration of perception according to Ibn ‘Arabī is followed by an analysis of his statements regarding beauty, especially as the primary cause of love. These are compared with assertions made in the writings of ‘Irāqī, as well as other Sufis who expressed admiration for divine beauty in the human form. Lastly, these results are used to establish that the poetry and poetic commentaries based on this mystical aesthetic system are attempts to convey a multi-layered experience, one that is sensual and spiritual at once. The examination of certain key Sufi texts in Persian and Arabic establishes that the profundity attributed to mystical encounters with the sensory and supersensory has far-reaching extensions in evaluations of that which is seen, that which is deemed beautiful, and that which is expressed as a result.

Kashf o Shohud, "Unveiling and Witnessing"

by Cyrus Zargar

Encyclopædia Iranica, ed. Ehsan Yarshater, Fascicle XV/6, 2011 (pp. 668-673).

KAŠF O ŠOHUD (“unveiling and witnessing”), terms commonly used by Muslim mystics to describe the acquisition of... more KAŠF O ŠOHUD (“unveiling and witnessing”), terms commonly used by Muslim mystics to describe the acquisition of esoteric knowledge and the constant first-hand encountering of the divine presence. The two terms kašf and šohud, sometimes used together to describe a general experience of illuminative discovery and continued inspired perception, have distinct meanings within the Muslim mystical traditions and exemplify the manner in which terms can acquire specialized signification in the Islamic disciplines.

İslâm Düşüncesinde Gelenek ve Gelenekçilik: Seyyid Hüseyin Nasr’ın Gelenek Anlayışı

by Mehmet Vural

Vural, Mehmet, “İslâm Düşüncesinde Gelenek ve Gelenekçilik -Seyyid Hüseyin Nasr’ın Gelenek Anlayışı-”, İslâmiyat, Cilt: 10, Sayı: 3, Ankara, Temmuz-Eylül 2008, s. 53-68.

Abstract

Tradition and Traditionalism in the Islamic Thought
What Nasr is Understanding of... more Abstract

Tradition and Traditionalism in the Islamic Thought
What Nasr is Understanding of Tradition

In this essay, we tried to examine tradition and traditionalism in the Islamic thought in general, and the understanding of tradition by Nasr in particular. Tradition and Traditionalism are one of todays highly discussed terms. The term tradition is strictly related first of all to religion, then to sanctity and metaphysics. But the tradition which Nasr is trying to bring up is “the re-discovery of Islamic metaphysics” and bringing Sufism (Islamic mysticism) to the fore.
Keywords: Tradition, Traditionalism, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Thought, Sufism.

Zikr-i Dervişâne'den Divân Musikisine Kadar: Osmanlılar Devrinde Semâ'ya Bir Bakış

by Jamal Elias

Cogito 19 (Summer) (1999), Special Issue on the Ottomans, pp. 216-224.

Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism

by Jamal Elias

Book Review: Introduction to Sufi Doctrine (Burckhardt, 2008)

by Adam Asgarali

published in the Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures, 2010

Review of:

Titus Burckhardt. Introduction to Sufi Doctrine. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2008.

The History of Jamā‘ah Tablīgh in Southeast Asia: The Role of Islamic Sufism in the Islamic Revival

by Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad

“Spiritual Anti-Elitism: Ibn Taymiyya’s Doctrine of Sainthood (walāya),” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 22.3 (2011): 275-291.

by Diego Sarrio Cucarella

The article focuses on Ibn Taymiyya’s concept of walāya, the Sufi technical term for sainthood or friendship with God,... more The article focuses on Ibn Taymiyya’s concept of walāya, the Sufi technical term for sainthood or friendship with God, as exposed in his treatise Al Furqān bayna awliyā’ al Raḥmān wa-awliyā’ al Shaytān, ‘The Criterion [for distinguishing] between the Friends of the All Merciful and the Friends of Satan.’ A close reading of this text helps us to see that, notwithstanding his criticisms, Ibn Taymiyya did not reject the Sufi tradition wholesale, but tried to bring it within the strict limits of Islamic orthodoxy as he understood it. More specifically, Ibn Taymiyya sought to defend an ideal of walāya within the reach of ordinary Muslims, against what he perceived as the elitism of certain Sufi views of sanctity and the extravagant behavior of marginal holy men. Some of the questions addressed in this work include the major theological issues that Muslim authors had raised with regard to Sufi claims, such as the relationship between prophethood and sainthood, the special qualities of God’s friends, or the evidentiary value of saintly miracles.

Online article : Ibn Taymiyya : une condamnation du soufisme ?

by Qais Assef

Ibn Taymiyya : une condamnation du soufisme ?
- Part 1 : http://www.oumma.com/Ibn-Taymiyya-une-condamnation-du
- Part 2 : http://www.oumma.com/Le-soufisme-selon-Ibn-Taymiyya

Jurisconsulte et théologien hanbalite, Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) est une des figures majeures de l’histoire islamique.... more Jurisconsulte et théologien hanbalite, Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) est une des figures majeures de l’histoire islamique. Il peut, sans conteste, être comparé aux « monuments » de l’histoire islamique, tels Shâfi‘î (m. 820) et Ghazâlî (m. 1111).

L’empreinte de son réformisme politico-religieux se retrouve notamment chez les salafistes, les wahhabites, ainsi qu’auprès des réformistes comme Jamâl al-Dîn al-Afghânî (m. 1897), Muhammad ‘Abduh (m. 1905) et Rashîd Ridâ (m. 1935). Cependant, la pensée d’Ibn Taymiyya ne peut être restreinte aux seuls aspects juridiques et politiques de son œuvre. Replacé dans son contexte historico-politique, Ibn Taymiyya pose, à bien des égards, des questions fondamentales pour l’ensemble de la religion musulmane : foi et raison, éthique et politique, etc.

Toutefois, un des aspects majeurs de son œuvre semble avoir été négligé tant par la recherche académique que par les penseurs musulmans : il s’agit du rapport entre la « Loi » (charia) et la « Voie » (tarîqa). Autrement dit la relation du docteur hanbalite à la mystique musulmane, plus communément appelée le soufisme (en arabe : al-tasawwuf). En effet, le rapport du savant hanbalite au soufisme fait l’objet d’un troublant paradoxe. Il a certes porté des critiques envers certaines doctrines et pratiques soufies, mais il ne s’agissait à aucun moment de jeter l’anathème sur l’ensemble de la mystique musulmane. Pour mesurer le désordre régnant autour de la perspective taymiyyenne du soufisme, il nous suffirait de parcourir les nombreux forums en ligne où les adversaires du soufisme s’illustrent en détournant, hors contexte, les arguments du savant hanbalite pour jeter l’anathème sur le soufisme dans sa globalité.

Cette distorsion n’est malheureusement pas l’exclusivité du grand public. À notre grand regret, la position d’Ibn Taymiyya vis-à-vis du soufisme reste encore un sujet à l’état embryonnaire dans les milieux académiques. Néanmoins, les rares études sur le sujet ont permis de souligner les affinités d’Ibn Taymiyya et de son école hanbalite avec la mystique musulmane.