The mystical dimension of the islamic religious tradition has roots in the divinely revealed text of the koran. Purchases made on this website are fulfilled by wb connect pte ltd uen. Mysticism in the islamic context has traditionally been intertwined with the notion of. While sufism is said to have incorporated elements of christian monasticism, gnosticism, and indian mysticism, its origins are traced to forms of devotion and groups of penitents zuhhad in the formative period of islam. As such, it has the special disitinction of being found in the sunnite as well as the shiite traditions of islam. Although the later sufi writings by mystics such as rumi are known and available in translation, access to the crucial early period of islamic mysticism has been far more limited. The decline sufism in later centuries can perhaps be attributed to the interest of the masses purely in the experimental side of islamic mysticism and the desire for emotional excesses.
Sufism, mystical islamic belief and practice in which muslims seek the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of god. There are some terms in western languages that is equivalent for erfan such as gnosticism, mysticism, and spirituality. Sufism is the path of islamic mysticism and celebrates the intimate relationship between the seeker and allah. Mar 31, 2011 the decline sufism in later centuries can perhaps be attributed to the interest of the masses purely in the experimental side of islamic mysticism and the desire for emotional excesses.
An ascetic person is characterised by their rigorous selfdiscipline and selfcontrol. Webb, sufism in america in americas alternative religions, ed. The focus of the present study of mystical music and dance in the persian sufi tradition will be. Apr 10, 20 mystical poetry is also rich in sufism and it helps to translate many important mystical concepts in sufism the most famous poets include rumi, alghazali, omar khayyam, attar and ibn arabi. After centuries as the most important asceticmystical strand of islam, sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth century, only to experience a stunning revival in recent decades. Some of the quranic verses have been viewed by the mystics and. Understanding the concept of islamic sufism shahida bilqies research scholar, shahihamadan institute of islamic studies university of kashmir, srinagar190006 jammu and kashmir, india. Mainstream islam has tended to regard sufism with some suspicion because of a perceived extremism in beliefs which sufi mysticism is prone to. The book provides a general survey of the history of islamic mysticism sufism since its inception up to the present. It boasted a sufi convent, as reported by the turkish traveller evliya chelebi.
Mysticism in islam, islamic philosophy mysticism in islam is intertwined, and often held synonymous with sufism. Its focus tends to be on the mystical, firsthand, direct experience of god called dhawq or tasting, rather than on doctrine or authority. It is a rich spiritual path that celebrates this relationship through music, sacred. The breeze of dawn tears apart the rose with grace. In sufism, studying the exegesis of the quran or reflecting on the meanings of its verses is discouraged or even forbidden. Farid aldin attar, author of the book here pre sented in an. While it succeeds in challenging popular simplifications and current academic orthodoxies, sufism. Sufis claim that every verse of the quran has an external meaning and an internal meaning.
It combines chronological and personalitybased approaches to the subject with a thematic discussion of major sufi notions and institutions. By the th century, largely because of all the mystical poetry that was produced, sufism had filtered through into the whole islamic world. The texts are accompanied by commentary on their historical, literary and philosophical context. Annemarie schimmel was an internationally acclaimed scholar, who dedicated more than fifty years of her life, to explain islam to the west. Jan 01, 1995 the first centuries of islam saw the development of sufism as one of the worlds major mystical traditions. List of books and articles about sufism online research. Following the early theological schools of thought in islam, among which were the determinists qadarites, the eschatologists murjaites and waidites and the faith based theologians asharites, there came the islamic philosophical tradition and its many different schools of thought. Mysticism in arabic and islamic philosophy stanford. One of dionysiuss key texts is peri mystikes theologiasi.
Sufism, the religious philosophy of islam, is described in the oldest extant definition as the apprehension of divine realities, and mohammedan mystics are fond of calling themselves ahl alhaqq, the followers of the real. Indeed, the muslim scripture features many passages encouraging muslims to. It consists of mystical paths that are designed to learn the nature of humanity and of god and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom. The first centuries of islam saw the development of sufism as one of the worlds major mystical traditions. Before assessing sufism and examining how it relates to the teachings of the quran, it is necessary to consider the main principles upon which sufism is based. The forty rules of love by elif shafak, the conference of the birds by attar of nishapur, the essential rumi by rumi, the sufis.
Classical sufi texts, which stressed certain teachings and practices of the quran and the sunnah. Today there are literally hundreds of mystic orders with millions of adherents. In the th century badawiyyah was founded in egypt by ahmad albadawi 11991276, who acquired a reputation for mysticism and the performance of miracles. The first concise history of sufism to appear in any language, this work remains among the best. The early mystics of islam, however, devoted themselves primarily to. The arabic term sufi has been used in islamic literature with a wide range of meanings, by both proponents and opponents of sufism. We would like to highlight just a few distinctions between the mystical and the esoterical. The nobility and broad tolerance of this creed, which accepts as godinspired all the real religions of the world, will always be a glorious heritage of mankind. Islamic mysticism by knysh is a comprehensive survey of the interesting and fascinating world of islamic mysticism. One, then, wonders what an unbiased and authentic account of sufism, which ernst implies is possible,26 might look like. In lieu of an abstract, below is the essays first paragraph.
An introduction to the history, practices, and beliefs of sufi islam. Pages in category islamic mysticism the following 16 pages are in this category, out of 16 total. During the sixteenth century, when the kabbalist isaac luria was active, safed was also a flourishing centre of muslim mysticism. A pathbreaking history of sufism, from the earliest centuries of islam to the present. This mystical movement from the early ninth century rejects worship motivated by the. Islamsu sm is masterpiece by titus burckhardt examines the. Jalaluddin rumi was the author of the masnavi, an immensely influential work, which is celebrated for its spiritual profundity by many across the islamic world. The earliest persian treatise on sufism syed hujweri the kalimat al sadiqin. Sa c dis gulistdn ha s bee n on e o f th e favorit e books o f europea n. As the book progresses, we will find that sufism has nothing to do with islam or persia, and everything to do with the quiet peoples of ancient and baladi egypt.
The source of mysticism and the mystical elements in islam are to be traced to the quran and the islamic doctrine itself. Sufism was transplanted into north africa as a result of the expansion of the rifai order into syria and then egypt. It is extremely difficult to attempt a description of sufism. Read islamic mysticism books like special illumination and the little book of sufi stories for free with a free 30day trial. May 01, 2012 an introduction to the history, practices, and beliefs of sufi islam.
The middle east conflict has dug deep trenches of enmity between jews and muslims. By offering alternative forms of religious truth and authority that are based on personal experience, noncanonical ritual. On one extreme, some enthusiasts provide no reason to differentiate sufism from kabbalah, christian mysticism, or a new age concoction. Discover islamic mysticism books free 30day trial scribd.
Dec 12, 2012 sufism is the path of islamic mysticism and celebrates the intimate relationship between the seeker and allah. That makes it easy to forget that, for centuries, the two religions contributed much to each others philosophy and spirituality. William chittick, fakhurddin iraqi fadiman, essential sufism. The contestations of the islamic character of sufism or islamic mysticism as a. A new history of islamic mysticism also gives us some sense of why sufi muslims are under attack from isis and their ilk. Even though alkindi is regarded to be the first muslim philosopher, the. The sufi teaching of hazrat inayat khan shambhala dragon editions. Sufism in now to be found in many parts of the muslim world as, across the centuries, many people have felt drawn toward the more emotional and personal ways of knowing god promoted by sufi mysticism. I prefer instead the word sufism, which has the advantage of deriving from arabic and pertaining specifically to islam. Required for the class, bring the readings with you to each class.
Nimet seker looks at the influence of muslim sufism on jewish mysticism. Islamsu sm is masterpiece by titus burckhardt examines. In time, people follow these books, thinking they are guided, and desert the book of god. The books written by practitioners fill a broad spectrum. Sufism islamic mysticism mysticism is concerned with the nature of reality, the individuals struggle to attain a clear vision of reality, and the transformation of consciousness that accompanies such vision. Wardah books is at 58 bussorah street, singapore 199474 were open every day from 10am to 6pm. Sufism, or tasawwuf in arabic, is practiced by many muslims around the world, both shia and sunni, as a personal, mystical, or. Studies in islamic mysticism the masterpiece of sufism. Discover the best islamic mysticism books and audiobooks.
Mystcism is the path which is followed to achieve ultimate unity with god and it. The evolution of sufism in the postghazali period was influenced by ibn alarabi and ibn alfarid. The early pious figures, later appropriated by sufism, include ali, hasan al. A short history and islam in historical perspective. As a mystic and ascetic aspect of islam, it is considered as the part of. Tasawwuf ihsan, islamic mysticism islamic books, islamic. This volume makes available and accessible the writings of the crucial early period of islamic mysticism during which sufism developed as one of the worlds major mystical traditions. Existing in both sunni and shia islam, sufism is not a distinct. Equally obvious and unavoidable are biases of sufisms muslim opponents whose views of sufism will be discussed in detail later on in this book. Islamic orthodoxy and sufism were not irreconcilable, as attested by the attempt by alghazali d. Sufism is examined from a variety of different perspectives. The presence of rifaiyyah inspired the founding of other orders. The open access version of this book, available at.
They are most prevalent in egypt, syria, iraq, turkey and arabia. This volume opens with an essay on the place of spirituality within the islamic tradition. But the islamic word which has its root is the islamic sources is the word erfan. Annemarie schimmel was an internationally acclaimed scholar, who dedicated more than. The common premise is that sufism is an islamic group practicing a form of mysticism that originated in persia. A noted scholar offers insights into every aspect of sufism, from interpretation of the word of god and the life of the prophet to the theorists of sufism, the structure of sufi theory and practice, and more.
Their theoretical contributions led to the development within sufism of a complex. Sufis never tire of insisting that their teachings and practices are rooted in the quran, the prophets exemplary custom sunna, and the moralethical standards set by the first two generations of muslims. A sufi manual of invocation the kashful mahjub unveiling the veiled. Like all forms of mysticism, it is above all the search for god and this search may be expressed in many different ways, taking various forms. Others claim to present the teachings of traditional sufi orders, and many do, but sometimes a. According to sufism, only the sufi sheikhs have the understanding of the internal mystic meaning. The nobility and broad tolerance of this creed, which accepts as godinspired all the real religions of the.
One passage often pointed to in this regard is the light verse 24. Learn from islamic mysticism experts like idries shah and maryam mafi. Sufi verse from the early mystics to rumi penguin classics. Sufism and to those who took part in the growth of this book. Sufism, being the marrow of the bone or the inner dimension of the islamic revelation, is the means par excellence whereby tawhid is achieved. The famous kabbalistic school of safed in galilee also seems to have been influenced by sufism. The aim of sufis is to gain direct knowledge of the eternal, in this life, as opposed to the exoteric, or traditionalist, aspect of islam which focuses on achieving a state of. Sufism and islam in africa readings tbd november 16. The early mystics of islam, however, devoted themselves primarily to the first of the three stages, that is, purgation.
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