Early Islamic Mysticism

Early Islamic Mysticism PDF Author: Michael Anthony Sells
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 9780809136193
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
This volume makes available and accessible the writings of the crucial early period of Islamic mysticism during which Sufism developed as one of the world's major mystical traditions. The texts are accompanied by commentary on their historical, literary and philosophical context.

Early Islamic Mysticism

Early Islamic Mysticism PDF Author: Michael Anthony Sells
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 9780809136193
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume makes available and accessible the writings of the crucial early period of Islamic mysticism during which Sufism developed as one of the world's major mystical traditions. The texts are accompanied by commentary on their historical, literary and philosophical context.

Islamic Mysticism and Abū Ṭālib Al-Makkī

Islamic Mysticism and Abū Ṭālib Al-Makkī PDF Author: Saeko Yazaki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415671108
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the work of Abu Talib al-Makki and his wider significance within the Sufi tradition, with a focus on the role of the heart. Analysing his most significant work beyond the framework of Sufism, the author goes beyond an examination of the themes of the book to explore its influence not only in the writing of Sufis, but also of Hanbali and Jewish scholars.

Repentance and the Return to God

Repentance and the Return to God PDF Author: Atif Khalil
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 143846911X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
The first major study of the idea of repentance, or tawba, in Islam. This book offers the first extensive treatment in a European language of tawba in Islam. Conventionally translated as “repentance,” tawba includes the broader sense of returning to God. Khalil examines this wider notionin the early period of Sufism with a particular focus on the formative years of the tradition between Mu??sib? and Ab? ??lib al-Makk?. Beginning with an extensive survey of the semantic field of the term as outlined in Arabic lexicography, Khalil offers a detailed analysis of the concept in Muslim scripture. He then examines tawba as a complex psychological process involving interior conversion and a complete, unwavering commitment to the spiritual life. The ideas of a number of prominent figures from the first few centuries of Islam are used to illuminate the historical development of tawba and its role in early praxis-oriented Sufism. “In this exemplary study, Khalil lays bare the contours of the key concept of repentance in the spiritual psychology of early Islam with admirable sensitivity and ease—a remarkable achievement.” — Ahmet T. Karamustafa, author of Sufism: The Formative Period “Atif Khalil’s Repentance and the Return to God is an illuminating account of the idea of tawba as attested to in the early Sufi literature from the ninth through the tenth centuries. Starting with a painstaking semantic examination of the Qur’?nic passages related to repentance from sin and turning to God in remorse and search of pardon, the author traces the development of these motifs from early Sufi didactic adages to their subsequent rearticulation in the sophisticated psychological discourses of such major lights of classical Sufism such as al-Mu??sib?, Sahl al-Tustar?, al-Kharr?z, al-Junayd, and Ab? ??lib al-Makk?. A must read for both lay readers interested in comparative mysticism/religions and specialists on Islam, Sufism, and Islamic spiritual and intellectual history.” — Alexander Knysh, author of Islamic Mysticism: A Short History and Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism

Islamic Thought

Islamic Thought PDF Author: Abdullah Saeed
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134225644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Islamic Thought is a fresh and contemporary introduction to the philosophies and doctrines of Islam. Abdullah Saeed, a distinguished Muslim scholar, traces the development of religious knowledge in Islam, from the pre-modern to the modern period. The book focuses on Muslim thought, as well as the development, production and transmission of religious knowledge, and the trends, schools and movements that have contributed to the production of this knowledge. Key topics in Islamic culture are explored, including the development of the Islamic intellectual tradition, the two foundation texts, the Qur’an and Hadith, legal thought, theological thought, mystical thought, Islamic Art, philosophical thought, political thought, and renewal, reform and rethinking today. Through this rich and varied discussion, Saeed presents a fascinating depiction of how Islam was lived in the past and how its adherents practise it in the present. Islamic Thought is essential reading for students beginning the study of Islam but will also interest anyone seeking to learn more about one of the world’s great religions.

The Concept of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism

The Concept of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism PDF Author: John O'Kane
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136793097
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
This book provides translations of the earliest Arabic autobiography and the earliest theoretical explanation of the psychic development and powers of an Islamic holy man (Saint, Friend of God).

Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism

Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism PDF Author: Fethullah Gülen
Publisher: Tughra Books
ISBN: 9781932099232
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The origin of Sufism -- Self criticism; Reflection; Privacy and seclusion; Heart; Hope or expectation; Asceticism. People follow the Sufi path when they sense that Islam has a deeper dimension. The resulting self-purification leads to this inner dimension of Islamic rituals, a deeper understanding of the Divine acts, and a greater knowledge and love of Him. After this, God draws the novice to Himself. With the help of a spiritual guide, the novice begins the life-long journey back to God. This continual process of spiritual development along a path of the innate human poverty, helplessness, and powerlessness before God is undertaken in the knowledge that everything comes from God. Each novice does what is necessary to grow spiritually, and God bestows the appropriate blessings and stations. "The highest aim of creation and its most sublime result is belief in God. The most exalted rank of humanity is knowledge of God. The most radiant happiness and sweetest bounty for jinn and humanity is love of God contained within the knowledge of God; the purest joy for the human spirit and the purest delight for the human heart is spiritual ecstasy contained within the love of God. Indeed, all true happiness, pure joy, sweet bounties, and unclouded pleasure are contained within the knowledge and love of God." And Sufism is the school where people can realise the highest aim of creation.

Islamic Mysticism and Abu Talib Al-Makki

Islamic Mysticism and Abu Talib Al-Makki PDF Author: Saeko Yazaki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135103976
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Both in everyday language and religious metaphor, the heart often embodies the true self and is considered to be the seat of emotion in many cultures. Many Muslim thinkers have attempted to clarify the nature of Sufism using its metaphorical image, particularly in the tenth and eleventh centuries. This book examines the work of Abū Tālib al-Makkī and his wider significance within the Sufi tradition, with a focus on the role of the heart. Analysing his most significant work, Qūt al-qulūb (‘The Nourishment of Hearts’), the author goes beyond an examination of the themes of the book to explore its influence not only in the writing of Sufis, but also of Hanbalī and Jewish scholars. Providing a comprehensive overview of the world of al-Makkī and presenting extracts from his book on religious characteristics of the heart with selected passages in translation for the first time in English, this book will give readers a better understanding not only of the essential features of Sufism, but also the nature of mysticism and its relation to monotheistic faiths.

Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidī ʻAbd Al-ʻAzīz Al-Dabbāgh

Pure Gold from the Words of Sayyidī ʻAbd Al-ʻAzīz Al-Dabbāgh PDF Author: Aḥmad ibn al-Mubārak Sijilmāsī
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004164154
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1017

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Book Description
Around 1720 in Fez A mad b. al-Mub rak al-Lama , a religious scholar, wrote down the words and teachings of the Sufi master Abd al- Az z al-Dabb gh. Al-Dabb gh shunned religious studies but, having reached illumination and met with the Prophet Mu ammad, he was able to explain any obscurities in the Qur n, ad ths and sayings of earlier Sufis. The resulting book, known as the Ibr z, describes how al-Dabb gh attained illumination and access to the Prophet, as well as his teachings about the Council of the godly that regulates the world, relations between master and disciple, the darkness in men s bodies, Adam s creation, Barzakh, Paradise and Hell, and much more besides.This encyclopaedia of Sufism with its many teaching stories and illustrations provides a window onto social life and religious ideasin Fez a generation or so before powerful outside forces began to play a role in the radical transformation of Morocco.

Divine Love in Islamic Mysticism

Divine Love in Islamic Mysticism PDF Author: Binyamin Abrahamov
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136129308
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
The two theories of divine love that are examined in this book have their foundations in Greek, Jewish, Christian and Muslim ideas. Al-Ghazâlî (twelfth century) was influenced mainly by Plato and Ibn Sina's teachings, while al-Dabbâgh (thirteenth century), who accepted some Ghazâlîan notions, developed a theory of divine love that can be traced back to Neoplatonism. Both scholars created complete theories of divine love that include definitions of love, its causes and signs, the ways to love God, God's love for man, and kinds of love. The book will interest students of theology, philosophy and mysticism in general, and students of Islam in particular.

God's Unruly Friends

God's Unruly Friends PDF Author: Ahmet T. Karamustafa
Publisher: ONEWorld
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Wandering dervishes formed a prominent feature of most Muslim communities and although social misfits, were revered by the public yet denounced by cultural elites. This survey of this type of piety, traces the history of the different dervish groups that roamed the lands in Asia as well as the Middle East and Southeast Europe.