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Despite its continuing appeal in the Muslim world, Sufism has faced fierce challenges in the last 250 years. This volume assesses the evolution of anti-Sufism since the middle of the eighteenth century and Sufi strategies for survival. It also considers the efforts of a few significant Muslim intellectuals to contemplate a future for a mystical approach to Islam without traditional Sufism. Many studies of Islam in the modern period have focused on the attempts of Muslim 'modernists' or 'fundamentalists' to come to terms with western modernity, and Sufis have often been marginalised in the process. Elizabeth Sirriyeh redresses this neglect by assigning to Sufism a central place in the broader history of Islam in the modern world and by examining how changing understandings of Sufism's role in modern conditions have affected Muslims of all shades of opinion.
People in Western societies have long been interested in their dreams and what they mean. However, few non-Muslims in the West are likely to seek interpretation of those dreams to help them make life-changing decisions. In the Islamic world the situation is quite different. Dreaming and the import of visions are here of enormous significance, to the degree that many Muslims believe that in their dreams they are receiving divine guidance: for example, on whether or not to accept a marriage proposal, or a new job opportunity. In her authoritative new book, Elizabeth Sirriyeh offers the first concerted history of the rise of dream interpretation in Islamic culture, from medieval times to the present. Central to the book is the figure of the Prophet Muhammad - seen to represent for Muslims the perfect dreamer, visionary and interpreter of dreams. Less benignly, dreams have been exploited in the propaganda of Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and in apocalyptic visions relating to the 9/11 attacks. This timely volume gives an important, fascinating and overlooked subject the exploration it has long deserved.
The Naqshbandiyya order has attracted increasing scholarly attention over the last two decades, yet so far there has been no attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the rich organization and ideational Naqshbandiyyah tradition This book is therefore by now a highly desirable contribution that will fill this gap in the literature of this important Sufi order Spanning almost a millennium in time and most of the Muslim world in space, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the important Naqshbandiyyah Sufi order
'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (1641 to1731) was the most outstanding scholarly Sufi of Ottoman Syria. He was regarded as the leading religious poet of his time and as an excellent commentator of classical Sufi texts. At the popular level, he has been read as an interpreter of symbolic dreams. Moreover, he played a crucial role in the transmission of the teachings of the Naqshabandiyya in the Ottoman Empire, and he contributed to the eighteenth-century Sufi revival via his disciples. This pioneering book analyzes important aspects of al-Nabulusi's work and places him in the historical context.
An innovative exploration of the local histories of the Persianate world and its preoccupation with identity, authority, and legitimacy.
This book examines the development of Sufi movements that have migrated from their place of origin to become global religious networks.
This book examines and analyses the legitimacy of the widely held claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy (al-hikmah al-muta'aliyyah) is a synthesis of principles and doctrines drawn from revelation (wahy), gnosis ('irfan/ma'rifah) and discursive philosophy (al-hikmah al-bahthiyyah). In Mulla Sadra's view, these three major sources of knowledge can be brought together without contradiction and accorded their respective roles in the human quest for true and certain knowledge. This book discusses and demonstrates how Mulla Sadra achieves this synthesis as contained in and exemplified by his text, al-Hikmah al-'arshiyyah or Wisdom from the Divine Throne. An evaluation on whether or not Mulla Sadra's synthesis is successful is also undertaken. The criteria used for the evaluation are the internal coherence of his ideas, their conformity to Islamic teachings and impact on Islamic thinkers after him.
Ibn al-Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam is a translation of one of the most important works written on Islamic Mysticism. Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) is deemed the greatest mystic of Islam and his mystical philosophy has attracted the attention of both Muslims and non-Muslims from his time to the present day. Believing that the world is the self- manifestation of God, he claimed that all religions are equal and that the perfect human being is he who knows all the religious phenomena in the world. Fusus al-hikam examines the singular characteristics of twenty seven prophets of Islam and constitutes the best summary of Ibn al-Arabi's thought. The translation of these twenty seven chapters is preceded by an introduction that explains the main ideas of Ibn al-Arabi and is accompanied by explanatory notes to the text. Providing an easily accessible translation of one of the greatest mystics of Islam, Ibn al Arabi’ Fusus al-Hikam is essential reading for students, scholars and researchers of Islamic Philosophy, Mysticism and Islamic Mysticism in particular.
A Companion to the History of the Middle East offers a fresh account of the multifaceted and multi-layered history of this region. A fresh account of the multifaceted and multi-layered history of the Middle East Comprises 26 newly-commissioned essays by leading international scholars Primarily focused on the modern and contemporary periods Covers religious, social, cultural, economic, political and military history Treats the region as four differentiated political units – Iran, Turkey, Israel and the Arab world Includes a section on current issues, such as oil, urban growth, the role of women, and democratic human rights
Despite its pervasive reputation as a place of religious extremes and war, Afghanistan has a complex and varied religious landscape where elements from a broad spectrum of religious belief vie for a place in society. It is also one of the birthplaces of a widely practiced variant of Islam: Sufism. Contemporary analysts suggest that Sufism is on the decline due to war and the ideological hardening that results from societies in conflict. However, in Sufi Civilities, Annika Schmeding argues that this is far from a truthful depiction. Members of Sufi communities have worked as resistance fighters, aid workers, business people, actors, professors, and daily workers in creative and ingenious ways...