A spiritual memoir by the author of "God Is a Verb."

"This book is a treasure map, but not like any you have seen before. Most people believe that the object of a treasure hunt is to find a chest of gold. The mystical approach, however, is that the search itself is the treasure . Here is an invitation to begin an exploration of the treasure fields of your own mind the most exciting and rewarding adventure you will ever take." from the Introduction

Here is an insider s look at a spectrum of mystical traditions by someone who is remarkably fluent in the language of each. Three Gates to Meditation Practicechronicles more than fifteen years in the spiritual journey of "post-denominational" Rabbi David A. Cooper and his wife Shoshana years that led the Coopers everywhere from a secluded mountain hut in New Mexico to the Sinai desert, from chanting Sufi dhikr and meditation with Buddhist masters to studying Kabbalah and esoteric Judaism in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Coopers story is an intimate account of what intensive spiritual practice is like, with an ultimate message that is supremely inspiring: The spiritual path is completely within our reach, whoever we are, whatever we do, as long as we are willing to try.

Rigid notions of masculinity are causing crisis in the global Islamic community. These are articulated from the Qur'an, its commentary, historical precedents and societal, religious and familial obligations. Some Muslims who don't agree with narrow constructs of manliness feel forced to consider themselves secular and therefore outside the religious community. In order to evaluate whether there really is only one valid, ideal Islamic masculinity, The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities explores key figures of the Qur'an and Indian-Pakistani Islamic history, and exposes the precariousness of tight constraints on Islamic manhood. By examining Qur'anic arguments and the strict social responsibilities advocated along with narrow Islamic masculinities, Amanullah De Sondy shows that God and women (to whom Muslim men relate but are different from) often act as foils for the construction of masculinity. He argues the constrainers of masculinity have used God and women to think with and to dominate through and that rigid gender roles are the product of a misguided enterprise: the highly personal relationship between humans and God does not lend itself to the organization of society, because that relationship cannot be typified and replicated. Discussions and debates surrounding Islamic masculinities are quickly finding their place in the study of Islam and Muslims, and The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities makes a vital contribution to this emerging field.

This book describes what Shiism means to those who actually practice it and serves as both an excellent introduction to the subject and an original work of scholarship.

The Prophetic traditions of Islam, which are commonly referred to as the hadiths (literally: reports ), preserve the sum and substance of the utterances, deeds, directives, and descriptive anecdotes connected with the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. Together with the Qur an, the hadiths provide the religion of Islam with its principal scriptural sources.

The collection features an accessible and informative introduction which presents an outline of the significance of the hadiths within the religious tradition while also reviewing classical scholarship devoted to the literature of the traditions; moreover, the introduction decisively sets into context the academic debates and arguments which are fleshed out in the articles selected. It also charts developments in the academic study of hadiths, summing up the current state of the field and features a detailed bibliography listing primary classical sources germane to the field of Prophetic traditions together with recent research monographs and articles devoted to the subject.

This Major Work provides an authoritative collection of the seminal research articles produced by western academic scholarship on the subject of the hadith over the past century, including recent papers on the subject. In bringing together the finest examples of scholarship devoted to the hadith and the classical literature that surrounds it, these volumes provide an indispensable reference resource for academics, research institutions, governmental organizations, and those with a general interest in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, Arabic Cultural Studies, and Middle East History.

The birth of Islam in the 7th century and its subsequent outward expansion from the Arab world has been one of the most influential occurrences in world history. During its first few decades, the new faith inspired conquests from Spain to northern India. In this illuminating study, the author tracks the rise of Islam from it 7th century beginnings with the life of the Prophet Muhammad to the collapse of the Islamic empire in the early 10th century. He demonstrates how a sophisticated, new religion and society emerged to become one of the world's most vital and sustained cultures. The opening chapter provides an outline of the history of early Islamic society over a period of roughly three centuries, from the early 7th to the early 10th centuries, concentrating on pre-Islamic Arab countries and the life of the Prophet. Subsequent chapters treat Arab-Islamic conquests; the early Islamic empire; and society and religion, particularly in the early Abbasid period (750-925 C.E.). The spread of urbanization throughout the early Islamic world is highlighted. Fifteen brief biographies of key figures such as Qur'an commentators, empire-building caliphs, scholars, and military leaders help to add a personal human element to the data, and 15 translated primary documents ranging from key Qur'annic passages to contemporary accounts of military campaigns bring the history to life. A glossary of terms, a timeline, and selected bibliography aid student research. The work is fully indexed.

The Islamic community in Southeast Asia is widely regarded as one of the most moderate and tolerant in the Muslim world. While most of the region's Muslims are Sunni and fairly orthodox, the Islamic faith as practised in the region has historically been a syncretic blend of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and folk religions. The syncretic roots of Southeast Asian Islam also underscores the pluralistic nature of Islam in the region today, where Muslims have generally lived peacefully in religiously mixed communities, even in areas where they constituted a large majority.

Alongside these pluralistic trends in Southeast Asian Islam are some alternative streams of social-political activism that threaten its traditionally inclusivist character. While most Southeast Asian Muslims are known for their moderation, there has historically been a very small but vocal minority who have been drawn to the more puritanical or extremist variants of the faith. In addition, there is a gradual but clearly discernible trend of conservatism among the general Muslim population, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, which has given rise to exclusivist attitudes towards non-Muslims.

The material gathered in Volume I of this new Routledge collection focuses on the historical, cultural, sociological, theological, and intellectual aspects of Islam in Southeast Asia. Volume II, meanwhile, assesses trends in Muslim politics in Southeast Asia, investigating the success and failure of political Islam in the Muslim-majority cases of Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as the Muslim-minority contexts of Thailand, Philippines, and Singapore.

Volume III identifies and analyses the primary actors and agents that are involved in the formation and development of a burgeoning pan-regional parallel civil society network bringing together religiously inspired Islamist NGOs, civil society actors and agencies, the media, professionals? associations, and political parties; the work collected here charts out a virtual map of the new Islamist activist geography of Southeast Asia. Finally, Volume IV examines the nexus between Islam, politics, and terrorism in the aftermath of the Bali bombings of 2002. It also interrogates the interaction between mainstream political Islam and more extremist fringes of the Islamic communities across the region, as well as domestic and international factors driving radicalism.

Fully indexed and with an introduction newly written by the editors that comprehensively places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, this new Routledge Major Work is an essential research and teaching resource.

In February 2018, the 'Independent Review on Sharia Law in England and Wales' was published headed by Professor Mona Siddiqui. The review focused on whether sharia law is being misused or applied in a way that is incompatible with the domestic law in England and Wales, and in particular whether there were discriminatory practices against women who use sharia councils. It came about after years of concerns raised by academics, lawyers and women's activists. This timely collection of essays from experts, scholars and legal practitioners provides a critique and evaluation of the Inquiry findings as a starting point for analysis and debate on current British Muslim family law practices in the matters of marriage and divorce. At the heart of the collection lie key questions of state action and legal reform of religious practices that may operate 'outside the sphere of law and legal relations' but also in conjunction with state law mechanisms and processes. This cutting-edge book is a must read for those with an interest in Islamic law, family law, sociology of religion, human rights, multiculturalism, politics, anthropology of law and gender studies.

Delivered From the Mouth of the Dragon: A Face To Face Encounter With Islamist Terrorism combines a critical analysis of Nigeria's nationality problem and a brutal personal account of how the author was placed under a fatwa for speaking out against Islamization. This well formed study argues that the precarious state of political affairs in Nigeria lay in a jihadist plan that has allowed the Boko Haram insurgency to emerge. The book also chronicles political repression against opponents of jihadism. It further underscores the vulnerability of the African political opposition class seeking asylum in Africa.

One of the great works of mystical religious literature, the Kimiya-i-Sa'adaat strove to bring man closer to understanding God by helping him understand himself. These excerpts from that work, by a strikingly original thinker on Islam who lived and wrote in the 11th century, were first published in 1910, and serve as a potent reminder of how powerful an influence Al-Ghazzali had upon religious philosophers of the Middle Ages, both Christian and Islamic. With its wise and warmly humanistic outlook, this little book may well foster a new measure of understanding in the current philosophical battle between the religious traditions of East and West. Also available from Cosimo Classics: Field's Shadows Cast Before and Jewish Legends of the Middle Ages. Iranian theologian AL-GHAZALI (1058-1111) was medieval Islam's most prominent scholar and philosopher. CLAUD FIELD is also author of Mystics and Saints of Islam, Heroes of Missionary Enterprise, and Persian Literature.

In this groundbreaking biography, Abdel Rahman Azzam narrates the life of Saladin, placing him in historical context against the backdrop of the 10th and 11th-century Sunni revival, a powerful sweeping intellectual renaissance that transformed every field of Islamic thought. Azzam contends that Saladin was not just the brilliant military commander of popular imagination but that his true greatness lay in his political and spiritual vision. He was an outsider whose life was filled with paradoxes. Famous for driving the crusaders out of Jerusalem, and for his bitter war of attrition with Richard the Lionheart, and fabled for his chivalry and generosity, he became the most powerful man in the Islamic empire, but died penniless, without enough money to line his coffin. This book tells his fascinating and complex story. The author covers Saladin's political rise, his consolidation of power in Egypt with the support of the advisers and military men that he relied on. Indeed one of the main aims of the biography is to introduce to the reader the men around Saladin and the vital religious, military, and administrative roles they played, thereby offering a three-dimensional quality to the man himself. In the early chapters of the biography, Azzam's aim is to peel away the myths surrounding Saladin and to set aside the legend so that the reader may gain a better understanding of the historical figure by placing him in his historical context. Subsequently the first two chapters focus more on the context of the Islamic world than on Saladin himself, setting it apart from other works on Saladin. The remaining chapters of the book deal with Saladin's victory at Hattin and the ensuing Third Crusade, and ending with his death in Damascus. In the final chapter the author gives an insightful assessment of Saladin, bringing the book full circle to the opening Prologue.

This book examines the works of Medieval Muslim philosophers interested in intercultural encounters and how receptive Islam is to foreign thought, to serve as a dialogical model, grounded in intercultural communications, for Islamic and Arabic education. The philosophers studied in this project were instructors, tutors, or teachers, such as Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, and Averroes, whose philosophical contributions directly or indirectly advanced intercultural learning. The book describes and provides examples of how each of these philosophers engaged with intercultural encounters, and asks how their philosophies can contribute to infusing intercultural ethics and practices into curriculum theorizing. First, it explores selected works of medieval Muslim philosophers from an intercultural perspective to formulate a dialogical paradigm that informs and enriches Muslim education. Second, it frames intercultural education as a catalyst to guide Muslim communities' interactions and identity construction, encouraging flexibility, tolerance, deliberation, and plurality. Third, it bridges the gap between medieval tradition and modern thought by promoting interdisciplinary connections and redrawing intercultural boundaries outside disciplinary limits. This study demonstrates that the dialogical domain that guides intercultural contact becomes a curriculum-oriented structure with Al-Kindi, a tripartite pedagogical model with Al-Farabi, a sojourner experience with Al-Ghazali, and a deliberative pedagogy of alternatives with Averroes. Therefore, the book speaks to readers interested in the potential of dialogue in education, intercultural communication, and Islamic thought research. Crucially bridging the gap between medieval tradition and modern thought by promoting interdisciplinary connections and redrawing intercultural boundaries outside disciplinary limits, it will speak to readers interested in the dialogue between education, intercultural communication, and Islamic thought. .

Islamic Psychology: The Basics is a jargon-free and accessible introduction that explores psychology from an Islamic perspective, and provides a foundation level overview of the fundamental principles and practices of Islamic psychology. The book introduces concepts, models, approaches, themes, and theories you need to know to study the mind, soul, and behaviour based on Islamic scripture. Offering an overview of Islamic psychology and what Islamic psychologists do, chapters address key topics including the history of the evolution of the science of the soul, and the psychology of human behaviour and experiences. Rassool examines the concepts of the Fitrah, the Nafs (Self), the Aql (Intellect), the Ruh (Soul) the Qalb (Heart), and the concept of Islamic healing and spiritual interventions. Other themes include the Qur'an and psychology, models and approaches in Islamic psychology, interpreting Islamic psychology for modern times, and the contemporary scope of the practice of Islamic psychology. Outlining the challenges and solutions of the development of Islamic psychology and potential future trends, and including features to aid learning, this is the ideal introductory book for students in Psychology, Islamic Psychology, and Islamic Studies, as well as professionals including counsellors and therapists, and anyone interested in psychology from an Islamic perspective. Dr. G.Hussein Rassool is a Professor of Islamic Psychology & Consultant at the Riphah Institute of Clinical and Professional Psychology/Centre for Islamic Psychology, Riphah International University.

The Islamic World is an outstanding guide to Islamic faith and culture in all its geographical and historical diversity. Written by a distinguished international team of scholars, it elucidates the history, philosophy and practice of one of the world's great religious traditions. Its grounding in contemporary scholarship makes it an ideal reference source for students and scholars alike.

Edited by Andrew Rippin, a leading scholar of Islam, the volume covers the political, geographical, religious, intellectual, cultural and social worlds of Islam, and offers insight into all aspects of Muslim life including the Qura (TM)an and law, philosophy, science and technology, art, literature, and film and much else. It explores the concept of an a ~Islamica (TM) world: what makes it distinctive and how uniform is that distinctiveness across Muslim geographical regions and through history?

For believers in a resurrection of the body, there arises the question of what happens after death but before the Last Day: the intermediate state. For most Muslims, the intermediate state is the barzakh. It is a fantastical and frightening time in the grave. The present study will examine where the belief in the barzakh comes from through a study of the Qur'an.

Reflecting the diversity of Islam, this collection focuses on the presence of Muslims in countries outside the traditionally conceived heartlands of the Islamic world. The history of the arrival of Islam in such countries and the nature of the way in which Islam is practised in such places is the thematic focus of the materials selected for inclusion. Today, the community of Muslims around the globe looks to the Arab world (and Iran) as a source of identity and authority. While this is driven as much by finances as by religious ideology, it does create a sense of there being a central Islamic world and a 'diaspora' which can be separated and considered. This separation may also be considered a historical phenomenon: the core 'Islamic world' came into existence as a result of the early military expansion of the Arabs up to about 750CE; after that point, the spread of Islam occurred by different and more gradual means (often influenced by trade especially). Both of these ways of conceptualizing the region of interest results is a vast amount of territory in which to explore the special manifestations of Islam. Materials selected for inclusion in this Major Work provide general information on Islam rather than being overly specific. A number of aspects are considered: * the history of the introduction of Islam into the area; * the means by which Islam spread; * the attitude Muslims took to the surrounding culture; * the character of the Islam which resulted; * the sense of Muslim identity in the area; and * the issues which might have emerged as a result. The gathered material is grouped geographically with an attempt to include as many individual countries as possible within each area, while also paying attention to each of the above criteria. An initial selection of articles on 'world Islam'-the process and means of the spread of Islam in general and some consideration of what it means to talk about the presence of Islam in the world and a survey of the general diversity of characteristics of Islam-serves as an introductory section to the volumes. Additional groupings are geographical and include South Asia; South East Asia; Australia and islands of the Pacific; China; countries of the former Soviet Union; South Africa; East Africa; West Africa; Europe; North America; Central and South America.

"Al-Ghazali on the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God" (al-Masad al-asna fi sharh asma'Allah al-husna) is based on the Prophet's teaching that `Ninety-nine Beautiful Names' are truly predicated of God. In this work, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali explores the meaning and resonance of each of these divine Names, and reveals the functions they perform both in the cosmos and in the soul of the spiritual adept. In addition, Ghazali explains how man's perfection and happiness consists in being moulded by the qualities of God. Although some of the book is rigorously analytical, the author never fails to attract the reader with his profound mystical and ethical insights, which has made this book one of the perennial classics of Muslim thought, popular among Muslims to this day.

Originally published in 1962, this volume is a historical summary which describes the main events in the rise and evolution of this world religion and indicates its significance for present-day relations between the faiths.

Originally published in 1964, this volume gathers together extracts from many of Arberry's best-known works and supplements them with a selection of previously unpublished translations. The material therefore presents a vivid picture of the richness and variety of Islamic civilization from its origins to the late twentieth century.