In this significant work, eminent Kabbalist Rav Berg explains how it's possible to simply and easily tame the chaos in life with the tools found in the wisdom of Kabbalah. According to Rav Berg, chaos is not random but the result of an incomplete understanding of one's own personal power and the spiritual systems that can energize life. Only by becoming fully conscious can the human mind bring lasting order out of chaos. Here readers discover a millennia-old methodology that provides access to a bank account of positive energy. Designed to help people keep chaos out of their life, even when it seems to be all around them, a copy of this book belongs on every shelf.

The Sufi thinker 'Abd al-Karim al-Jili (d. 1408) is best-known for his treatment of the idea of the Perfect Human, yet his masterpiece, al-Insan al-kamil (The Perfect Human), is in fact a wide-ranging compendium of Sufi metaphysical thought in the Ibn 'Arabian tradition. One of the major topics treated in that work is sacred history, the story of God's revelation of the truth to humanity through His prophets and scriptures. Fitzroy Morrissey provides here the first in-depth study of this important section of al-Jili's major work and the key ideas contained within it. Through a translation and analysis of the key passages on the Qur'an, Torah, Psalms and Gospel, it shows how al-Jili's view of sacred history is conditioned by his Ibn 'Arabian Sufi metaphysics, whereby the phenomenal world is viewed as a manifestation of God, and the prophets and scriptures as special places where the divine attributes appear more completely. It also looks at how this idea influences al-Jili's understanding of the hierarchy of prophets, scriptures and religions. The book argues that, contrary to common assumptions, al-Jili's Sufi metaphysical view of sacred history is in keeping with the common medieval Muslim view of sacred history, whereby the Qur'an is viewed as the best of scriptures, Muhammad as the best of prophets, and Islam as the best religion. The book therefore not only gives an insight into a key text within medieval Sufi thought, but also has ramifications for our understanding of medieval Sufi views on the relationship between Islam and other religions.

This is a general survey of the rise and development of Islamic mysticism (Sufism) up to the modern period, which takes into account the latest achievements of scholarship on the subject. Sufism is examined from a variety of perspectives: as a vibrant social institution, a specific form of artistic expression, an ascetic and contemplative practice, and a distinctive intellectual tradition. Islamic Mysticism by Knysh is a comprehensive survey of the interesting and fascinating world of Islamic Mysticism.

The articles collected in Scholar and Kabbalist: The Life and Work of Gershom Scholem present diverse biographical aspects and the scholarly oeuvre of arguably the most influential Jewish-Israeli intellectual of the 20th century. Immigrating to Palestine in 1923, Gershom Scholem became one of the founders of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was the first to establish Jewish Mysticism as a scholarly discipline. The articles collected here reflect the diversity of Scholem's intellectual scope including his contribution to Jewish Studies as a scholar of Kabbalah, religion and history, as a bibliophile, and an expert librarian of Judaica. Central aspects of Scholem's impact on Jewish historiography, literature and art in Israel, Europe and the US, are presented to the reader for the first time.

Christopher Melchert proposes to historicize Islamic renunciant piety (zuhd). As the conquest period wound down in the early eighth century c.e., renunciants set out to maintain the contempt of worldly comfort and loyalty to a greater cause that had characterized the community of Muslims in the seventh century. Instead of reckless endangerment on the battlefield, they cultivated intense fear of the Last Judgement to come. They spent nights weeping, reciting the Qur'an, and performing supererogatory ritual prayers. They stressed other-worldliness to the extent of minimizing good works in this world. Then the decline of tribute from the conquered peoples and conversion to Islam made it increasingly unfeasible for most Muslims to keep up any such regime. Professional differentiation also provoked increasing criticism of austerity. Finally, in the later ninth century, a form of Sufism emerged that would accommodate those willing and able to spend most of their time on religious devotions, those willing and able to spend their time on other religious pursuits such as law and hadith, and those unwilling or unable to do either.

Sufism is the subject of intensive discussion and debate. Yet, it is also true that the study of contemporary Sufism has been overlooked by the fields of Middle Eastern, Islamic and religious studies. The networks, political agendas, development of new rituals and the organisation of Sufism, especially in the West, have not been studied comprehensively enough, despite growing interest in Islamic mysticism. This book sets out to fill the gap.It is not only timely, in that it offers the first sustained treatment of Sufism in the context of modern Muslim communities; but it is also innovative, in that it broadens the purview of the study of Sufism to look at the subject right across international boundaries, from Canada to Brazil, and from Denmark to the UK and USA. Subjects discussed include: the politics of Sufism; the remaking of Turkish Sufism; tradition and cultural creativity among Syrian Sufi communities; the globalization of Sufi networks, and their transplantation in America; Iranian Sufism in London; and Naqshbandi Sufism in Sweden.The practice of Sufism has become especially important for young people - particularly young women - to find an adequate framework within which to explore Muslim spirituality in dialogue with modernity. And in its thorough examination of how Sufi rituals, traditions and theologies have been adapted by late-modern religiosity, this volume will make indispensable reading for all scholars and students of modern Islam.Sufism is fashionable, important and sellable. Contemporary Sufism has been neglected in the literature - until now. This title is unique in its international scope and comprehensive treatment of modern western Sufi communities.