Sufism through the eyes of a legal scholar In The Requirements of the Sufi Path, the renowned North African historian and jurist Ibn Khaldun applies his analytical powers to Sufism, which he deems a bona fide form of Islamic piety. Ibn Khaldun is widely known for his groundbreaking work as a sociologist and historian, in particular for the Muqaddimah, the introduction to his massive universal history. In The Requirements of the Sufi Path, he writes from the perspective of an Islamic jurist and legal scholar. He characterizes Sufism and the stages along the Sufi path and takes up the the question of the need for a guide along that path. In doing so, he relies on the works of influential Sufi scholars, including al-Qushayri, al-Ghazali, and Ibn al-Khatib. Even as Ibn Khaldun warns of the extremes to which some Sufis go-including practicing magic-his work is essentially a legal opinion, a fatwa, asserting the inherent validity of the Sufi path. The Requirements of the Sufi Path incorporates the wisdom of three of Sufism's greatest voices as well as Ibn Khaldun's own insights, acquired through his intellectual encounters with Sufism and his broad legal expertise. All this he brings to bear on the debate over Sufi practices in a remarkable work of synthesis and analysis. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Friedrich von Hugel's Mystical Element of Religion remains the authoritative study of the spirituality of Catherine of Genoa. First published in 1908, this seminal work develops the authoris major theory of the three basic elements of religion, institutional, intellectual and mystical. Von Hugel shows how Catherineis mysticism relates to her life and thought, making his comprehensive and masterly two-volume analysis a classic in the study of Western mysticism.

Friedrich von Hugel's Mystical Element of Religion remains the authoritative study of the spirituality of Catherine of Genoa. First published in 1908, this seminal work develops the authoris major theory of the three basic elements of religion, institutional, intellectual and mystical. Von Hugel shows how Catherineis mysticism relates to her life and thought, making his comprehensive and masterly two-volume analysis a classic in the study of Western mysticism.

Studying the history of the notion of the 'Perfect Human' (al-insan al-kamil), this book investigates a key idea in the history of Sufism. First discussed by Ibn 'Arabi and later treated in greater depth by al-Jili, the idea left its mark on later Islamic mystical, metaphysical, and political thought, from North Africa to Southeast Asia, up until modern times. The research tells the story of the development of that idea from Ibn 'Arabi to al-Jili and beyond. It does so through a thematic study, based on close reading of primary sources in Arabic and Persian, of the key elements of the idea, including the idea that the Perfect Human is a locus of divine manifestation (mazhar), the concept of the 'Pole' (qutb) and the 'Muhammadan Reality' (al-haqiqah al-Muhammadiyyah), and the identity of the Perfect Human. By setting the work of al-Jili against the background of earlier Ibn 'Arabian treatments of the idea, it demonstrates that al-Jili took the idea of the Perfect Human in several new directions, with major consequences for how the Prophet Muhammad - the archetypal Perfect Human - was viewed in later Islamic thought. Introducing readers to the key Sufi idea of the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil), this volume will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Sufism, Islam, religion and philosophy.

This monograph explores the original literary produce of Muslim mystics during the eighth-tenth centuries, with special attention to ninth-century mystics, such as al-Tustari, al-Muhasibi, al-Kharraz, al-Junayd and, in particular, al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi. Unlike other studies dealing with the so-called 'Formative Period', this book focuses on the extant writings of early mystics rather than on the later Sufi compilations. These early mystics articulated what would become a hallmark of Islamic mysticism: a system built around the psychological tension between the self (nafs) and the heart (qalb) and how to overcome it. Through their writings, already at this early phase, the versatility, fluidity and maturity of Islamic mysticism become apparent. This exploration thus reveals that mysticism in Islam emerged earlier than customarily acknowledged, long before Islamic mysticism became generically known as Sufism. The central figure of this book is al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, whose teaching and inner world focus on themes such as polarity, the training of the self, the opening of the heart, the Friends of God (al-awliya'), dreams and visions, divine language, mystical exegesis and more. This book thus offers a fuller picture than hitherto presented of the versatility of themes, processes, images, practices, terminology and thought models during this early period. The volume will be a key resource for scholars and students interested in the study of religion, Sufi studies, Late Antiquity and Medieval Islam.

What if you had been given a miracle and didn't know it? As part of their own spiritual quest, miracle experts, Katie Mahon and Joan Luise Hill, discovered that when we are truly awake and present, miracles abound. It started by sharing their own stories which quickly prompted an unexpected outpouring of stories from others. Stories that had never been told, stories that didn't seem to matter, and stories that had been forgotten. While some defy explanation, others invite us to take a closer look, to discover common ground with each other, and to seek meaning in a whole new way. The stories of courage, forgiveness, gratitude, faith, hope, and love from The Miracle Collectors, allow us to notice and appreciate the miracles that are available to each one of us, while opening us up to a part of the Divine mystery we can absorb and understand. By using Take a Miracle Moment challenge at the end of every chapter you open the path for your own reawakening of the spirit. Perhaps you too will become a miracle collector.

Until now, few primary texts on the Kabbalah have been available in English. Under the auspices of the Bronfman Library of Jewish Classics, this historic publicatin of Gates of Light allows readers to enter the hidden world of the Kabbalah and its profound and beautiful Biblical interpretation. This central text of Jewish mysticism was written in thirteenth-century Spain, where Kabbalah flourished. Considered to be the most articulate work on the mystical Kabbalah, Gates of Light provides a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the Names of God and their mystical applications. The Kabbalah presents a unique strategy for intimacy with the Creator and new insights into the Hebrew scriptures. In the Kabbalah, aspects of God emanate from the hierarchy of Ten Spheres interconnected by channels that may be disrupted or repaired through human activity.

Martin Lings provides an excellent and authoritative introduction to the mystical movement of the Sufis based on his lifelong interest in Islamic culture. His explanation derives from a profound understanding of Sufism, and extends to many aspects which are usually neglected. His illuminating answer to 'What is Sufism?' gives a taste of the very subject matter itself. What do Sufis believe? What do they aim at? What do they do? Unlike other writers on the subject, Martin Lings treats all the three questions with equal justice. He is thus able to give a wealth of answers to the main question 'What is Sufism?', each answer being from a different angle but all going to the root of the matter. A reviewer wrote 'Should the book appear in paperback, I would use it for undergraduate and graduate courses on Islamic civilization', and in fact 'What is Sufism?' has become a set book in colleges and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. It is now accepted as the authoritative statement on the subject of Sufism and it has been translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish. It has also been published in Sarajevo in Bosnian, and is available in Braille.

What is Sufism? Contemporary views vary tremendously, even among Sufis themselves. Contemporary Sufism: Piety, Politics, and Popular Culture brings to light the religious frameworks that shape the views of Sufism's friends, adversaries, admirers, and detractors and, in the process, helps readers better understand the diversity of contemporary Sufism, the pressures and cultural openings to which it responds, and the many divergent opinions about contemporary Sufism's relationship to Islam. The three main themes: piety, politics, and popular culture are explored in relation to the Islamic and Western contexts that shape them, as well as to the historical conditions that frame contemporary debates. This book is split into three parts: * Sufism and anti-Sufism in contemporary contexts; * Contemporary Sufism in the West: Poetic influences and popular manifestations; * Gendering Sufism: Tradition and transformation. This book will fascinate anyone interested in the challenges of contemporary Sufism as well as its relationship to Islam, gender, and the West. It offers an ideal starting point from which undergraduate and postgraduate students, teachers and lecturers can explore Sufism today.

A groundbreaking exposition of Islamic mysticism The Essence of Reality was written over the course of just three days in 514/1120, by a scholar who was just twenty-four. The text, like its author 'Ayn al-Qudat, is remarkable for many reasons, not least of which that it is in all likelihood the earliest philosophical exposition of mysticism in the Islamic intellectual tradition. This important work would go on to exert significant influence on both classical Islamic philosophy and philosophical mysticism. Written in a terse yet beautiful style, The Essence of Reality consists of one hundred brief chapters interspersed with Qur'anic verses, prophetic sayings, Sufi maxims, and poetry. In conversation with the work of the philosophers Avicenna and al-Ghazali, the book takes readers on a philosophical journey, with lucid expositions of questions including the problem of the eternity of the world; the nature of God's essence and attributes; the concepts of "before" and "after"; and the soul's relationship to the body. All these discussions are seamlessly tied into 'Ayn al-Qudat's foundational argument-that mystical knowledge lies beyond the realm of the intellect. A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Major Philosophers of Jewish Prayer in the Twentieth Century addresses the troubling questions posed by the modern Jewish worshiper, including such obstacles to prayer as the inability to concentrate on the words and meanings of formal liturgy, the paucity of emotional involvement, the lack of theological conviction, the anthropomorphic and particularly the masculine emphasis of prayer nomenclature, and other matters. In assessing these difficultites, Cohen brings to the reader the writings on prayer of some seminal 20th century Jewish theologians. These include Herman Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Avraham Yitzhak, Hoakohen Kook, Mordecai M. Kaplan, R. Arele, Aaron Rote, Elie Munk, Abraham J. Heschel, Jakob J. Petuchowski, Eugene B. Borowitz, and Lawrence A. Hoffman.

"Mysticism After Modernity" offers a truly postmodern interpretation of the great mystics and their writing, thus appealing to readers across a wide range of disciplines.

Don Cuppitt argues that extensive modern literature about mysticism has rested on a mistake-the belief that their can be meaningful experience prior to language. The mystics have been perceived as first having had profound experiences that they then put into words.

However, in postmodern thought experience doesnot give meaning to language; on the contrary, language gives meaning to experience. And when the mystics are seen as having been primarily writers, our understanding of them is revolutionized.

In The Glance of the Medusa, Laszo F. Foeldenyi offers a mesmerizing examination of the rich history of European culture through the lens of mythology and philosophy. Embracing the best traditions of essay writing, this volume invites readers on a spiritual and intellectual adventure. The seven essays bear testimony to Foeldenyi's encyclopedic knowledge and ask whether it is possible to overcome our fear of passing away. In doing so, they illuminate moments of mystical experience viewed in a historical perspective while inviting readers to engage with such moments in the present by immersing themselves into the process of reading and thinking. Rather than providing firm answers to burning questions, The Glance of the Medusa highlights the limits of definition, conjuring up situations in which Man partakes of unutterable experiences-such as passion, pleasure, fear, poetry, or disgust-suggesting that moments of ecstasy cannot be pinned down or captured, only drawn a little closer.