A pathbreaking history of Sufism, from the earliest centuries of Islam to the present After centuries as the most important ascetic-mystical strand of Islam, Sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth century, only to experience a stunning revival in recent decades. In this comprehensive new history of Sufism from the earliest centuries of Islam to today, Alexander Knysh, a leading expert on the subject, reveals the tradition in all its richness. Knysh explores how Sufism has been viewed by both insiders and outsiders since its inception. He examines the key aspects of Sufism, from definitions and discourses to leadership, institutions, and practices. He devotes special attention to Sufi approaches to the Qur'an, drawing parallels with similar uses of scripture in Judaism and Christianity. He traces how Sufism grew from a set of simple moral-ethical precepts into a sophisticated tradition with professional Sufi masters (shaykhs) who became powerful players in Muslim public life but whose authority was challenged by those advocating the equality of all Muslims before God. Knysh also examines the roots of the ongoing conflict between the Sufis and their fundamentalist critics, the Salafis-a major fact of Muslim life today. Based on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Sufism is an indispensable account of a vital aspect of Islam.

Recorded talks and sayings by Inayat Khan in their unedited and most authentic version.

'You don't seek guidance from those drunken men, So why insist they mend their rags again? God's lovers stand beyond all faiths, as they Are shown by God Himself a higher way.' Book Two of Rumi's Masnavi is concerned with the challenges facing the seeker of Sufi enlightenment. In particular it focuses on the struggle against the self, and how to choose the right companions in order to progress along the mystical path. By interweaving amusing stories and profound homilies, Rumi instructs his followers in a style that still speaks directly to us. In this volume, stories such as 'Moses and the Shepherd', 'The Foolhardy Man who Trusted a Bear's Good Intentions' and 'Mo'awiya and Satan' are among the most popular in the entire Masnavi. The most influential Sufi poem ever written, the six books of the Masnavi are often called 'the Qur'an in Persian'. Self-contained, as well as continuing the journey along the spiritual path, Book Two is here translated into rhyming couplets in the style of Jawid Mojaddedi's prize-winning translation of Book One. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Benjamin Pollock argues that Franz Rosenzweig s The Star of Redemption is devoted to a singularly ambitious philosophical task: grasping the All the whole of what is in the form of a system. In asserting Rosenzweig s abiding commitment to a systematic conception of philosophy often identified with German Idealism, this book breaks rank with the assumptions about Rosenzweig s thought that have dominated the scholarship of the last decades. Indeed, the Star s importance is often claimed to lie precisely in the way it opposes philosophy s traditional drive for systematic knowledge and upholds instead a new thinking attentive to the existential concerns, the alterity, and even the revelatory dimension of concrete human life. Pollock shows that these very innovations in Rosenzweig s thought are in fact to be understood as part and parcel of The Star s systematic program. But this is only the case, Pollock claims, because Rosenzweig approaches philosophy s traditional task of system in a radically original manner. For the Star not only seeks to guide its readers on the path toward knowing the All of which all beings are a part; it at once directs them toward realizing the redemptive unity of that very All through the actions, decisions, and relations of concrete human life."

Kabbalah teaches that people have the power to fashion their own fate, but activating and using this power requires genuine understanding of self, desire, and purpose. Helping seekers find that wisdom is the purpose of this book. Kabbalah offers the oldest application of astronomy and astrology known to humankind, and" Kabbalistic Astrology demonstrates that probing the planets and studying the stars, which is based in science, can help people satisfy their deepest needs and the needs of others. More than merely a collection of horoscopes, this book explains how Kabbalah -- unlike conventional astrology, which insists that everything is determined by the heavens -- teaches that each person is born at the precise instant best suited to his or her special needs. In clear, compelling language, Rav Berg brings to modern readers Kabbalah's message of multiple futures -- with specific practices and strategies for finding the best of them.

According to Jewish mysticism, the souls of a husband and wife originate in the same undifferentiated spiritual essence. These souls are bound as one, and the purpose of marriage is to enable a couple to manifest this unity in the context of everyday life.

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh shows how the natural process of mating of establishing a healthy relationship, fostering togetherness, and ultimately merging into true oneness--is a spiritual act of the highest order.

Drawing on modern psychology and Kabbalistic wisdom, with many illustrations from Biblical personalities, the author traces the steps through which today's married couple can actualize their relationship ideals in their daily life.

Includes glossary, footnotes, and index.

This book presents a new paradigm for distinguishing psychotic and mystical religious experiences. In order to explore how Presbyterian pastors differentiate such events, Susan L. DeHoff draws from Reformed theology, psychological theory, and robust qualitative research. Following a conversation among multidisciplinary voices, she presents a new paradigm considering the similarities, differences, and possible overlap of psychotic and mystical religious experiences.

In "Together Forever", Michael Laitman tells us that if we are patient and endure the trials we encounter along our life's path, we will become stronger, braver, and wiser. Instead of growing weaker, we will learn to create our own magic and our own wonders as only a magician can. In this warm, tender tale, the author shares with children and parents alike some of the gems and charms of the spiritual world.The storyline introduces a kind magician who wishes to have a friend, and to teach his friend all the magic that he knows. He creates all kinds of objects and animals, but his best friend and student is the man that he creates. The story describes how the magician teaches the man to be like him - a great and kind magician - and explains that every one of us can become like the magician, if it is our wish. The wisdom of Kabbalah is filled with spellbinding stories. "Together Forever" is yet another gift from this ageless source of wisdom, whose lessons make our lives richer, easier, and far more fulfilling.

More than two decades have passed since Chicago published the first volume of this groundbreaking work in the Religion and Postmodernism series. It quickly became influential across a wide range of disciplines and helped to make the tools of poststructuralist thought available to religious studies and theology, especially in the areas of late medieval and early modern mysticism. Though the second volume remained in fragments at the time of his death, Michel de Certeau had the foresight to leave his literary executor detailed instructions for its completion, which formed the basis for the present work. Together, both volumes solidify Certeau's place as a touchstone of twentieth-century literature and philosophy, and continue his exploration of the paradoxes of historiography; the construction of social reality through practice, testimony, and belief; the theorization of speech in angelology and glossolalia; and the interplay of prose and poetry in discourses of the ineffable. This book will be of vital interest to scholars in religious studies, theology, philosophy, history, and literature.

This book is an in-depth, comparative study of two of the most popular and influential intellectual and spiritual traditions of West Africa: Tijani Sufism and Ifa. Employing a unique methodological approach that thinks with and from-rather than merely about-these traditions, Oludamini Ogunnaike argues that they contain sophisticated epistemologies that provide practitioners with a comprehensive worldview and a way of crafting a meaningful life. Using theories belonging to the traditions themselves as well as contemporary oral and textual sources, Ogunnaike examines how both Sufism and Ifa answer the questions of what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and how it is verified. Or, more simply: What do you know? How did you come to know it? How do you know that you know? After analyzing Ifa and Sufism separately and on their own terms, the book compares them to each other and to certain features of academic theories of knowledge. By analyzing Sufism from the perspective of Ifa, Ifa from the perspective of Sufism, and the contemporary academy from the perspective of both, this book invites scholars to inhabit these seemingly "foreign" intellectual traditions as valid and viable perspectives on knowledge, metaphysics, psychology, and ritual practice. Unprecedented and innovative, Deep Knowledge makes a significant contribution to cross-cultural philosophy, African philosophy, religious studies, and Islamic studies. Its singular approach advances our understanding of the philosophical bases underlying these two African traditions and lays the groundwork for future study.

Since their beginnings in the ninth century, the shrines, brotherhoods and doctrines of the Sufis held vast influence in almost every corner of the Muslim world. Offering the first truly global account of the history of Sufism, this illuminating book traces the gradual spread and influence of Sufi Islam through the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and ultimately into Europe and the United States. * An ideal introduction to Sufism, requiring no background knowledge of Islamic history or thought * Offers the first history of Sufism as a global phenomenon, exploring its movement and adaptation from the Middle East, through Asia and Africa, to Europe and the United States of America * Covers the entire historical period of Sufism, from its ninth century origins to the end of the twentieth century * Devotes equal coverage to the political, cultural, and social dimensions of Sufism as it does to its theology and ritual * Dismantles the stereotypes of Sufis as otherworldly 'mystics', by anchoring Sufi Muslims in the real lives of their communities * Features the most up-to-date research on Sufism available

Rabi'a, a female Sufi saint, was born in 717 CE and released from slavery to lead a life in pursuit of purity and perfect union with God. Her teachings and the numerous miracles attributed to her have made her an influential and revered figure in Sufi theology. This authoritative 1928 biography of the saint was written by Margaret Smith, who mastered numerous eastern languages, travelled extensively, and published a number of translations of important Arabic texts. Smith's linguistic skill and her immersion in the culture she studied has produced a book still considered an important account of Rabi'a's life. Smith also includes an incisive discussion of the role of women in early Islamic mysticism and an examination of Sufi doctrine, and examines the issues of celibacy and sainthood in Islam. A biography of one exceptional woman written by another.

Ibn 'Ajiba (1747-1809) was a Moroccan Sufi of the Darqawi school who studied in Fez and lived all his life in and around Tetuan. Although still relatively unknown in the English-speaking world, his writings are important for an understanding of Maghribi Sufism. In this bi-lingual edition, with a Preface by Claude Addas and a Foreword by Hamza Yusuf, Jean-Louis Michon presents two short metaphysical treatises by Ibn 'Ajiba which shed new light on the history of Sufism and show its vitality as a living tradition in eighteenth-century Morocco. The key idea underlying both treatises, the Oneness of Existence, reveals the enduring influence of the Ibn Arabi, more than five centuries after his death. Students of Islam in North Africa, those interested in the Sufi tradition and spiritual seekers will welcome the publication of these treatises and the useful presentation of both Arabic text and English translation on facing pages.

The Armenian-born mystic, philosopher, and spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff (c.1866-1949) is an enigmatic figure, the subject of a great deal of interest and speculation, but not easily fitting into any of the common categories of "esoteric," "occult," or "New Age." Scholars have for the most part passed over in silence the contemplative exercises presented in Gurdjieff's writings. Although Gurdjieff had intended them to be confidential, some of the most important exercises were published posthumously in 1950 and in 1975. Arguing that an understanding of these exercises is necessary to fully appreciate Gurdjieff's contribution to modern esotericism, Joseph Azize offers the first complete study of the exercises and their theoretical foundation. It shows the continuity in Gurdjieff's teaching, but also the development and change. His original contribution to Western Esotericism lay in his use of tasks, disciplines, and contemplation-like exercises to bring his pupils to a sense of their own presence which could to some extent be maintained in daily life in the social domain, and not only in the secluded conditions typical of meditation. Azize contends that Gurdjieff had initially intended not to use contemplation-like exercises, as he perceived dangers to be associated with these monastic methods, and the religious tradition to be in tension with the secular and supra-denominational guise in which he first couched his teaching. As Gurdjieff adapted the teaching he had found in Eastern monasteries to Western urban and post-religious culture, however, he found it necessary to introduce contemplation.

This book tells the story of the mystical Jewish system known as Kabbalah, from its earliest origins until the present day. We trace Kabbalah's development, from the second century visionaries who visited the divine realms and brought back tales of their glories and splendours, through the unexpected arrival of a book in Spain that appeared to have lain unconcealed for over a thousand years, and on to the mystical city of Safed where souls could be read and the history of heaven was an open book.

Kabbalah's Christian counterpart, Cabala, emerged during the Renaissance, becoming allied to magic, alchemy and the occult sciences. A Kabbalistic heresy tore apart seventeenth century Jewish communities, while closer to our time Aleister Crowley hijacked it to proclaim 'Do What Thou Wilt'. Kabbalah became fashionable in the late 1960s in the wake of the hippy counter-culture and with the approach of the new age, and enjoyed its share of fame, scandal and disrepute as the twenty first century approached.

This concise, readable and thoughtful history of Kabbalah tells its story as it has never been told before. It demands no knowledge of Kabbalah, just an interest in asking the questions 'why?' and 'how?'