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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Worship
Angels are a basic tenet of belief in Islam, appearing in various
types and genres of text, from eschatology to law and theology to
devotional material. This book presents the first comprehensive
study of angels in Islam, through an analysis of a collection of
traditions (hadith) compiled by the 15th century polymath Jalal
al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505). With a focus on the principal
angels in Islam, the author provides an analysis and critical
translation of hadith included in al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar
al-mala'ik ('The Arrangement of the Traditions about Angels') -
many of which are translated into English for the first time. The
book discusses the issues that the hadith raise, exploring why
angels are named in particular ways; how angels are described and
portrayed in the hadith; the ways in which angels interact with
humans; and the theological controversies which feature angels.
From this it is possible to place al-Suyuti's collection in its
religious and historical milieu, building on the study of angels in
Judaism and Christianity to explore aspects of comparative
religious beliefs about angels as well as relating Muslim beliefs
about angels to wider debates in Islamic Studies. Broadening the
study of Islamic angelology and providing a significant amount of
newly translated primary source material, this book will be of
great interest to scholars of Islam, divinity, and comparative
religion.
In spite of Islam's long history in Europe and the growing number
of Muslims resident in Europe, little research exists on Muslim
pilgrimage in Europe. This collection of eleven chapters is the
first systematic attempt to fill this lacuna in an emerging
research field. Placing the pilgrims' practices and experiences
centre stage, scholars from history, anthropology, religious
studies, sociology, and art history examine historical and
contemporary hajj and non-hajj pilgrimage to sites outside and
within Europe. Sources include online travelogues, ethnographic
data, biographic information, and material and performative
culture. The interlocutors are European-born Muslims, converts to
Islam, and Muslim migrants to Europe, in addition to people who
identify themselves with other faiths. Most interlocutors reside in
Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Great
Britain, and Norway. This book identifies four courses of
developments: Muslims resident in Europe continue to travel to
Mecca and Medina, and to visit shrine sites located elsewhere in
the Middle East and North Africa. Secondly, there is a revival of
pilgrimage to old pilgrimage sites in South-eastern Europe.
Thirdly, new Muslim pilgrimage sites and practices are being
established in Western Europe. Fourthly, Muslims visit
long-established Christian pilgrimage sites in Europe. These
practices point to processes of continuity, revitalization, and
innovation in the practice of Muslim pilgrimage in Europe. Linked
to changing sectarian, political, and economic circumstances,
pilgrimage sites are dynamic places of intra-religious as well as
inter-religious conflict and collaboration, while pilgrimage
experiences in multiple ways also transform the individual and
affect the home-community.
"Al-Ghazali on Conduct in Travel" is a translation of the
seventeenth book of the "Revival of the Religious Sciences" (Ihya
Ulum al-Din), which is widely regarded as the greatest work of
Muslim spirituality. In "Al-Ghazali on Conduct in Travel", Abu
Hamid al-Ghazali uncovers, as elsewhere in the "Revival", the
mystical and religious dimension of one of humanity's most basic
needs: in this instance, travel.---In Chapter One, Ghazali begins
by providing the reader with the four reasons for travel, which
include for the quest for knowledge and to flee from harm and
danger. The advantages gained from travelling are also described by
Ghazali-for example, the disciplining of the soul through exposure
to the harsh conditions of travel as well as the acquisition of
virtue and self-knowledge. Ghazali then explains what the seven
proper conducts of travels-both outward conduct and inward
conduct-consist of. In Chapter Two, Ghazali provides a practical
chapter on the use of religious concessions while travelling, and
concludes with a final chapter on how the traveller is to establish
the proper direction and times for prayer. "Al-Ghazali on Conduct
in Travel" will be of interest to all those wishing to explore the
disciplining qualities of everyday activities applied here to the
spiritual dimension of travelling.---In this new edition, the
Islamic Texts Society has included the translation of Abu Hamid
al-Ghazali's own Introduction to the "Revival of the Religious
Sciences" which gives the reasons that caused him to write the
work, the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of
the chapters in the context of the others.
In this exquisite little volume, acclaimed healer Joan Borysenko
offers a unique, organic means of drawing personal strength and
spiritual succor from the wondrous cycles of nature. Drawing on the
ancient wisdom at the core of the world's religions, the guidance
of the four great Archangels that stand at the gates of the
Medicine Wheel, and her own deep mystical experience, she has
divided the book into twelve inspiring monthly sections. Each
reflects such emotionally significant themes as Forgiveness,
Rebirth in Love, and Spiritual Healing. And each provides daily
meditations, prayers, and affirmations that help you let go of fear
and realize the light of peace and compassion that dwells
throughout the universe... and within your own heart.
Salvific space is one of the central ideas in the Hindu traditions
of pilgrimage, and concerns the ability of space, especially sites
associated with bodies of water such as rivers and lakes, to grant
salvific rewards. Focusing on religious, historical and
sociological questions about the phenomenon, this book investigates
the narratives, rituals, history and structures of salvific space,
and looks at how it became a central feature of Hinduism. Arguing
that salvific power of place became a major dimension of Hinduism
through a development in several stages, the book analyses the
historical process of how salvific space and pilgrimage in the
Hindu tradition developed. It discusses how the traditions of
salvific space exemplify the decentred polycentrism that defines
Hinduism. The book uses original data from field research, as well
as drawing on main textual sources such as Mahabharata, the
Puranas, the medieval digests on pilgrimage places (tirthas), and a
number of Sthalapuranas and Mahatmyas praising the salvific power
of the place. By looking at some of the contradictions in and
challenges to the tradition of Hindu salvific space in history and
in contemporary India, the book is a useful study on Hinduism and
South Asian Studies.
Readings for Weddings is an inspirational collection of Bible
quotations, poems, hymns and prose for secular weddings, church
ceremonies and services of blessing. Mark Oakley includes such
'wedding classics' as 1 Corinthians 13 and Khalil Gibran's The
Prophet, the poetry of Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
verse by Wendy Cope and other witty, contemporary poets.
Walking is an essentially human activity. From a basic means of
transport and opportunity for leisure through to being a religious
act, walking has served as a significant philosophical, literary
and historical subject. Thoreau's 1851 lecture on Walking or the
Romantic walks of the Wordsworths at Grasmere in the early 19th
Century, for example, helped create a philosophical foundation for
the importance of the act of walking as an act of engagement with
nature. Similarly, and sometimes inseparable from secular
appreciation, pilgrimage trails provide opportunities for finding
self and others in the travails of the walk. More recently, walking
has been embraced as a means of encouraging greater health and
well-being, community improvement and more sustainable means of
travel. Yet despite the significance of the subject of walking
there is as yet no integrated treatment of the subject in the
social science literature. This handbook therefore brings together
a number of the main themes on the study of walking from different
disciplines and literatures into a single volume that can be
accessed from across the social sciences. It is divided into five
main sections: culture, society and historical context; social
practices, perceptions and behaviours; hiking trails and pilgrimage
routes; health, well-being and psychology; and method, planning and
design. Each of these highlights current approaches and major
themes in research on walking in a range of different environments.
This handbook carves out a unique niche in the study of walking.
The international and cross-disciplinary nature of the
contributions of the book are expected to be of interest to
numerous academic fields in the social and health sciences, as well
as to urban and regional planners and those in charge of the
management of outdoor recreation and tourism globally.
The Kanwar is India's largest annual religious pilgrimage. Millions
of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it
across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Siva shrines.
These devotees-called bhola, gullible or fools, and seen as
miscreants by many Indians-are mostly young, destitute men, who
have been left behind in the globalizing economy. But for these
young men, the ordeal of the pilgrimage is no foolish pursuit, but
a means to master their anxieties and attest their good faith in
unfavorable social conditions. Vikash Singh walked with the
pilgrims of the Kanwar procession, and with this book, he
highlights how the procession offers a social space where
participants can prove their talents, resolve, and moral worth.
Working across social theory, phenomenology, Indian metaphysics,
and psychoanalysis, Singh shows that the pilgrimage provides a
place in which participants can simultaneously recreate and prepare
for the poor, informal economy and inevitable social uncertainties.
In identifying with Siva, who is both Master of the World and yet a
pathetic drunkard, participants demonstrate their own sovereignty
and desirability despite their stigmatized status. Uprising of the
Fools shows how religion today is not a retreat into tradition, but
an alternative forum for recognition and resistance within a
rampant global neoliberalism.
Heartfelt reflections to comfort new moms during the first three
months with baby. The first three months with your baby are filled
with lots of feelings and life changes. This book of inspirational
quotes and original artwork gently guides you through your fourth
trimester and empowers you to give yourself grace, accept your
changing body, and trust your mothering intuition. Whether you're a
first-time mom or having your next one, this book is the perfect
pick-me-up whenever you need reassurance that you've got this. *
Comforting daily reflections for the first 12 weeks after birth
(broken out by weeks) * Encouraging messages touching upon
everything from bonding with your baby to accepting changes to your
body * Stylish hand-drawn lettering and illustrations * Beautiful
soft-touch cover and original artwork A great baby shower gift for
anyone that wants to help mom and baby adjust to their beautiful
new life together! "What a beautiful book! As a new mom, I'm so
thankful for something that encourages me and other moms right
where we are." -Sadie Robertson Huff
'The monk who taught the world mindfulness' Time This is the
definitive book on mindfulness from the beloved Zen master and
Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh. With his signature
clarity and warmth, he shares practical exercises and anecdotes to
help us arrive at greater self-understanding and peacefulness,
whether we are beginners or advanced students. Beautifully written,
The Miracle of Mindfulness is the essential guide to welcoming
presence in your life and truly living in the moment from the
father of mindfulness. 'One of the most influential spiritual
leaders of our times' Oprah
The Kanwar is India's largest annual religious pilgrimage. Millions
of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it
across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Siva shrines.
These devotees-called bhola, gullible or fools, and seen as
miscreants by many Indians-are mostly young, destitute men, who
have been left behind in the globalizing economy. But for these
young men, the ordeal of the pilgrimage is no foolish pursuit, but
a means to master their anxieties and attest their good faith in
unfavorable social conditions. Vikash Singh walked with the
pilgrims of the Kanwar procession, and with this book, he
highlights how the procession offers a social space where
participants can prove their talents, resolve, and moral worth.
Working across social theory, phenomenology, Indian metaphysics,
and psychoanalysis, Singh shows that the pilgrimage provides a
place in which participants can simultaneously recreate and prepare
for the poor, informal economy and inevitable social uncertainties.
In identifying with Siva, who is both Master of the World and yet a
pathetic drunkard, participants demonstrate their own sovereignty
and desirability despite their stigmatized status. Uprising of the
Fools shows how religion today is not a retreat into tradition, but
an alternative forum for recognition and resistance within a
rampant global neoliberalism.
In this book, Richard J. A. McGregor offers a history of Islamic
practice through the aesthetic reception of medieval religious
objects. Elaborate parades in Cairo and Damascus included decorated
objects of great value, destined for Mecca and Medina. Among these
were the precious dress sewn yearly for the Ka'ba, and large
colorful sedans mounted on camels, which mysteriously completed the
Hajj without carrying a single passenger. Along with the brisk
trade in Islamic relics, these objects and the variety of contested
meanings attached to them, constituted material practices of
religion that persisted into the colonial era, but were suppressed
in the twentieth century. McGregor here recovers the biographies of
religious objects, including relics, banners, public texts, and
coverings for the Ka'ba. Reconstructing the premodern visual
culture of Islamic Egypt and Syria, he follows the shifting
meanings attached to objects of devotion, as well as the contingent
nature of religious practice and experience.
An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism, third edition, offers a
comprehensive study of a contemporary form of Hinduism. Begun as a
revival and reform movement in India 200 years ago, it has now
become one of the fastest growing and most prominent forms of
Hinduism. The Swaminarayan Hindu transnational network of temples
and institutions is expanding in India, East Africa, the UK, USA,
Australasia, and in other African and Asian cities. The devotion,
rituals, and discipline taught by its founder, Sahajanand Swami
(1781-1830) and elaborated by current leaders in major festivals,
diverse media, and over the Internet, help preserve ethnic and
religious identity in many modern cultural and political contexts.
Swaminarayan Hinduism, here described through its history,
divisions, leaders, theology and practices, provides valuable case
studies of contemporary Hinduism, religion, migrants, and
transnationalism. This new edition includes up-to-date information
about growth, geographic expansion, leadership transitions, and
impact of Swaminarayan institutions in India and abroad.
Who and what are marriage and sex for? Whose practices and which
ways of talking to god can count as religion? Lucinda Ramberg
considers these questions based on two years of ethnographic
research on an ongoing South Indian practice of dedication in which
girls, and sometimes boys, are married to a goddess. Called
"devadasis," or "jogatis," those dedicated become female and male
women who conduct the rites of the goddess outside the walls of her
main temple and transact in sex outside the bounds of conjugal
matrimony. Marriage to the goddess, as well as the rites that the
dedication ceremony authorizes "jogatis" to perform, have long been
seen as illegitimate and criminalized. Kinship with the goddess is
productive for the families who dedicate their children, Ramberg
argues, and yet it cannot conform to modern conceptions of gender,
family, or religion. This nonconformity, she suggests, speaks to
the limitations of modern categories, as well as to the
possibilities of relations--between and among humans and
deities--that exceed such categories.
Buddha Heruka is a manifestation of all the Buddhas' enlightened
compassion, and by relying upon him we can swiftly attain a pure
selfless joy and bring true happiness to others. Geshe Kelsang
first explains with great clarity and precision how we can practise
the sublime meditations of Heruka body mandala, and thereby
gradually transform our ordinary world and experiences, bringing us
closer to Buddhahood. He then provides definitive instructions on
the completion stage practices that lead to the supreme bliss of
full enlightenment in this one lifetime. This is a treasury of
practical instructions for those seriously interested in following
the Tantric path.
There are times in life when we are caught utterly unprepared: a
death in the family, the end of a relationship, a health crisis.
These are the times when the solid ground we thought we stood on
disappears beneath our feet, leaving us reeling and heartbroken, as
we stumble back to our faith. The Days of Awe encompass the weeks
preceding Rosh Hashanah up to Yom Kippur, a period in which Jews
take part in a series of rituals and prayers that reenact the
journey of the soul through the world from birth to death. This is
a period of contemplation and repentance, comparable to Lent and
Ramadan. Yet, for Rabbi Alan Lew, the real purpose of this annual
passage is for us to experience brokenheartedness and open our
heart to God. In This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared,
Lew has marked out a journey of seven distinct stages, one that
draws on these rituals to awaken our soul and wholly transform us.
Weaving together Torah readings, Buddhist parables, Jewish fables
and stories from his own life, Lew lays bare the meanings of this
ancient Jewish passage. He reveals the path from terror to
acceptance, confusion to clarity, doubt to belief, and from
complacency to awe. In the tradition of When Bad Things Happen to
Good People, This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared enables
believers of all faiths to reconnect to their faith with a passion
and intimacy that will resonate throughout the year.
Cuba's patron saint, the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, also called
Cachita, is a potent symbol of Cuban national identity. Jalane D.
Schmidt shows how groups as diverse as Indians and African slaves,
Spanish colonial officials, Cuban independence soldiers, Catholic
authorities and laypeople, intellectuals, journalists and artists,
practitioners of spiritism and Santeria, activists, politicians,
and revolutionaries each have constructed and disputed the meanings
of the Virgin. Schmidt examines the occasions from 1936 to 2012
when the Virgin's beloved, original brown-skinned effigy was
removed from her national shrine in the majority black- and
mixed-race mountaintop village of El Cobre and brought into Cuba's
cities. There, devotees venerated and followed Cachita's image
through urban streets, amassing at large-scale public ceremonies in
her honor that promoted competing claims about Cuban religion,
race, and political ideology. Schmidt compares these religious
rituals to other contemporaneous Cuban street events, including
carnival, protests, and revolutionary rallies, where organizers
stage performances of contested definitions of Cubanness. Schmidt
provides a comprehensive treatment of Cuban religions, history, and
culture, interpreted through the prism of Cachita.
Bring Jewish values to life with an engaging blend of mitzvot
middot and timeless Jewish wisdom.
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