Gendering Asceticism in Medieval Sufism
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Gendering Asceticism in Medieval Sufism by Sara Ahmed Abdel-Latif A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto © Copyright by Sara Ahmed Abdel-Latif 2020 Gendering Asceticism in Medieval Sufism Sara Ahmed Abdel-Latif Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto 2020 Abstract Medieval Sufis reoriented the practice of Islamic mysticism away from asceticism and towards a structured program of inner cultivation under the guidance of elite male teachers. This dissertation argues that this inward turn represents a key historical moment in which Sufi identity was deliberately constructed upon idealized elite masculinity to combat rival groups in fifth/eleventh-century Nishapur. While previous scholars suggest medieval Sufism arose out of the Baghdadi context, an examination of the writings of two influential Nishapuri authors, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021) and Abū al- Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1074), reveals sociopolitical conflicts unique to Nishapur that provoked the formation of an urban institutionalized Sufism that excluded all but the male elite. The gendered consequences of this institutionalization is explored through the legacy of al-Sulamī and al-Qushayrī and the reproduction of their gendered discourse in the writings of Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) and Abū al-Faraj b. al-Jawzī (d. 597/1200). Through a gender-sensitive critical re-reading of asceticism in historicizations of medieval Nishapur, I demonstrate the role of opposition to rival ascetic groups in the institutionalization and perpetuation of elite androcentric Sufism. ii This study investigates shifting gendered discourses in representations of four early ascetic practices: bodily mortification (zuhd), wandering without provision (siyāḥa), sexual abstinence (ʿuzla, ʿafāf), and excessive voluntary fasting (jūʿ, ṣawm). The decline in popularity of these exercises came with increasingly more obvious language of gender differentiation in the writings of Sufi authors. Through an intersectional gender analysis that compares elite male depictions of women to those of youths, the enslaved, and racialized individuals, I problematize modern scholarship on Sufism and Islam that employs gender binaries without considering other social markers of difference in Islamicate literatures. I conclude that authors of medieval Sufism reinvented asceticism to oppose those they deemed deviant to their own hegemonic masculinity. Understanding that elite social actors negotiate orthodoxy and regulate practice through the language of gender demonstrates the usefulness of gender analysis as a method of exposing discourses of power in the formation of religious identity. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation is the result of a community of people who have supported me over the last several years, many more than I can name here. Dr. Walid Saleh encouraged me to refine my scholarly voice while keeping me grounded. I could not have asked for a better supervisor and mentor. Dr. Ash Geissinger accepted the daunting task of training a student at a different institution with no background in gender studies to apply gender analysis to historical sources. Dr. Jeannie Miller directed me to crucial resources and always offered constructive comments. I tried my best to apply what I learned from these three talented scholars but any errors that remain are my own. Dr. Laury Silvers inspired so much of this dissertation. Thank you for helping me bring it to life. Dr. Nevin Reda contributed her gifts and expertise whenever I needed help with Arabic sources. Nasrin Pak helped me navigate Persian texts that were beyond my abilities. Dr. Kecia Ali and Dr. Karen Ruffle offered insightful comments and generously shared their knowledge. Dr. Shafique Virani and Dr. Maria Subtelny both supported my work in its earliest stages. I will never forget their kind encouragement and mentorship. To Dr. Ken Derry, a mentor who quickly became a friend, thank you for your humor, optimism, and your clear-eyed advice. Fereshteh Hashemi, you know how much your presence at the Department for the Study of Religion meant to me. Thank you for your warmth and care. Dr. Jennifer Harris, Dr. Kevin O’Neill, Dr. Nada Moumtaz, Dr. David Perley, Marilyn Colaco, Irene Kao, Khalidah Ali, Sadaf Ahmed, Youcef Soufi, Paula Karger, Adil Mawani, Jairan Gahan, Nick Field, Amy Porter, Aldea Mulhern, Justin Stein and so many others made my time at the department truly wonderful. iv To Rose Deighton, my dearest friend and my biggest cheerleader, thank you for celebrating every milestone and processing every challenge with me. Worlds apart, we have always walked this path together. My deepest love to my parents, Ahmed Abdel-Latif and Azza Barghouth, who invested everything they had into my education, and to my siblings and particularly Rana who always stood by me and prodded me forward whenever I wanted to give up. My mother Azza Barghouth deserves special thanks for searching through whatever Arabic sources she could find to help me. You are an amazing RA, Mama. I love you to bits. To my amazing husband, Yehia Amin. You did everything to help me accomplish my goals and bring joy to my days. You are my best friend. Thank you for everything you are. To Yehia’s family, Youssef Amin, Leena Moselhi, and Ali Amin, thank you for your support and your joyful company during long days and sleepless nights of dissertating. I want to offer special thanks to Helen Mo who passed away three years ago immediately after coaching me through my general exams. Helen was a kind and generous graduate student and mentor who sacrificed her time constantly to support everyone else. Helen’s family recently inaugurated an annual scholarship in her name, of which I am the first recipient. Through that scholarship, I was able to complete the final portions of my dissertation research. I am fortunate to have had Helen and her family’s generosity guide my way through graduate school. Helen, I dedicate this dissertation to you. Finally, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my spiritual family. You have nurtured and inspired me in innumerable ways. And to my teacher, thank you for training me to bring integrity and remembrance into everything I do. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... vi Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 Sufism ................................................................................................................4 1.1.1 The Nishapuri context ............................................................................7 1.2 Gender in medieval Islamic sources ................................................................17 1.2.1 Women in Sufi sources ........................................................................38 1.3 Sources .............................................................................................................47 1.4 Structure of the dissertation .............................................................................51 Zuhd: Gendering Asceticism in Nishapuri Sufism..................................................55 2.1.1 The move away from asceticism as a marker of Nishapuri spiritual identity .................................................................................................57 2.2 Before Nishapur: Asceticism in the fourth/tenth century ................................61 2.2.1 Gendering asceticism in early Sufi writings ........................................66 2.3 Ideological wars in fifth/eleventh-century Nishapur .......................................70 2.3.1 Externalized asceticism in the Karrāmiyya movement ........................73 2.3.2 Malāmati influence in al-Sulamī’s critiques of Karrāmi externalized asceticism .............................................................................................75 2.3.3 Al-Sulamī and al-Qushayrī’s use of gender in response to the Karrāmiyya ..........................................................................................78 2.3.4 Gendering enemies in the factional wars of Nishapur .........................84 2.3.5 The role of women in Nishapur’s conflicts ..........................................90 2.3.6 Social tensions between Sufi men and women ....................................92 2.3.7 Depictions of women in Nishapuri Sufi hagiographies .......................94 vi 2.4 After the Karrāmis: Sixth/twelfth-century Nishapur .......................................97 2.5 Conclusion .....................................................................................................102 Khalwa: Institutionalizing Seclusion ....................................................................104 3.1.1 Early ascetic wandering .....................................................................105 3.1.2 The division of space .........................................................................108 3.2 From wandering alone to collective seclusion ...............................................113 3.2.1 Wandering the wilderness ..................................................................113 3.2.2 Wandering women .............................................................................115