DOCSLIB.ORG

ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY WS‐639 Fall 2020 Hartford Seminary Colleen M

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY WS‐639 Fall 2020 Hartford Seminary Colleen M ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY WS‐639 Fall 2020 Hartford Seminary Colleen M. Keyes, Ph.D. [email protected] Course Description This is a historical and topical survey that examines Islamic spirituality (commonly known as Sufism), the growth of this tradition from the earliest days of Islam, and the early forms of personal piety that culminated in emphasis on mystical dimensions of Islamic religious experience and practice. We will read both primary sources (in translation) and secondary sources, and reflect on the works of several of the major Muslim spiritual figures throughout history, learn about the development of Sufi orders, and consider the relationships between spirituality, theology, and law in Islam. We will encounter English translations of some of the greatest masterpieces of Sufi literature in Arabic and Persian. This course provides knowledge useful for those generally interested in spirituality and those in spiritual/pastoral care and counseling professions. Required books: Please note that the required readings for this course will be available on the Digital Theological Library (DTL) to which all students have access and or will be provided in digitized form/ PDF and placed in Canvas under Course Resources. Only one book needs to be purchased as it is not available as an e‐book and cannot be digitized: Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur’an, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings. Paulist Press, 1996. Recommended readings: These are additional readings that you may be interested in. You do not have to read or purchase any of them. Some may be available on the DTL. I have added these additional resources so that you may access them if you have time and interest. Please read the entire syllabus carefully and ask any questions you have by contacting me by email. Course Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to 1. Locate the roots of the spiritual dimension of Islam in the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad 2. Demonstrate understanding of Sufi theology 3. Demonstrate understanding of the centrality of virtue and ethical development in Islam through Islamic spiritual practice 4. Demonstrate familiarity with key figures in Islamic spiritual thought and practice in historical context 5. Be conversant with the relationship between the spiritual, theological, and legal within Islam 6. For pastoral/spiritual care providers/chaplains/imams: Demonstrate how knowledge of Islamic spirituality may be utilized in the care of persons of various faith traditions and/or philosophies. 7. Engage in beneficial reflection on their own spiritual state and development This course assists students in achieving the following program outcomes through its content, learning activities and assignments and their assessment: Master of Arts in Religious Studies: Learning Outcomes 1. To demonstrate foundational and critical knowledge of one’s own religion 2. To demonstrate the knowledge, capacities, and willingness to respectfully engage other religions and world views 3. To demonstrate knowledge of the practices of one’s own religious tradition and the capacity to appreciate the practices of other religious traditions Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy Learning Outcome 1: Demonstrate foundational and critical knowledge of the Islamic tradition as relevant to Muslim chaplains. Course Schedule: (may be modified as necessary) This is an asynchronous fully online course. However, I will offer Zoom meetings for those who would like to meet. Please be aware that all Zoom meetings are completely OPTIONAL and participation/non‐ participation will not impact your grade negatively. I am offering this time to meet together in hope of adding a personal, interactive element and face‐to‐face discussion of readings to enliven the course. The Zoom sessions are not lectures and they will be offered for one hour a week for those who can and would like to come together to discuss readings, ask questions, and share our thoughts, etc. Writing Requirements: There will be 4 Reflection Essays of 3‐5 pages. 2 Class discussions in Canvas: There will be 9 online discussions of readings. You are required to participate in 6 of the 9 discussions, so you do not have to post every week. You are encouraged and welcome to participate in all 9 and may earn additional points to your final grade if you do. More information about this under Course Requirements, section c. Week 1: 9/8‐9/14 ‐‐ Situating Islam and Sufism—What is Sufism and where/how does it fit into Islam? See Canvas Week 1 Module for full information and specific assignments or directions. Optional Zoom session: If you would like to meet me and your classmates in a Zoom session the first week, I propose 8:30‐9:30PM, 9/10, Thursday ( Again,this session is completely optional. I am offering this opportunity to meet each other, introduce ourselves, and talk about the course, go over the syllabus.) Required Readings: (To be completed before 9/17 and discussed in Week 2. See below: Optional Zoom session for Week 2 and Discussion Prompt 1 response due on 9/19.) Jackson, Sherman. Sufism for Non‐Sufis? Ibn ‘Atā’ Allāh al‐Sakandarī’s Tāj al‐‘Arūs, Oxford University Press, 2012. Introduction 3‐42. (on the DTL) Martin Lings, What is Sufism? Ch. 1, “The Originality of Sufism”; Ch. 2, “The Universality of Sufism” https://archive.org/details/WhatIsSufism-martinLings Anne Marie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Ch.1, “What is Sufism?” https://thedtl.on.worldcat.org/oclc/769344370 Recommended (if you have time and interest): ‘Ajiba, Ahmed ibn The Book of Ascension to the Essential Truths of Sufism (Mir ‘raj al‐tashawwuf ila haqa’iq al‐tasawwuf) (Trans. Mohamed Fouad Aresmouk & Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald), Fons Vitae, 2011. Pp.1‐42; 115‐124 Week 2: 9/15‐9/21‐ The Spiritual Teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad d.10/632 See Canvas Week 2 Module for full information and specific assignments or directions. Optional Zoom class meeting: 8:30‐9:30 PM EDT, 9/17, to discuss Week 1 Readings. (Time of meeting may be modified and may vary to accommodate student schedules.) Discussion Prompt 1 (TBA) for Canvas Discussion on Week 1 readings: You will find the specific topic(s) of discussion in the Week 1 Module in Canvas. Your post to the Discussion Prompt is due by Saturday 9/19 at 8:00 PM Eastern. Please try to submit on time and respond thoughtfully to at least 2 classmates’ posts by Monday, 9/21 at 11:59 PM. Required Readings: (To be discussed in Week 3. See below‐ Discussion Prompt 2) Lings, Ch. 3, “The Book”; Ch. 4, “The Messenger” 3 Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur’an, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings. Paulist Press, 1996: Introduction; Ch.1, “Sources of Islamic Mysticism”; Ch.2, “Early Sufi Qur’an Interpretation.” (You must purchase this book.) ‘Ajiba, Ahmad ibn. Trans. Abdul Aziz Suraqah, Prophetic Grace: The Qur’anic merits of the Prophet Muhammad, 2015. xi‐xiii. 1‐23.74‐109. (PDF/digitized) Recommended (if you have time and interest): Carl Ernst, Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam, Ch. 1‐4 Chourif, Tayeb, Spiritual Teachings of the Prophet: Hadiths and Commentaries of Saints and Sages of Islam. Fons Vitae, 2011. Week 3: 9/22‐/9/28‐ Early Muslim Mysticism See Canvas Week 3 Module for full information and specific assignments or directions. Optional Zoom class meeting: 8:30‐9:30 PM Eastern, 9/24, Thursday (Date and time may change to accommodate student schedules.) Discussion Prompt 2 (TBA) for Canvas Discussion on Week 2 readings: You will find the specific topic(s) of discussion in the Week 2 Module in Canvas. Your post to Discussion Prompt 2 is due by Saturday 9/25 at 8:00PM Eastern. Please try to submit on time and respond thoughtfully to at least 2 classmates’ posts by Monday, 9/27 at 11:59 PM. Required Readings:(To be discussed in Week 4. See below‐Discussion Prompt 3) Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, Ch. 5, “Muhasibi: Moral Psychology”; Ch. 6, Sarraj “The Seven Stations from the Book of Flashes (Kitāb al‐Luma ‘); Ch.7, “Bistami”; Ch.8, “Junayd: On the Affirmation of Unity (Tawhīd)” Abu Abdullah al‐Harith bin Asad al‐Muhasibi, Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance, (Risala Al‐ Mustarshidin) (Trans. Zaid Shakir) ND Publishers, 2008. Pp. ix‐xxv, 1‐61, 213‐224. ( PDF/digitized) Week 4: 9/29 ‐10/5‐ Early Sufi Women: Rābiʿa al‐ʿAdawiyya al‐Qaysiyya (d.179/ 801) See Canvas Week 4 Module for full information and specific assignments or directions. Optional Zoom class meeting: 8:30‐9:30 PM, Eastern, 10/1, Thursday (Date and time may change to accommodate student schedules.) Discussion Prompt 3 (TBA) for Canvas Discussion on Week 3 readings: You will find the specific topic(s) of discussion in the Week 3 Module in Canvas. Your post to Discussion Prompt 3 is due by Saturday 10/3 at 8:00 PM Eastern. Please try to submit on time and respond thoughtfully to at least 2 classmates’ posts by Monday, 10/5 at 11:59 PM. 4 Required Readings: (To be discussed in Week 5 in non‐mandatory online Zoom meeting, and may, if you choose, be the subject of Writing Assignment 1. See below in Week 5.) Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, pp. 23‐48. Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, Ch. 4, “Rabi ‘a: Her Words and Life in ‘Attar’s Memorial of the Friends of God”. Recommended (if you have time and interest): Schimmel, 48‐62 from Ch. 2, “Historical Outlines of Classical Sufism” Abu 'Abd ar‐Rahman as‐Sulami, Early Sufi Women: Dhikr an‐Niswa al‐Muta'abbidat as‐Sufiyyat Margaret Smith, Rabi ‘a, the Mystic and Her Fellow‐Saints in Islam, Cambridge, 1928.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ahmad Zarruq, Sainthood and Authority in Islam. by Scott Kugle
    234 Book Reviews / Islamic Law and Society 16 (2009) 231-238 Rebel between Spirit and Law: Ahmad Zarruq, Sainthood and Authority in Islam. By Scott Kugle. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006. Pp. xv + 305. ISBN 0-253-34711-4. $49.95. The topic of this book is the Moroccan Sufi Aḥmad b. Aḥmad al-Zarrūq (d. 899/ 1494). As the title suggests, however, the author weaves the life story of Zarrūq into a much wider pattern of the different ways to be a Sufi, and of the relationship between spirituality and temporal authority. Zarrūq lived in a tempestuous time in Moroccan history marked by the fall of the Marīnid dynasty, revolution in Zarrūq’s home town of Fes, and the repercussions of Portuguese attacks on the coastal towns. Kugle brings this context into the story, but also draws a parallel to today’s troubled times, by discussing how contemporary American Muslim leaders see Zarrūq as a model for a non-radical form of Islam. This is both an “internal” biography presenting Zarrūq’s main conceptions of Sufi ideas, and an “external” one of how he reacted to the political upheavals of his period. As for the latter, Zarrūq seems to have had a knack for taking unpopular, or at least politically inconvenient, positions. When the people of Fes rose up against the faltering Marīnid rule, Zarrūq chose to side with the falling Marīnids, against his erstwhile mentor, the Qādirī leader Zaytūnī. Zarrūq was forced to flee, and he spent a number of years in Egypt where he found a new mentor.
    [Show full text]
  • CURRICULUM VITAE Marcia K. Hermansen September 2020
    CURRICULUM VITAE Marcia K. Hermansen September 2020 Theology Dept. Loyola University Crown Center 301 Tel. (773)-508-2345 (work) 1032 W. Sheridan Rd., Chicago Il 60660 E-mail [email protected] I. EDUCATION A. Institution Dates Degree Field University of Chicago 1974-1982 Ph.D. Near East Languages and Civilization (Arabic & Islamic Studies) University of Toronto 1973-1974 Special Student University of Waterloo 1970-1972 B.A. General Arts B. Dissertation Topic: The Theory of Religion of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (1702-1762) C. Language Competency: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Turkish II. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY A. Teaching and Other Positions Held 2006- Director, Islamic World Studies Program, Loyola 1997- Professor, Theology Dept., Loyola University, Chicago 2003 Visiting Professor, Summer School, Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium 1982-1997 Professor, Religious Studies, San Diego State University 1985-1986 Visiting Professor, Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University, Montreal, Canada 1980-1981 Foreign Service, Canadian Department of External Affairs: Postings to the United Nations General Assembly, Canadian Delegation; Vice-Consul, Canadian Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela 1979-1980 Lecturer, Religion Department, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario M. K. Hermansen—2 B.Courses Taught Religious Studies World Religions: Major concepts from eastern and western religious traditions. Religions of India Myth and Symbol: Psychological, anthropological, and religious approaches Religion and Psychology Sacred Biography Dynamics of Religious Experience Comparative Spiritualities Scripture in Comparative Perspective Ways of Understanding Religion (Theory and Methodology in the Study of Religion) Comparative Mysticism Introduction to Religious Studies Myth, Magic, and Mysticism Islamic Studies Introduction to Islam. Islamic Mysticism: A seminar based on discussion of readings from Sufi texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Bewildered by Love and Longing
    BEWILDERED BY LOVE AND LONGING Michael Sells and Simone Fattal talk about a new translation of Ibn ‘Arabi’s famous cycle of love poems, ‘Translation of Desires’ ‘Translation of Desires’ (Tarjumān al-ashwāq) is one of the world’s great works of mystical poetry. A cycle of 61 poems addressed to a beautiful but elusive beloved, it has been one the most widely-read works of the Andalusian mystic/philosopher, Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165–1240). Even today, 800 years after its composition, its extraordinary imagery and sentiments continue to inspire artists and musicians not only within the Arab world, but also in the West, where it has become known largely through the early 20th century translation of R.A. Nicholson. This year has seen the publication of new translations of 46 poems, under the title ‘Bewildered’, by Michael Sells, The John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature at the University of Chicago, who has spent a lifetime on their study. Jane Clark and Cecilia Twinch talk to him, and to artist and publisher Simone Fattal who has produced the book for The Post Apollo Press. 1 Cecilia: Michael, these English versions of poems from Translation of Desires have been a work in progress for you for many years now, since the 1980s. What is it about the book that fascinates you? Michael: It is the poetry of loss and longing from the classic Arabic tradition of love poetry, although it also represents a very distinctive development of that form. One of the things that makes it appealing is that it is based on a very sophisticated psychology of love.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Sufism
    Abstract This thesis addresses the problem of how to interpret Islamic writers without imposing generic frameworks of later and partly Western derivation. It questions the overuse of the category “Sufism” which has sometimes been deployed to read anachronistic concerns into Islamic writers. It does so by a detailed study of some of the key works of the 13th century writer Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah (d. 709/1309). In this way it fills a gap in the learned literature in two ways. Firstly, it examines the legitimacy of prevalent conceptualisations of the category “Sufism.” Secondly, it examines the work of one Sufi thinker, and asks in what ways, if any, Western categories may tend to distort its Islamic characteristics. The methodology of the thesis is primarily exegetical, although significant attention is also paid to issues of context. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part One sets up the problem of Sufism as an organizational category in the literature. In doing so, this part introduces the works of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah, and justifies the selection from his works for the case study in Part Two. Part Two provides a detailed case study of the works of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah. It opens with some of the key issues involved in understanding an Islamic thinker, and gives a brief overview of Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah’s life. This is followed by an examination of materials on topics such as metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, eschatology, ethics, and soteriology. In each case it is suggested that these topics may be misleading unless care is taken not to import Western conceptuality where it is not justified by the texts.
    [Show full text]
  • EMT3610/6610HS Religious Thought and Spirituality in Islam
    EMT3610/6610HS Religious Thought and Spirituality in Islam General Information Instructor: Nevin Reda El-Tahry E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: R 11:00 am –12:00 noon Office: 215 Class time: R 9:00 am – 11:00 am Classroom: 108 Course Description This is a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Islamic religious practices and mysticism. The course is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early forms of personal piety that culminated into emphasis over mystical dimensions of Islamic religious experience and practice. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, and finally, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic arts and literatures. Lectures, readings and class discussions. Annotated bibliography: 25%, oral presentation: 15%, project (research paper): 45%, class participation: 15%. Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to: Religious Faith and Heritage • Demonstrate knowledge of religious heritage, and articulate clearly their own theological positions (as related to pastoral practices). • Interpret scripture and religious texts using a variety of methods, sources, and norms. • Identify and respect the diversity of theological viewpoints and practices within their religious tradition. Culture and Context • Give evidence of critical self-awareness with regard to their own and other faith perspectives and practices of educational ministry. Spiritual/Vocational Formation • Display capacity for self-reflexive and spiritual practices within communities of faith. Ability with Scholarly Tools and Skills Demonstrate competence in the use of a library and in the construction of an annotated bibliography Demonstrate familiarity with pertinent web-based resources and skills.
    [Show full text]
  • Usuull-Wilaayat
    SANKORE' Institute of Islamic - African Studies International The Foundations of Sainthood By The Light of the Age, the Reviver of the Deen, the Sword of Truth and Amir’l-Mu’mineen Shehu Uthman Dan Fuduye’ Edited and Translated by Amir Muhammad Shareef bin Farid Copyright © 1420/1999 Muhammad Shareef Published by SANKORE' Institute of Islamic - African Studies International The Palace of the Sultan of Maiurno Maiurno, Sennar, Sudan www.sankore.org / www.siiasi.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission of the publishers The Foundations of Sainthood In the name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful, may Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family and Companions and give him much peace. Says the poor slave in need of the mercy of his Lord – Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman (who is Fulbe by lineage, Maliki by school of thought and al-`Ash`ari by doctrine of belief). All praises are due to Allah the Lord of the worlds. May the best blessings and most perfect peace be upon our master Muhammad, his family and all his Companions. May Allah be pleased with the masters among the Taabi`uun, the right- acting scholars, the four Imams who exercised independent judgment and with those who follow them until the Day of Judgment. To continue: this is the book called – The Foundation of Sainthood And It’s Prerequisites I say and success is with Allah – realize my brother that the foundations of sainthood and its prerequisites are built upon: [1] adherence to the Book and the Sunna; [2] avoiding passions and heretical innovation; [3] extolling the sanctity of the shaykhs; [4] envisioning the non-existence of creation; [5] persistence in the litanies; and [6] avoiding immoderation.
    [Show full text]
  • Subjectivity in ʿattār, Persian Sufism, and European Mysticism
    Subjectivity in ʿAṭṭār, Persian Sufism, and European Mysticism Comparative Cultural Studies Ari Ofengenden, Series Editor The Purdue University Press monograph series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies publishes single-authored and thematic collected volumes of new scholarship. Manuscripts are invited for publication in the series in fields of the study of culture, literature, the arts, media studies, communication studies, the history of ideas, etc., and related disciplines of the humanities and social sciences to the series editor via e-mail at <[email protected]>. Comparative cultural studies is a contextual approach in the study of culture in a global and intercultural context and work with a plurality of methods and approaches; the theoretical and methodological framework of comparative cultural studies is built on tenets borrowed from the disciplines of cultural studies and comparative literature and from a range of thought including literary and culture theory, (radical) constructivism, communication theories, and systems theories; in comparative cultural studies focus is on theory and method as well as application. For a detailed description of the aims and scope of the series including the style guide of the series link to <http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweblibrary/seriespurdueccs>. Manuscripts sub- mitted to the series are peer reviewed followed by the usual standards of editing, copy editing, marketing, and distribution. The series is affiliated with CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture (ISSN 1481-4374), the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-access quarterly published by Purdue University Press at <http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb>. Volumes in the Purdue series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies include <http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/series/comparative-cultural-studies> Claudia Yaghoobi, Subjectivity in ʿAṭṭār, Persian Sufism, and European Mysticism Lorna Fitzsimmons, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Prof. Michael Sells on Ali Al-Timimi And
    The Religion and Culture Web Forum December 2006 WAR AS WORSHIP, WORSHIP AS WAR Michael Sells John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature University of Chicago Divinity School So this land of the Middle East is unlike what the Summit for the Peacemakers and the New World Order says [sic] is going to be a land of peace. It’s not. It’s going to be—it will be a land of tribulation, and warfare, and bloodshed until the Day of Judgment. Because only when the Christians and Jews are eradicated from the face of the earth, will the blessings of Allah come and there will be no more war on the earth. Ali al-Timimi, a Virginia-based American speaker and activist, set forth the above scenario in a 1996 speech delivered in English at an Islamic center in London. Timimi’s speech, like his other teachings, is available only in audio form through Internet web sites. His life story, the history and location of his study of Islam, and the major themes of his 1996 speech, entitled “The Islamic World: Where Is It Heading,” open a window onto key factors in the emergence of one form of contemporary militancy within Sunni Islam. Those factors include a major teaching institution within Saudi Arabia, a group of powerful Saudi religious scholars, the interaction of Christian and Islamic visions of apocalyptic warfare, and a particular method of interpreting and translating the Qur’an to fit contemporary geopolitics within a vision of divinely-ordained and irremediable conflict. They also include Timimi’s personal journey from immersion in a liberal and pluralistic American environment to his adoption of an identity that viewed war among Christians, Jews, and Muslims as the duty of all true Muslims.
    [Show full text]
  • Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi : Islam in Modern South Asia
    prelims.qxd 8/8/2007 1:59 PM Page i MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Ashraf ‘AliThanawi prelims.qxd 8/8/2007 1:59 PM Page ii SELECTION OF TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES Series editor: Patricia Crone, Institute for Advanced Study,Princeton ‘Abd al-Malik, Chase F.Robinson Abd al-Rahman III, Maribel Fierro Abu Nuwas, Philip Kennedy Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Christopher Melchert Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi, Usha Sanyal Al-Ma’mun, Michael Cooperson Al-Mutanabbi, Margaret Larkin Amir Khusraw, Sunil Sharma El Hajj Beshir Agha, Jane Hathaway Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis, Shazad Bashir Ibn ‘Arabi,William C. Chittick Ibn Fudi,Ahmad Dallal Ikhwan al-Safa, Godefroid de Callatay Shaykh Mufid,Tamima Bayhom-Daou For current information and details of other books in the series, please visit www.oneworld-publications.com prelims.qxd 8/8/2007 1:59 PM Page iii MAKERS of the MUSLIM WORLD Ashraf ‘AliThanawi Islam in Modern South Asia MUHAMMAD QASIM ZAMAN prelims.qxd 8/8/2007 1:59 PM Page iv ASHRAF ‘ALI THANAWI A Oneworld Book Published by Oneworld Publications 2007 Copyright © Muhammad Qasim Zaman 2007 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN-13: 978–1–85168–415–1 Typeset by Jayvee,Trivandrum, India Printed and bound in India for Imprint Digital Oneworld Publications 185 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7AR England www.oneworld-publications.com Learn more about Oneworld. Join our mailing list to find out about our latest titles and special offers at: www.oneworld-publications.com
    [Show full text]
  • SUFISM: ISLAMIC MYSTICISM and SPIRITUALITY Department of Religious Studies, FIU Professor: Dr. Carlos Grenier ([email protected]
    SUFISM: ISLAMIC MYSTICISM AND SPIRITUALITY Department of Religious Studies, FIU Professor: Dr. Carlos Grenier ([email protected]) Office hours: Before class or by appointment Overview: At the heart of the religion of Islam is its mystical tradition, Sufism. Practitioners of Sufism often departed from Islamic law and traditional orthodoxy and follow edwidely varying paths towards a mystical union with the divine. Usually organized into distinct groupings and schools of thought, Sufis strove for spiritual progress through an array of meditative practices, mystical recitations, music, and dance. They often expressed these truths in poetry and other arts, and so profoundly influenced Islamic culture as a whole. Ultimately the spread of Islam into Asia and sub-Saharan Africa was almost exclusively through the syncretic and esoteric teachings of these mystics who formed bridges between indigenous philosophies and the Islamic tradition by a focus on love of the Divine, the Prophet, and his family over fear of Divine judgment. Today Sufi mysticism remains a vitally important aspect of contemporary Islam – one that is not always visible on the global stage. Aims: This course aims to use primary and secondary texts to give students a thorough grasp of the Sufi mystical perspective, its terminology, and the social histories of its practitioners. By the completion of this course, students shall be able to (1) Recognize the major ethical and philosophical precepts that unite Sufism across its many manifestations, (2) Become aware of key variations within the varied panorama of Sufi thought and practice, and (3) Be able to place Sufism within a historical and cross-cultural perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • The End of a ‘Mixed’ Pilgrimage
    Circulation 8,000 J u l y 1 9 9 9 4 8 p a g e s N e w s l e t t e r 3 postal address telephone e-mail P.O. Box 11089 +31-(0)71-527 79 05 i s i m @ r u l l e t . l e i d e n u n i v . n l 2301 EB Leiden telefax www The Netherlands +31-(0)71-527 79 06 h t t p : / / i s i m . l e i d e n u n i v . n l 3 9 25 3 7 New ISIM Academic Director Sharifa Zaleha Ahmad Moussalli Richard Brent Turner Muhammad Khalid Masud Surau and Mosques in Malaysia Political Islam in Sunni Communities Mainstream Islam in the USA C i r c u m a m- bulatory The war in Kosovo and the accompanying ethnic procession at cleansing has catapulted this region to the centre t h e m o n a s t e r y stage of Western attention after so many years of rel- o f Z ocùisˇt e ative silence and indifference. Already in the 1980s, many analysts pointed out that tensions between Al- banian and Serbian nationalism and divisions be- tween the Christian Serbs and the (mainly) Muslim Albanians were growing, and were turning the province into a dangerous Balkan hotspot. Compar- isons were drawn, especially by Serbian nationalists, with the famous Battle of Kosovo fought between the Ottoman Turks and Balkan Christian forces in 1389 Ð a ‘clash of civilizations’ between two deeply antago- nistic and incompatible nations.
    [Show full text]
  • A Sufi Alternative to Sharifism?
    Al-Qantara, vol. 17, nº 2 (1996) THE «SOVEREIGNTY OF THE IMAMATE» (SIYÀDA TAL-IMÀMA) OF THE JAZÜLIYYA-GHAZWÁMYYA: A SUFI ALTERNATIVE TO SHARIFISM? V. J. CORNELL Duke University At the end of the fifteenth century, the juridical Sufi Ahmad Zarrùq (d. 899/1493) wrote the following critique of Moroccan Sufism in ar- Radd 'ala ahl al-bid'a: Our concern is with a particular clique which overran and spread throughout this our Maghrib in both rural and urban areas, and much more in the rural areas. This was invented by certain people to benefit from the rulers of this world. They started gathering the ignorant and vulgar, male and female, whose hearts are blank and whose minds are immature. They instilled into them from a religious point of view the be­ lief that repentance is to be had by shaving the head, gobbling up food, gathering for banquets, invoking by turn, utterances and cries, using the mantles and beads, making a show of themselves, and holding that so- and-so is their master and that there is no other master save him. They tour the country, and whenever they arrive at a populated area they start invoking by turn, as sheep and cattle are slaughtered for them. They move from one place to another with their servants, some of them on their hor­ ses. They assert that by this they revive and display religion, while per­ suading the vulgar to believe that the ulama are obstructing the way to God, and warn the ignorant against them. So they became enemies of the learned and learning.
    [Show full text]