DOCSLIB.ORG

The Halveti-Jerrahis & the Legacy of Sheikh Muzaffer

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

THE HALVETI-JERRAHIS & THE LEGACY OF SHEIKH MUZAFFER IN NORTH AMERICA JON G. KASPERSKI Bachelor of Arts, University of Lethbridge, 2019 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES Department of Religious Studies University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA © Jon G. Kasperski, 2021 THE HALVETI-JERRAHIS & THE LEGACY OF SHEIKH MUZAFFER IN NORTH AMERICA JON G. KASPERSKI Date of Defense: April 9, 2021 Dr. Atif Khalil Associate Professor Ph.D. Supervisor Dr. Hillary Rodrigues Professor Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. John Harding Associate Professor Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. James Linville Associate Professor Ph.D. Chair, Thesis Examination Committee Member Abstract This thesis analyzes the legacy of the Halveti-Jerrahi sheikh, Muzaffer Ozak, in North America. Following his death, the Order was split into the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Order and the Jerrahi Order of America, with the former reflecting a more “universalistic” orientation, and the latter a more “traditional” one. Which of the two more accurately embodied his legacy? In order to answer the question, the study draws from personal interview testimonies of Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi and Sheikh Muhamad Jamal al-Jerrahi (Gregory Blann), as well as from the teachings of Sheikh Muzaffer. This thesis demonstrates that Sheikh Muzaffer consciously fostered different interpretations of his teachings while also showing it was not his intention to have the Halveti- Jerrahi Order separated. Moreover, the study shows that he grew to embrace the more adaptive interpretations of his message over the more conservative, yet still legitimate perspective of traditionalists. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Atif Khalil who saw potential in me, encouraged me to take on this project, and helped me refine and bring out my own voice as the work unfolded. I thank Dr. Hillary Rodrigues, not only for his support of this project, but for helping me develop my ability as a teaching assistant in his classes. I would also like to thank Dr. John Harding who graciously and selflessly joined the committee in the latter months of the project in the wake of the academic disruptions created by the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis would have been a shadow of what it is presently without their guidance. Last but not least, I thank my parents for their unwavering love and support. iv Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents............................................................................................................................. v Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 1.1 Sufism and Mysticism............................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Proto-Sufism.............................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Halveti-Jerrahi Chain of Transmission (silsila)......................................................................... 6 1.4 Early Figures in the Halveti-Jerrahi silsila: Formation and Delineation of Sufism.................. 9 1.5 The Khalwatis/Halvetis........................................................................................................... 16 1.6 The Jerrahis.............................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 2 2.1 Sufism in the West................................................................................................................... 23 2.2 The Example of Jalal al-Din Rumi........................................................................................... 24 2.3 Changing Perspectives on Sufism............................................................................................ 25 2.4 Initial Sufi/Western Engagements in the 19th Century............................................................. 29 2.5 The First “Wave” of Sufism in the West.................................................................................. 30 2.6 René Guénon’s Traditionalism................................................................................................ 30 2.7 Orientalism and the Notion of Sufism as Separate from Islam................................................ 33 2.8 Sufi Romanticism.................................................................................................................... 34 2.9 Hazrat Inayat Khan’s Universalism......................................................................................... 37 2.10 Second and Third “Waves” of Sufism in the West................................................................. 39 2.11 Sufi Categorisations in the West............................................................................................ 40 2.12 How to Categorise Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak?........................................................................... 42 Chapter 3 3.1 Muzaffer Ozak’s Early Life and Teachers................................................................................ 44 3.2 Teachings of Muzaffer Ozak.................................................................................................... 51 3.3 Muzaffer Ozak in America....................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 4 4.1 The Nur Ashki Sufi Order and the Jerrahi Order of America.................................................. 62 4.2 Criticism of Muzaffer Ozak..................................................................................................... 63 4.3 Where Would Muzaffer Ozak Align? Perspectives of Sheikha Fariha and Sheikh Muhammad Jamal............................................................................................................................................. 66 4.4 Was the Separation a Conscious Act?...................................................................................... 73 4.5 Sufism on the World Stage....................................................................................................... 76 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 80 Bibliography.................................................................................................................................. 81 v Love is at the centre of everything. It is the beginning, the middle, the end. And so really, you would say Sufism is, as Sheikh Muzaffer said, ‘the Unveiling of Love’ – the realisation that this whole universe is love, that God is love, that we are love. I would say that is the highest aspiration or the highest level of Sufism; to unveil that love and to live that love. – Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi (2021) Introduction Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Efendi of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order stands out as one of the most important figures of the last century to play a role in the transmission of Sufism to the modern West. When Muzaffer Ozak came to America in the 1970s, he grew to love America. He found it to be a place that offered great possibilities for spiritual growth and fulfilment, not only for the followers he gained, but also for himself. His approach to Sufism in America, while rooted in Islam, was one of “gradualism.” It was a method that emphasized a slow immersion into the mystical life of Islam, not through law (Shari‘a) but the “way of love.” In the flexibility that he exercised with his students and disciples, he was sometimes accused of “innovation” or bida by members of his own faith, an accusation in its most severe form that could lead to a charge of heresy. At the same time, he was pressured and even imprisoned by the secular powers of Turkey for his adamant refusal to abandon his religious commitments and practices. While he saw his own teachings to be firmly rooted in the principles of Islam, the dual emphasis in his teachings, on conservation on the one hand and adaptation on the other, on tradition and legitimate reform, caused the Sufi Order that he brought to the Americas to split after his death into the Nur Ashki Jerrahis and the Jerrahi Order of America. Each of the two lineages, while generally respectful of each other and free of outward animosity, understood and implemented Ozak’s teachings in different ways. There are academic works which look at these differences. None, however, have investigated extensively into the figure of Ozak and how he may have viewed and aligned himself in this separation. This study, facilitated by interviews with the current Nur Ashki Sheikha, Fariha 1 al-Jerrahi and Sheikh Muhammad Jamal al-Jerrahi (Gregory Blann),1 who each have a deep understanding of that legacy, attempts to piece together Ozak’s vision of the nature, role, and future of the Halveti-Jerrahis in North America. The first chapter of this study lays out the earlier history of Sufism and essential terminology that will be drawn upon throughout this work. This history will follow the Halveti- Jerrahi chain of transmission (silsila) and the passing
Recommended publications
  • The Wisdom of Hazrat Inayat Khan

    The Wisdom of Hazrat Inayat Khan

    The Wisdom of Hazrat Inayat Khan INVOCATION Toward the One, the perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty: the Only Being. United with all the illuminated souls, who form the embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance. SALAT Most gracious Lord, Master, Messiah, and Savior of humanity, We greet Thee with all humility. Thou art the First cause and the Last Effect, The Divine Light and the Spirit of Guidance, Alpha and Omega. Thy Light is in all forms, Thy Love in all beings: in a loving mother, in a kind father, in an innocent child, in a helpful friend, in an inspiring teacher. Allow us to recognize Thee in all Thy holy names and forms; as Rama, as Krishna, as Shiva, as Buddha. Let us know Thee as Abraham, as Solomon, as Zarathushtra, as Moses, as Jesus, as Mohammed, and in many other names and forms, known and unknown to the world. We adore Thy past; thy presence deeply enlightens our being, and we look for Thy blessing in the future. O Messenger, Christ, Nabi, the Rasul of God! Thou Whose heart constantly reacheth upward, Thou cometh on earth with a message, as a dove from above, when Dharma decays, and speakest the Word that is put onto Thy mouth, as the light filleth the crescent moon. Let the start of the Divine Light shining in Thy heart be reflected in the hearts of Thy devotees. May the Message of God reach far and wide, illuminating and making the whole of humanity as one single family in the Parenthood of God.
  • Beginners Guides to the Religions and Beliefs Islam

    Beginners Guides to the Religions and Beliefs Islam

    Beginners guides to the religions and beliefs Islam Teachers need subject knowledge to teach RE well. There is no substitute for this, and it is part of our professional responsibility. Any RE subject leader might use this set of support materials to help class teachers who are not expert in a religion they are going to teach. The guides to each religion here are very brief – just four or five pages usually, and carefully focused on what a teacher need to be reminded about. They are in danger of being trite or superficial, but perhaps are better than nothing. There is on every religion a wide introductory literature, and all teachers of RE will do their work better if they improve their knowledge by wider reading than is offered here. But perhaps it is worth giving these starting points to busy teachers. Note that no primary teacher needs to know about 6 religions – if you teach one year group, then two or three religions will be part of the syllabus for that year. In general terms, the following guidance points apply to teaching about any religion: 1. Respect. Speak with respect about the faith: any religion with tens of millions of followers is being studied because the people within the faith deserve our respect. 2. Diversity. Talk about ‘some / many /most’ believers, but not about ‘All believers’. Diversity is part of every religion. 3. Neutrality. Leave ‘insider language’ to insiders. A Sikh visitor can say ‘We believe...’ but teachers will do best to say ‘Many Sikhs believe’ or ‘many Christians believe...’ 4.
  • Hadith and Its Principles in the Early Days of Islam

    Hadith and Its Principles in the Early Days of Islam

    HADITH AND ITS PRINCIPLES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF ISLAM A CRITICAL STUDY OF A WESTERN APPROACH FATHIDDIN BEYANOUNI DEPARTMENT OF ARABIC AND ISLAMIC STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Glasgow 1994. © Fathiddin Beyanouni, 1994. ProQuest Number: 11007846 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11007846 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 M t&e name of &Jla&, Most ©racious, Most iKlercifuI “go take to&at tfje iHessenaer aikes you, an& refrain from to&at tie pro&tfuts you. &nO fear gJtati: for aft is strict in ftunis&ment”. ©Ut. It*. 7. CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................4 Abbreviations................................................................................................................ 5 Key to transliteration....................................................................6 A bstract............................................................................................................................7
  • Sufism in the Western History : a Primary Outline

    Sufism in the Western History : a Primary Outline

    Sufism in the Western History : A Primary Outline Andrew Rawlinson University of Lancaster Abstract The phenomenon of Western Sufi teachers is unique, not just because of the individuals themselves, though they are certainly fascinating, but because of what they represent: the flowering of the Western genius, which has discovered Eastern traditions, absorbed them and in the process changed them and been changed by them. This paper is a primary outline of the main contours of this phenomenon, trying to brief its history and attempt an explanation of what it means. Keywords: Sufism, Western Sufism, Mysticism, History of Sufism Introduction About a century ago there were no Western gurus - no Westerners who were Hindu swamis, Zen roshis or Sufi sheikhs. Now there are hundreds. From a standing start, the West has produced its own spiritual teachers in traditions that were originally quite foreign. And in the last 25 years, a number of independent teachers have appeared, who belong to no tradition but teach from themselves. These people are changing Western culture by making available a view of the human condition which is new in the West. This view is based on four principles: - human beings are best understood in terms of consciousness and its modifications, - consciousness can be transformed by spiritual practice, - there are gurus/masters/teachers who have done this, - and they can help others to do the same by some form of transmission. Hundreds of thousands of Westerners now accept this teaching. To begin with, it was propounded by Easterners: Buddhists, Hindus and Sufis. But gradually Westerners began to teach the Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi versions of it.
  • “Fight Is an Inside Path” – a Minor Field Study of How Members of Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order Perceive Religious Freedom in Mexico

    “Fight Is an Inside Path” – a Minor Field Study of How Members of Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order Perceive Religious Freedom in Mexico

    Södertörn University | School of Historical and Contemporary Studies Bachelor thesis 15 hp | Religious studies | Fall 2014 The program of Journalism target religious studies “Fight is an inside path” – A minor field study of how members of Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order perceive religious freedom in Mexico By: Sandra Forsvik Supervisor in Sweden: Simon Sorgenfrei Supervisor in Mexico: Israel Rojas Cámara Abstract The interests for academic studies of contemporary Sufism and Sufism in non-Islamic countries have become more popular, but little has been done in Latin America. The studies of Islam in this continent are limited and studies on Sufism in Mexico seem to be an unexplored area. As a student of journalism target religion I see this as an important topic that can generate new information for the study of Sufism. This thesis is therefore aimed to describe the group of Sufis I have chosen to study, Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in Mexico, linked to Human Rights in form of how members of the Sufi order perceive Religious Freedom in Mexico. A minor field study was carried out in Colonia Roma, Mexico City during October and November 2014. The place was chosen because this is the place where Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order exists in Mexico. The investigation is qualitative and based on an ethnographic study of eight weeks and semi structured interviews with three dervishes of the Sufi order, where two of them are men and one is a woman. Based on my purpose I have formulated the following questions: – How do members of Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi
  • Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi

    Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi

    ¡Az¨z Ma¢m¬d Huday¨ (1543–1628) Professor Suleyman Derin, Marmara University, Istanbul Hudayi was born in Koçhisar (which today is Ùereflikoçhisar) in 1543, a town near Ankara. However, he grew up in Sivrihisar, a town in Eski®ehir. After his initial education there, he moved to Istanbul to continue his learning at the Kuçuk Aya Sofia mosque. Whilst there, he attended the spiritual gatherings of Nureddinzade Muslihuddin Efendi (d.1573), of whom he says in his Tezakir that “the late Bali Efendi of Sofia (d.1553) was the master of my master”. Bali Efendi is famous for having written an excellent commentary upon the Fuß¬ß al-¢ikam, while Nureddinzade wrote a famous commentary on Sadr al-din al-Qunawi’s Nu߬ß. Hudayi was a very obedient student and followed his teacher when he left Istanbul to teach at the Edirne Selimiyya Madrasa, acting as his assistant. Later he became a judge in the shar¨¡a courts of Egypt, then in Damascus, where he stayed for two to three years. This was a very important post, second only to the governor of Damascus. He was known for his very good Arabic writing; his tafsir al-Qur¤ån is still extant, and was said by one of his students to have been written directly from inspiration. In 1573 he was promoted to be judge in Bursa, whilst his teacher Nureddinzade became a Mevlevi judge (a name given to the experienced professors of law). When his teacher died in the third year of his Bursa duty, Hudayi was 36 years old, and became a mur¨d of Hazreti Uftade.
  • Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971

    Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971

    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2004 Imagining Dissent: Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971 Daniel Bennett Coy University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Coy, Daniel Bennett, "Imagining Dissent: Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2004. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1925 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Daniel Bennett Coy entitled "Imagining Dissent: Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History. George White, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Cynthia Fleming, Janis Appier Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Daniel Bennett Coy entitled “Imagining Dissent: Muhammad Ali, Daily Newspapers, and the State, 1966-1971.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History.
  • 1 WITTEVEEN, Hendrikus Johannes (Known As Johan Or Johannes), Dutch Politician and Fifth Managing Director of the International

    1 WITTEVEEN, Hendrikus Johannes (Known As Johan Or Johannes), Dutch Politician and Fifth Managing Director of the International

    1 WITTEVEEN, Hendrikus Johannes (known as Johan or Johannes), Dutch politician and fifth Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1973-1978, was born 12 June 1921 in Den Dolder and passed away 23 April 2019 in Wassenaar, the Netherlands. He was the son of Willem Gerrit Witteveen, civil engineer and Rotterdam city planner, and Anna Maria Wibaut, leader of a local Sufi centre. On 3 March 1949 he married Liesbeth Ratan de Vries Feijens, piano teacher, with whom he had one daughter and three sons. Source: www.imf.org/external/np/exr/chron/mds.asp Witteveen spent most of his youth in Rotterdam, where his father worked as director of the new office for city planning. His mother was the daughter of a prominent Social-Democrat couple, Floor Wibaut and Mathilde Wibaut-Berdenis van Berlekom, but politically Witteveen’s parents were Liberal. His mother was actively involved in the Dutch Sufi movement, inspired by Inayat Khan, the teacher of Universal Sufism. Sufism emphasizes establishing harmonious human relations through its focus on themes such as love, harmony and beauty. Witteveen felt attracted to Sufism, which helped him to become a more balanced young person. At the age of 18 the leader of the Rotterdam Sufi Centre formally initiated him, which led to his lifelong commitment to, and study of, the Sufi message. After attending public grammar school, the Gymnasium Erasmianum, Witteveen studied economics at the Netherlands School of Economics between 1939 and 1946. The aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German air force in May 1940 destroyed the city centre and marked the beginning of the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany.
  • Elements of Sufism in the Philosophy of the Order: an Examination of The

    Elements of Sufism in the Philosophy of the Order: an Examination of The

    1 Elements of Sufism in the Philosophy of the Order: An Examination of the Lectures and Writings of Hazrat Inayat-Khan and Zia Inayat-Khan Keenan Nathaniel Field Ashland, Virginia Bachelor of Arts, History, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Associates of Science, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, 2013 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia December, 2020 Dr. Shankar Nair Dr. Jessica Andruss 2 In 1910, when Hazrat Inayat Khan left India to visit New York and the United States for the first time, he began his journey as a traveling musician, having come from a family of highly respected musicians in Baroda, India. Before long, however, he began publicly teaching a form of primarily Chishti Sufism. The next seventeen years of his life would be spent crisscrossing the Western world giving lectures to thousands of Europeans and Americans in an attempt to spread this philosophical message. This message shifted over those first seventeen years and the subsequent century from one that heavily emphasized specifically Sufi elements of teaching and philosophy to a religious message that placed heavy emphasis on the universal elements that it considered to be the core of all religions. This philosophy is most readily observable and easily understood by studying its current iteration, the Inayattiya, who developed out of a number of schisms and splits in the mid twentieth century and trace their silsila, or spiritual lineage, back to HIK by way of his siblings and cousins, to his son Pir Vilayat Inayat-Khan, and his grandson, the current head, of the Order Pir Zia Inayat-Khan.
  • A SUFI ‘FRIEND of GOD’ and HIS ZOROASTRIAN CONNECTIONS: the Paradox of Abū Yazīd Al-Basṭāmī ______Kenneth Avery

    A SUFI ‘FRIEND of GOD’ and HIS ZOROASTRIAN CONNECTIONS: the Paradox of Abū Yazīd Al-Basṭāmī ______Kenneth Avery

    SAJRP Vol. 1 No. 2 (July/August 2020) A SUFI ‘FRIEND OF GOD’ AND HIS ZOROASTRIAN CONNECTIONS: The Paradox of Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī ____________________________________________________ Kenneth Avery ABSTRACT his paper examines the paradoxical relation between the T famed Sufi ‘friend’ Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī (nicknamed Bāyazīd; d. 875 C.E. or less likely 848 C.E.) and his Zoroastrian connections. Bāyazīd is renowned as a pious ecstatic visionary who experienced dream journeys of ascent to the heavens, and made bold claims of intimacy with the Divine. The early source writings in both Arabic and Persian reveal a holy man overly concerned with the wearing and subsequent cutting of the non- Muslim zunnār or cincture. This became a metaphor of his constant almost obsessive need for conversion and reconversion to Islam. The zunnār also acts as a symbol of infidelity and his desire to constrict his lower ego nafs. The experience of Bāyazīd shows the juxtaposition of Islam with other faiths on the Silk Road in 9th century Iran, and despite pressures to convert, other religions were generally tolerated in the early centuries following the Arab conquests. Bāyazīd’s grandfather was said to be a Zoroastrian and the family lived in the Zoroastrian quarter of their home town Basṭām in northeast Iran. Bāyazīd shows great kindness to his non-Muslim neighbours who see in him the best qualities of Sufi Islam. The sources record that his saintliness influenced many to become Muslims, not unlike later Sufi missionaries among Hindus and Buddhists in the subcontinent. 1 Avery: Sufi Friend of God INTRODUCTION Bāyazīd’s fame as a friend of God is legendary in Sufi discourse.
  • An Analysis of Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi's Mystical

    An Analysis of Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi's Mystical

    AN ANALYSIS OF AL-HAKIM AL-TIRMIDHI’S MYSTICAL IDEOLOGY BASED ON BOOKS: BADʼU SHAANI AND SIRAT AL-AWLIYA Kazem Nasirizare, Ph.D. Candidate in Persian Language and Literature University of Zanjan, Iran Mehdi Mohabbati, Ph.D. Professor. at Department of Persian Language and Literature University of Zanjan Abstract. Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Hasan bin Bashir Bin Harun Al Hakim Al-Tirmidhi, also called Al- Hakim Al-Tirmidhi, is a Persian mystic living in the 3rd century AH. He is important in the history of Persian literature and the Persian-Islamic mysticism due to several reasons. First, he is one of the first Persian mystics who has significant works in the field of mysticism. Second, early instances of Persian prose can be identified in his world and taking the time that he was living into consideration, the origins of post-Islam Persian prose can be seen in his writings. Third, his ideas have had significant impacts on Mysticism, Sufism, and consequently, in the Persian mystical literature; thus, understanding and analyzing his viewpoints and works is of significant importance for attaining a better picture of Persian mystical literature. The current study attempts to analyze Al-Tirmidhi’s mystical ideology based on his two books: Bad’u Shanni Abu Abdullah (The Beginning of Abu Abdullah’s Journey) and Sirat Al-Awliya (Road of the Saints). Al-Tirmidhi’s ideology is going to be explained through investigating and analyzing his viewpoints regarding the manner of starting a spiritual journey, the status of asceticism and austerity in a spiritual journey, transition from the ascetic school of Baghdad to the Romantic school of Khorasan.
  • A Study of the Requirements for Submitting a Thesis to Be Examined for a Higher Degree

    A Study of the Requirements for Submitting a Thesis to Be Examined for a Higher Degree

    A STUDY OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTING A THESIS TO BE EXAMINED FOR A HIGHER DEGREE Mohamed Jindani Submitted to University of Wales in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Islamic Studies University of Wales, Lampeter 2005 ABSTRACT This Thesis entitled The Concept of Dispute Resolution in Islamic Law acquaints the reader with an introduction to the Qur' än, sunnah of the Prophet (s.a. a. s. ) and the many provisions relating to dispute resolution during the period of Divine revelation. The origins of the division of the community into Shia and Sunni is explored and explained in Chapter two. Two furthers chapters on dispute resolution one Sunni School the Mäliki School and one Shia School the Ismä`ili School are examined. The Thesis concludes with a detailed consideration of the concept of mahr, the possibleconflict with English law and the manner in which that conflict may be resolved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My thanks to my Supervisor Dr. Dawoud S. al-Alami of the University, for his supervisionand critical commentsand generalassistance that he gave me and without whose help and support this Thesis would not have reached completion. My thanks go to the Governors of the Institute of Ismail Studies whose generousconsent to my use of their excellent library and other facilities was an invaluable help. My thanksalso go to the library staff in particular to Dr. Duncan Haldane and Mr Al-Noor Merchant. My sincere thanks are also due to Dr. Faquir Muhammad Hunzai also of the Institute of Ismail studies for his translation of one of the Sifn arbitration agreements and all the Traditions of the Prophet (s.a.