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Sufism: Comparative Perspective Inaf 451 Spring 2011

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Sufism: Comparative Perspective Inaf 451 Spring 2011 SUFISM: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE INAF 451 SPRING 2011 Instructor : Syafaatun Almirzanah Email : [email protected] Office : ICC 163 Office Hours : Class Time : 9.30am-12pm Class Room : ICC 270 Course Description, Goals, and Objectives For quite some time now, science and technology have constituted a substitute for religion or even a ‘pseudo religion’ which some have dubbed “scientism.” Nevertheless, for decades, in the post-modern era, there has been a renewed interest in spirituality in which people are rejecting blind belief in science and technology. As Naisbit and Aburdene point out in their book Mega Trend 2000, the rise of interest in spirituality is largely because, as important as they may be for modern existence, for most ordinary people science and technology do not give meaning to life. Although many believe it to be so, the human hunger for meaning is not fundamentally a function of the intellect, but rather a function of that even less sharply defined dimension of the person referred to as the “spirit.” This is why, when human beings pass through a crisis of estrangement from their environment, those who are religiously inclined tend to return to their spiritual roots. When the outer world seems to lack meaning, these people journey more deeply into their inner worlds. It is in his or her inner world that the person becomes open to the transcendent, or to put it theistically, experiences God. In the past, mysticism/Sufism) and mystics/Sufis have been relegated to one of two categories: either that of the spiritual elite who embody the deepest form of faith, but who have little in common with ordinary life and the vast majority of their co-religionaries, or that of the eccentric spiritual fringe whose ideas and practices border on the heretical. Today mysticism/Sufism and mystics/ Sufis, formerly assigned to the fringe, have come to be seen in a new light. Both scholars and the general public have come to perceive in the teachings and lives of certain mystics/Sufis a profound relevancy to the efforts of mainstream believers to integrate the challenges of pluralism into their own religious identities. For example, David Tracy sees in the mystic tradition a means for analogically participating in pluralistic dialogue on religion. (Tracy, 1987) Similarly, Hans Kung, in establishing a common understanding with Eastern Religions, has turned to Christian mysticism's negative theology. (Kung and Julia Ching, 1989). On the popular side, this interest is mirrored by, for example, the fact that English translations of the poetry of a thirteenth-century Persian Sufi writing in central Anatolia (Jalal al-Din Rumi) were—just a few years ago—the best selling poetry in the U.S. Indeed, Sufism has much to offer Muslims who are attempting to formulate a genuinely Islamic theology of religious pluralism. The Sufi is someone who is ideally able to go beyond the phenomenal world on her or his journey to God into the deeper and innermost experience of unity, thus, moving from a specific way of life into a more holistic one. Furthermore, according to Nasr, Sufism is as the “Centre where all the radii meet, the summit which all roads reach, and only such a vision of the Centre can provide a meaningful dialogue between religions, showing both their inner unity and formal diversity.”1 From this course, the student will learn one form of Islamic spirituality as one of the three basic dimensions of Islam, which is not well understood as the other two dimensions. The two other dimensions are “submission” (Islam) and “Faith” (Iman). Those three dimensions are constant Qur’anic theme. This course will be a historical and topical survey of the origins and development of Sufism. It will begin by examining the history and meaning of the term "Sufism" itself, raising theoretical questions about the coherence of this concept. It will then survey the beginnings and textual bases of the Sufi traditions. It is primarily concerned with the growth of mystical tradition in Islam, the rise of asceticism, the early Sufis, the development of Sufi orders, the systematization of Sufi teaching and the evolution of theosophical dimensions of mysticism, the contribution of Sufism in the Islamic art and literature, and finally the role of Sufism in the modern world. In doing so, we will attempt to study the lives and teachings of the outstanding Sufis as Rabi'a, al-Hallaj, al-Ghazali, and Ibn al-‘Arabi and how their teaching still alive in the contemporary world. This course also provides an opportunity to engage in the close reading of some of the most important recent scholarship on the topic of Sufism. Readings will include both primary and secondary sources and will examine the phenomenon of Sufism both as a religious and a socio-cultural phenomenon from a number of different perspectives. Course objectives: to familiarize students with the comparative study of such anomalous events in Islamic traditions and in specific socio-historical contexts. The impulse toward purgation, contemplation, annihilation, and union in the teaching of sufism will be examined from a number of different perspectives, including Western religious traditions (e.g. Christian Mysticism), as well as Eastern religious traditions (meditation, renunciation, and yoga). It also familiarize students with the breadth and diversity views of the “sacred” in the history of religions, especially of mystical experiences as expressed in key primary texts from most of the major religious traditions, and understanding the variety of approaches to the Divine that exist around the world, and theoretical explanations of mystical experiences. Another objective of the course is for student to read, understand, and contemplate some of the most profound and, at 1 Nasr, Sufi Essays, 150. times, the most neglected literature in human history. To think critically about the place of the experience of Sufism in the lives of specific adherents and religious communities as well as about the diverse interpretations of such anomalous events. COURSE REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION SCHEDULE The course will require: completion of the weekly reading assignments in preparation for each class meeting; attendance at all lectures (unexcused absences without prior approval of the instructor will result in a grading penalty); active participation in class discussions; [The above three requirements will cumulatively comprise 15% of the final grade.] the preparation of two 1- to 3-page discussion leadership papers articulating major themes in the week’s reading and questions for discussion related to these themes (responsibility for leading discussion will be assigned by the instructor at least one week in advance) [10% per paper]; the submission by .....................of a 6- to 8-page midterm paper on an assigned topic [20%]; working versions presentation by ....................[15%]; and the submission by..........................of a final 15- to 20-page research paper on a pre-approved topic of the student’s own choosing [40%]. REQUIRED and OPTIONAL TEXTS 1) Author : Annemarie Schimmel Title : Mystical Dimensions of Islam ISBN-10 : 0807812714 ISBN – 13 : 978-0807812716 Publisher : The University of North Carolina Press (April 1, 1978) Edition : Paperback 527 pages Required or Optional : Required 2) Author : William C. Chittick Title : Sufism ISBN-10 : 1851685472 ISBN – 13 : 978-1851685479 Publisher : Oneworld (November 2007) Edition : Paperback 224 pages Required or Optional : Required 3) Author : William C. Chittick Title : The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination ISBN-10 : 0887068855 ISBN – 13 : 978-0887068850 Publisher : State University of New York Press (June 30, 1989) Edition : Paperback 504 pages Required or Optional : Required 4) Author : Syafaatun Almirzanah Title : When Mystic Masters Meet: Towards a New Matrix for Christian-Muslim Dialogue ISBN-10 : 1935295128 ISBN – 13 : 978-1935295129 Publisher : Blue Dome Press (September 16, 2011) Edition : Paperback 252 pages Required or Optional : Required 5) Author : Reza Shah-Kazemi Title : Paths to Transcendence: According to Shankara, Ibn Arabi & Meister Eckhart (Spiritual Masters) ISBN-10 : 0941532976 ISBN – 13 : 978-0941532976 Publisher : World Wisdom (March 1, 2006) Edition : Paperback 288 pages Required or Optional : Optional 6) Author : William C. Chittick Title : Ibn Arabi (Makers of the Muslim World) ISBN-10 : 1851683879 ISBN – 13 : 978-1851683871 Publisher : Oneworld (September 21, 2005) Edition : Paperback 160 pages Required or Optional : Optional 7) Author : Carl W. Ernst Title : Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam ISBN-10 : 1590308840 ISBN – 13 : 978-159030 8844 Publisher : Shambhala; Reprint edition (May 10, 2011) Edition : Paperback 288 pages Required or Optional : Optional 8) Author : Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali Title : Al-Ghazali’s Path to Sufism: al- Munqidh min al-Dalal ISBN-10 : 1887752307 ISBN – 13 : 978-1887752305 Publisher : Fons Vitae; 2nd edition (January 1, 2000) Edition : Paperback 115 pages Required or Optional : Optional COURSE OUTLINE I.Introduction: What is Sufis, Sufism as one on the three dimensions of Islam, its origin and Qur’anic foundation Reading: Schimmel, Mystical Dimension Chittick, Sufism Martin Lings, What is Sufism Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Spirituality I II & III. Periods in the origin and development of Sufism Readings: Schimmel, Mystical Dimension Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Spirituality I IV & V. Great Mystical figure of the classical age: Rabia and al-Hallaj Readings:
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