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What is the relation of reason to revelation? How do rational truths relate to truths in scripture? Does the Quran assert theological truths (“God exists”) in the same manner as it prescribes legal commands (“wine is forbidden”)? How do the texts of the Quran and Sunna convey such truths? This article reconsiders the status of […]
Maʿrifa and the less commonly used ʿirfān are verbal nouns derived from the root ʿ-r-f (for the various meanings of this root, see Lane’s Lexicon, s.v. ʿ-r-f). Like ʿilm, which is often considered its synonym, maʿrifa means ‘to know’. Scholars in all disciplines have offered definitions and explanations for the word ʿilm, frequently explaining that […]
In 2009, I had the honour to interview Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, who is a Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, Washington, DC, as part of the ‘Muslim Heritage Interview Series’. During the interview, Nasr touched on various topics related to Islam and modernity, Sufism, spirituality, consumerism and the environment. Thirteen years had […]
How does Sherman A. Jackson’s interpretation of Islamic secularism compare to other contemporary interpretations within Islamic thought? What are the implications of Jackson’s arguments on the relationship between religion and state in predominantly Muslim countries? In what ways can Jackson’s critique of Islamic secularism inform current debates on secularism and pluralism in multicultural societies?
The chapter aims to systematically outline some of the most important aspects and features of dhikr – the central meditative technique of Islamic spirituality in general and of Sufi “initiatic practice” in particular. Dhikr, which can be translated as “remembrance”, “recollection”, “mentioning” or “invocation” of God or God’s most beautiful Names, is primarily discussed in […]
The essay below analyzes the substance and rhetoric of ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī’s (d. 973/1565) book Laṭāʾif al-minan wa-l-akhlāq (Subtle Blessings and Morals). While giving particular attention to the text’s introduction and concluding sections, in my analysis here I use the Laṭāʾif as a case study to illustrate how Suf authors like al-Shaʿrānī attempted to relieve […]
Can the “secular” ever be “Islamic?” Sherman Jackson’s e Islamic Secular is a profound exploration of a deeply misunderstood concept: the relationship between Islam and the secular. In an intellectual landscape oſten dominated by binaries, such as secularism versus religion, and tradition versus modernity, Jackson masterfully demonstrates that these categories fail to account for Islam’s […]
This paper presents a review article of Creating the Qur’an by Stephen J. Shoemaker, a monograph that is highly critical of Quranic studies as practised in the Western academy today, arguing, among other things, that Islamic studies scholars need to learn from scholarship in other fields, namely history of religions and biblical studies, and that […]
The present study investigates the ethics of selfhood and human flourishing in Islamic thought, which is intertwined with a distinct moral and spiritual view of human nature. Drawing on the repository of various texts and authors in Sufism, Islamic philosophy and theology, and Islamic ethical literature, this article argues that it is in terms of […]
One of the most remarkable figures in the history of Islam in America was Omar ibn Said (ʿUmar b. Sayyid, 1770-1863), a Muslim scholar educated in West Africa, who was captured in warfare in his homeland and sold into slavery in America in 1807. For over half a century he lived in North Carolina, enslaved […]
By Journal of the Institute for Sufi Studies Iran’s historical and complicated social situation has led to diverse attitudes toward Sufism and interpretations of Ibn ʿArabī’s legacy. Many of Ibn ʿArabī’s prominent followers and commentators were originally from Iran; however, many of his notable opponents were also from Iran. These two historical currents of followers and […]