Entries by simar
Journal of Sufi Studies Review of Poetry in Praise of Prophetic Perfection
Abstract: “Scholarship on Islam in Africa has long been in need of comprehensive work on West African madīḥ (i.e. Arabic poetry in praise of the Prophet Muhammad).Recent articles have explicitly called for such an endeavor, and the time has come to fully exorcise the “Islam noir” specter that has compelled those who write on West African madīḥ to characterize it pejoratively as, […]
The Importance of Sufism in Chinese Islam (with Sachiko Murata)
Abstract: “Cemalnur Sargut Hocam asked us to say something about the significance of the Kenan Rifai Chair of Islamic Studies at Peking University, which we inaugurated in the Spring of 2012. As many of you know, the Kenan Rifai Chair is housed in Te Institute of Advanced Humanistic Studies. The Institute was founded by Professor u Weiming in 2010 shortly after […]
Actionless Action – Mohammed Rustom
Abstract: “It has indeed been a blessing to sit with the great Kenan Rifai’s commentary upon book one of Mevlana’s Mesnevi .Spending time with this book naturally led me to Kenan Rifai’s explanation of a famous tale in the Mesnevi centered around ‘Ali b. Abi Talib tale is retold from Islamic tradition and is cast in Mevlana’s unique terms […]
Rūmī on Traveling the Path of the Prophet – William Chittick
Abstract: “Rūmī saw himself as belonging to the line of prophets (anbiyā ) and saints (awliyā ), the God-given function of whom is to guide the human race. He had a great deal to say about most sorts of Islamic teachings, as can be verified by the traditional commentaries on the Mathnawī or modern studies like that of Jalāl […]
Poised on the Higher Horizon: Seeing God in the Sahara – Ariela Marcus-Sells
Abstract: “This article presents an Arabic transcription and complete English translation of an untitled text – labelled “Khalwa ” in the manuscript catalogue – attributed to S ī d ī al-Mukhtār al-Kunt ī , a Saharan scholar and Suteacher of the late-eighteenth century. In the accompanying commentary, I demonstrate how this textdraws together two passages in the Qur’ān: the ambiguous visionary encounters of 53:1-18 […]
Islamic Perspectives on Science and Technology Selected Conference Papers
Abstract: “The collection of papers that are featured in this book was presented at the International Conference on ‘Developing Synergies Between Islam and Science &Technology for Mankind’s Benefit’, held at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, on 1–2 October 2014.The conference was formally opened by the former Prime Minister of […]
ISLAM, YOGA AND MEDITATION (from Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies) – Patrick DSilva
Abstract: “How have Muslims responded to, engaged with and developed original versions of yoga and meditation? This chapter provides a brief historical overview with an emphasis on Muslim communities in South Asia, especially during the Mughal period. This first part of the chapter establishes the basic framework for understanding the earliest surviving texts demonstrating Muslim […]
Sayyid Haydar Amuli’s Seal of Absolute walaya: A Shi’i Response to Ibn ‘Arabi – Mohammed Rustom
Abstract: “The work of one of the most important figures of philosophical Sufism, Sayyid Haydar Āmulī (d. ca. 787/1385), has largely been neglected in modern Western scholarship. In Iran, however, the situation is quite different as a steady stream of Persian monographs dedicated to Āmulī’s life and thought have been appearing over the past twenty years.In Arabic, we […]
Rule of the One: Avicenna,Bahmanyār, and al-Rāzī on the Argument from the Mubāḥathāt – Davlat Dadikhuda
Abstract: “Avicenna is a strong proponent of what some of the later ones call qāʻidat al-wāḥid or ‘rule of the one’(RO). The gist of RO states: from the one only one directly proceeds. In the secondary literature, discussion of this Avicennian rule is usually limited to a particular application of it i.e., the issue of […]