Abstract: “This article presents the theory of sainthood found in the writings of Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), a majorcommentator on the Sufi thought of Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). Building on previous philosophical interpretations of IbnʿArabī’s thought to systematize the worldview now known as the “Oneness of Being” (waḥdat al-wujūd), Qayṣarī also developed a sophisticated theory […]
Abstract: In Plato’s Phaedo we encounter a dialogue between Socrates and Cebes around the nature of the soul and its relation to the body. The soul we learn is divine-like, deathless, intelligent, uniform, indissoluble and of course invisible, while the body in contrast is mortal, multiform, changing, soluble and visible. If the body gains mastery […]
Abstract: This narrowness is not by accident — it is by design. Big “E”Education has to limit who gets in and what it does in order tobe able to confer both valuable credentials on its graduates, andlegitimacy on the subjects under its gaze.Ask the Oppenheimerfamily how DeBeers made its fortune with diamonds: to makesomething valuable […]
Abstract: We live in an era in which the brain has come to signify the central component of human identity. It’s common to hear people blurt out statements like “our brains are wired to do XYZ,” or “the brain creates new ideas,” or “explain X to my brain” (instead of saying “explain X to me!”) […]
Abstract: “This short treatise contains the knowledge of the divine name of Majesty (al-jalāla), which is the all-inclusive name, Allah. Ibn al-ʿArabī explains the meaning of each component letter of the word ‘Allah’ and the significance of the implied wāw in Allāh(ū) as it relates to the Supreme Identity (huwiyya). After revealing some of the […]
Abstract: “The problem of evil is one that has earned much attention in recent decades and is frequently used as a justification for atheism, and increasingly so due to the rise in popularity of secularism and atheism. How is the issue of theodicy considered in Islamic philosophy, and especially in Shia theology? Does this problem […]
Abstract: “What happens in the brain during meditation? Neuroscientists such as Andrew Newberg, who studies religious experiences on the neural level, may provide an answer. He calls the devolution, which is similar to all mystical experiences in different faiths, self-transcendent experience (STE); in a further instance, he also calls it the feeling of Absolute Unitary […]
Abstract: “The AUB Press is pleased to announce the newest title from our Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Series in honor of Dr. Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn. For forty years, Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn’s work at the American University of Beirut revised how we understand the relations of power between the Ottoman center and its Arab peripheries. His […]
Abstract: “This dissertation examines Jalal al-din Rumi (d. 1273) hermeneutics of the Qur’an by focusing on his interpretations of the Qur’anic character of Pharaoh. Although Rumı did not write a commentary in the traditional genre of tafsır by commenting on the Qur’an in a linear verse by verse fashion, significant portions of his poetry are […]
Abstract: “After a tsunami struck Japan in 2011, I vividly recall an interview of an elderly man as he stood over the ruins of his hometown. Overcome by grief, he informed the reporter that the food had killed not only his wife but also his children, their spouses, and his grandchildren. The tragedy took from […]
Abstract: “Ever since Margaret Smith (d. 1970) published the Mystic A.D. 717- 801 and Her Fellow Saints in Islam almost a century ago, Rabi’a has remained a figure of abiding interest in the study of lslam in the West. For Muslims, she has often embodied the archetype of the selfless lover of God, the devotee […]