Entries by simar

Ken Garden’s Review of Al-Ghazali, The Condemnation of Pride and Self-Admiration

Abstract: “The Revival of the Religious Sciences is an enduring masterpiece of the Islamic tradition, a summa of Islamic religious disciplines (law, theology, etc.) within a rubric of virtue ethics, written by one of the most renowned thinkers of that tradition, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Admirers of the book in subsequent centuries enthused that, […]

Sufism and Quranic Ethics – Atif Khalil

Abstract: The Qur’ān lies at the heart of Muslim spirituality, and provides the fount and wellspring for its doctrines and practices. To the extent that classical Islam as a whole was animated in both form and spirit by its central Scripture, all the way from law and ritual to theology and the arts, it would […]

“The Grace of God” as evidence for a written Uthmanic archetype: the importance of shared orthographic idiosyncrasies – Marijn van Putten

Abstract: “This paper takes a novel approach to the question of when and how the text of the Quran was codified into its present form, usually referred to as the Uthmanic text type. In the Quran the phrase niʿmat all āh/rabbi-ka “the grace of god/your lord” can spell niʿmat  “grace” either with t āʾ or  t āʾmarbūṭ ah. By examining 14 early Quranic manuscripts, it is shown that this phrase […]

Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī – Philosophy

Abstract: “Rumi’s teachings, whether in the Maṯnawi or his other works, focus on “the roots of the roots of the roots of the religion” (o ṣul o ṣul o ṣul al-din, Ma ṯ nawi I intro.). By “the religion” he means the Islamic tradition, not religion generically; he is saying that his works go to the heart and soul of the Quranic message and do not get mired […]

Contentment, Satisfaction and Good-Pleasure: Rida in Early Sufi Moral Psychology -Atif Khalil

Abstract:  “The article examines early Sufi notions of  rida, usually translated as ‘‘contentment,’’ ‘‘satisfaction,’’ and ‘‘good-pleasure.’’ It does so through a close textual analysis of some of the most important works of the tradition authored up until what has been identified as the ‘‘formative period of Sufi literature,’’ a period which ends in the 11th century. In the process, the article situates rida within the larger context of […]

Review of Sufism and Deconstruction: A Comparative Study of Derrida and Ibn ‘Arabi by Ian Almond

Abstract: “When William C. Chittick published his encyclopedic Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination almost thirty years ago, he made readily available to the English speaking world,for the first time, lengthy excerpts drawn primarily from the thirteenth century Andalusian thinker’s most comprehensive summation of Sufi thought in the Meccan Revelations. Chittick’s most significant contribu-tion, arguably, lay in the virtually unparalleled lucidity with […]

Love and Beauty in Sufism

Abstract: “Love and beauty have been defining elements of Islam from its inception. The introduction to each sūrah of the Qurʾān,Bismill āh al-raḥmān al-raḥī m, repeats two Divine Names that convey God’s omnibenevolence. These names are usually rendered using the terms “Mercy”and “Compassion,” but as some have argued, “In the Name of God, The Ever-Loving,the All-Loving” better captures the […]

The History of Sufism in Multan: New Data from the Urdu Tadhkirah Tradition – Muhammad Touseef

Abstract: “The medieval history of Sufism in Multan is relatively well known. A figure such as the famous Suhrawardi Shaykh Baha’ al- Dn Zakariyya from the thirteenth century embodies this prestigious period. Our article shows that the Sufi brotherhoods have continued to flourish until today, far beyond what traditional historiography describes. Using unexplored sources mostly […]