Entries by Tony Soprano

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 […]

The Sound of Silence – William C. Chittick

Abstract: “I tried to imagine how the authors of the old texts that I read would have reacted to the phrase “the silence of God.” Probably they would have muttered, “Try listening for once.” Or they might have quoted the Qur’anic verse, “They have hearts but they do not understand with them, they have eyes but […]

Sulamī’s Treatise on the Science of the Letters (ʿilm al-ḥurūf)

Abstract: “The terms, “Sufism” and “the Science of the Letters” ( ilm al-ḥurūf)’ mentioned together frequently awaken associations with the most widely known work on magic in Islam, Shams al-ma’arifwa-lata’i], al-‘awiirif(“The Brilliance of Knowledge and the Subtleties of its Gift”) of Abii l-‘Abbas Ahmad b. ‘Ali al-Buni ( d.622/1225).The author was a native of the […]

‘Shining of the Lights and the Veil of the Sights in the Secrets Bright – An Akbarī Approach to the Problem of Pure Consciousness – Oludamini Ogunnaike

Abstract: “Consciousness is perhaps the most basic, and therefore impossible to describe or define, reality – a conception, which in most schemas, is presupposed by all conceptions (there must be a consciousness conceiving of these conceptions). Numerous scientists have called consciousness the ‘final frontier’ of their discipline, but those of us who study religion (and […]

The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy

Abstract: “Only rarely does a publication such as this offer scholars the opportunity to explain what they hope to accomplish, and why they are motivated to do it. In this jubilee edition, our department of religious studies has invited each of us to ask the question: why? For my own part, the answer begins with […]

Two Brothers

“At the end of July, I was amongst 60 people who retreated from our daily lives, in a valley called Pontbriand, high in the Appalachians of Quebec. There, for six days, we followed a rhythm of existence that centred around devotion, reflection, and seeking of wisdom and meaning. We gathered early morning to pray and […]

The Set of the Real: Mathematical Implications of the Metaphysics of René Guénon – Peter Samsel

Abstract: “René Guénon, the seminal founder of the Traditionalist School, was also perhaps its preeminent metaphysician. More particularly, he was the plenary expositor of a metaphysics through which mathematical conceptualization runs like a golden thread. As Frithjof Schuon, another remarkable metaphysician, has observed, “Guénon was like the personification, not of spirituality as such, but uniquely […]

THE ESSENTIAL VEDANTA – A NEW SOURCE BOOK OF ADVAITA VEDANTA

Abstract: “If we are to form a proper understanding of the meaning and scope of “Revelation,” we do well to forget at once the implications of the term in the Mediterranean religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Strictly speaking, “revelation” is a misnomer, since ultimately there is no revealer. The Sanskrit term for it is śruti, […]

WRITINGS FROM THE PHILOKALIA ON PRAYER OF THE HEART

Abstract: “The ‘Philokalia’ is a collection of writings of the Fathers from the earliest times after the Declaration of Constantine the Great. It shows the way to awaken attention and consciousness, and to develop them ; it provides the means of acquiring the quickest and most effective conditions for training in what the Fathers, who […]