What is real, possible, and good when it comes to human beings thinking together about the real, the possible, and the good? In this book, these ultimate questions will be explored on their own terms, and will be made particular through a question that is often limited to history, anthropology, and religious studies, namely, “What […]
“As discussed in Chapter 1 of this volume, Sufi thought on the structure of the cosmos is deeply intertwined with ideas about death, the end of the world, and the afterlife, giving rise to what can be termed a Sufi cosmo-eschatology. Drawing on various aspects of the Qurʾān and ḥadīth, including the complex body of […]
This is an outline of my talk at the first Islamic Psychology Seminar in Paris, May 12, 2024. The question “why” is essential because it helps us gain new knowledge and make better decisions. It all boils down to understanding and staying true to our faith, identity, and purpose in this life and aſterlife while […]
Abstract: In a world where people often relegate God to the realm of illusion and look on “trust in God” as a psychological crutch, tospeak about trust as an actual dimension of reality must seem odd. People would rather imagine that trust is something we should have in our favorite ideology, or perhaps science, or […]
Abstract: The purpose of this article is twofold: first, I will reconstruct Mullā Ṣadrā’s complex arguments for the soul’s immortality based on its immaterial nature. Second and finally, I will briefly probe and assess various epistemological and metaphysical objections against Ṣadrā’s immaterialist conception of the soul. Ṣadrā contends that our bodily death marks an awakening […]
Abstract: Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi 1207 – 1273) has been a universal figure for people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. He has been recognized as a literary and spiritual figure. Rumi’s philosophy is rooted to an understanding of universe and existence through love. Love is the whole thing and we are the pieces. In the […]
Abstract: In one of his earliest papers, given in 1953, Pierre Hadot wrote of the lasting influence of the Stoic idea of tonic motion (tonikê kinêsis), a “vibrational movement proceeding from the internal to the external, and from the external to the internal” (Hadot 2019, pp. 45–52). For Hadot, this conceptual scheme “beyond the Stoics, […]
Abstract: This article illustrates the concepts of trust (tawakkul) and hope (rajā’) from an Islamic- mystical perspective. To do so, I will first reflect on the term »Islamic mysticism« and methodologically question its legitimacy. Given this background I will then approach the term »Sufism« (taṣawwuf) and try to briefly highlight its main character as a […]
Abstract: What do we mean by integration? Not only do I want to pose this question from the point of view of Sufi metaphysics, but also of other forms of metaphysics as well. Oneness in its absoluteness belongs to the Abso lute alone. It is only the One who is ultimately one. This is not […]
Maulvi in meditation, Indischer Maler, ca. 1630 Islam holds humans to be a special creation. Ennobled by God, they are His vicegerent on earth and look forward to a sublime destiny. Their ancestor Adam was the exalted creature in whose direction God ordered the angels to prostrate, even while his splendor drew the envy of […]
Abstract In this paper, I discuss Ibn ʿArabī’s view on the nature of the Qur’ānic text, as it appears through its relation to the central notion of “perplexity” (ḥayra). My aim is to show how the Shaykh al-Akbar uses this notion to define the peculiar nature of the Qur’ānic language and its very purpose, and […]