Tag Archive for: Islam

Tirmidhi’s Kitāb al-‘Ilal – annotated translation By Jonathan Brown

Abū ʿĪsā Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā al-Tirmidhī is one of the most influential figures in the Sunni hadith tradition. Born in about 210/825 near the city of Tirmidh on the northern bank of the Oxus River in modern-day Uzbekistan, he traveled widely in northeastern Iran, Iraq, and the Hejaz to study with the most sought-af ter scholars and transmitters of hadiths in his day. These included scholars who had themselves travelled widely in the quest to hear hadiths, such as Qutayba b. Saʿīd of Balkh (d. 240/854), as well as scholars who would become famed for their mastery of both hadith and law, such as al-Dārimī of Samarqand (d. 255/869) and Abū Dāwūd (author of the famous Sunan, d. 275/889). They also comprised the most respected masters of hadith criticism, including Muslim b. Ḥajjāj of Nishapur (author of the Ṣaḥīḥ, d. 260/875) and Abū Zurʿa al-Rāzī of Rayy (d. 264/878). But his most famous and influential teacher was none other than al-Bukhārī (author of the Ṣaḥīḥ, d. 256/870). At some point al-Tirmidhī returned to his hometown, where he died in 279/892 at around seventy years of age. Today his grave can be visited just north of Tirmidh in Uzbekistan, enclosed in an idyllic brick mausoleum built in the old Samanid style and frequented by local pilgrims. Al-Tirmidhī’s legal and theological leanings are clear in his works. Though he predated the solidification of the four schools of law, he identified with the general legal and theological tradition that he refers to as the ‘People of hadith’ (ahl al-ḥadīth). Notably, he also refers to this group as the ‘People of the Sunna and the Community’ (ahl alsunna wa’l-jamāʿa)-perhaps the earliest recorded instance of a scholar identifying himself with this designation. 1 Al-Tirmidhī describes this group as looking to exemplars like Mālik (d. 179/796), Sufyān b. ʿUyayna (d. 196/811), ʿAbdallāh b. al-Mubārak (d. 181/797), and Isḥāq b. Rāhawayh (d. 238/853). But the most influential figure in al-Tirmidhī’s theological universe was al-Bukhārī’s teacher and the pivot of the Ahl al-Sunna in Baghdad, Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241/855). Al-Tirmidhī’s legal views

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The Prophet’s Day in China: A Study of the Inculturation of Islam in China, Based on Fieldwork in Xi’an, Najiaying, and Hezhou

Islam is widely spread throughout every corner of China, with the Hui people, the largest Muslim ethnic group in China, numbering over 10 million people, serving as its main carrier. Their culture types and local features exhibit great diversity across different provinces. The ceremony of Prophet’s Day or Mawlid al-Nabi in China, as one of the three fundamental festivals of the Hui people alongside Eid al-Fitur and Eid al-Qurban, appears to be more comprehensive, open, and localized. Drawing from fieldwork in three Hui communities—Xi’an in Shaanxi province, Najiaying in Yunnan province, and Hezhou in Gansu province—this paper approaches the topic from the perspective of inculturation and cultural innovation. It aims to describe the ritual processes observed in these three different Hui communities and discuss how the Hui people integrate Islam with traditional Chinese culture in their local contexts, with the intention of forming and preserving their own cultural characteristics.

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Pleasures—Sensual and Spiritual: A Chapter from Nāṣir-i Khusraw’s Pilgrims’ Provision By Shafique N . Virani

This article offers a translation and analysis of Nāṣir-i Khusraw’s seminal discourse on pleasure from his philosophical treatise The Pilgrims’ Provision (Zād al-musāfirīn), illuminating the intricate interplay between sensual and intellectual delights in Islamic thought. It situates Nāṣir-i Khusraw within the broader intellectual tradition, highlighting his critique of Muḥammad b. Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī’s Epicurean-influenced conception of pleasure as mere relief from pain. Through rigorous refutation, Nāṣir-i Khusraw advances a framework wherein pleasure is a metaphysical phenomenon rooted in the soul’s ascent toward perfection and its reunion with the Universal Intellect. The chapter explores the gradations of pleasure across the natural, vegetative, sentient, and rational realms, culminating in the infinite joy of intellectual realization. Drawing on symbolic interpretation of the Quran, Nāṣir-i Khusraw redefines paradise not as a realm of corporeal indulgence, but as consummate knowledge, and hell as consummate ignorance. The translation is enriched by historical context, philosophical commentary, and poetic excerpts, offering readers a profound meditation on the nature of human fulfillment and the enduring relevance of spiritual pleasure in an age of material excess.

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Desire, Determination and Action in Hayākil al-Nūr: Exploring the Legacy of Suhrawardī in Mughal India (1526-1857)

This paper examines the influence of Suhrawardī’s thought on Mughal intellectual landscape through a case study of the debate on human voluntary actions in Mīr Zāhid’s (d. 1689) super-commentary on Suhrawardī’s (d. 1191) Hayākil al-nūr. Central to this analysis is the relationship between cognitions, desires, and their role in the formation of will. I argue that for Suhrawardī, and subsequently Dawānī (d. 1502), volition is nothing more than an intense desire that dominates the soul. In contrast, Mīr Zāhid differentiates between desire and volition, positing that desire targets the goal of an action (e.g., being nourished), while volition pertains to the act itself (e.g., eating). By situating Mīr Zāhid’s argument within the broader context of engagement with Suhrawardī’s works in Mughal India, this paper contends that the study of the “Ishrāqī” legacy should not be articulated and pursued in terms of full adherence to Suhrawardī’s worldview. Instead, it should focus on how intellectuals in Mughal India responded to his arguments.

Shihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyá ibn Ḥabash ibn Amīrak al-Suhrawardī1 holds a prominent place in the history of Islamic philosophy, and his innovative ideas have left an indelible mark on various facets of philosophical discourse across the Islamicate world, a fact which is underscored by the survival of more than thirty commentaries on his works from Turkey, Iran, and India.2 Within the scope of the present study, which centers on Mughal India (1526–1857), the significance of Suhrawardī’s ideas for understanding the Mughal intellectual landscape

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al-Haya: The Dignity of Shame By Oludamini Ogunnaike

By Oludamini Ogunnaike

It is perhaps not accidental that the Arabic word and central Islamic concept of ḥayāʾ (often translated as “shame,” “modesty,” or “shyness”) is very difficult to translate into modern English, given the profound differences in the world-senses animating the two discourses. Likewise, the modern English notion of “dignity,” although Islamic sources have played an indirect role in its development,7 does not have a single, exact equivalent in classical Islamic discourse, but ḥayāʾ covers much of the same ground. At first blush this appears to be a paradox, as dignity and shame are often described as oppo- sites: shame has been described as a violation of dignity, and a dignified person is not ashamed. However, even in English, this issue is more complicated, as illustrated by another seeming paradox: shameless people do the most shameful of deeds. Indeed, the early Sufi author al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072) wrote that “One of the signs of those who possess shame is that one will never see them in a shameful condition.” Thus, in the face of the brazen shameless- ness of recent political and business leaders and practices, numerous social campaigns—from the non-violent, coercive protest movements of Gandhi, mlk Jr., and the Civil Rights movement to the more recent environmental, social justice, and anti-war shame campaigns and boycotts targeting companies to the #MeToo movement—have attempted not only to deploy shame to change behaviors and conditions, but (especially in the cases of Gandhi and the civil rights movement) to reinstitute the principles of moral shame in domains dominated by shamelessness in order to restore or safeguard the dignity of both oppressed and oppressors.

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“Sufism and the Anthropocosmic Self.” In I of the Heart: Texts and Studies in Honor of Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Islamic History and Civilization Series. Edited by M. Faruque, A. Khalil, and M. Rustom. Leiden: Brill, 2025, pp. 3–39.

It would not be an overstatement to say that the strand of thought now called Sufi metaphysics revolves around two interrelated doctrines, namely the oneness of being (waḥdat al-wujūd) and the perfect human (al-insān al-kāmil ). As is well-known, the expression waḥdat al-wujūd is controversial, which is composed of two words—waḥda and wujūd—both of which were important in the Islamic intellectual tradition since early days. The word “waḥda” means “unity or oneness,” and is of the same root as “tawḥīd,” which means “to affirm unity.” As for wujūd, which is from the root w-j-d, it is customary to translate it as Being, being or existence, but what is important to note is that in the Sufi context it is also understood as “to find” or “to experience.” For instance, Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) defines wujūd as “finding the Real in ecstasy” (wijdān al- ḥaqq fī l-wajd). Thus wujūd also has a mystical, first-person connotation, in addition to its regular ontological reference. In any event, waḥdat al-wujūd refers to the wujūd of the Real (al-ḥaqq), Who is self-evidently wāḥid (one), not to be denied by any Muslim. Hence there can only be one wujūd in reality. Understood thus, waḥdat al-wujūd implies that God or the Ultimate Reality is one, which is the essence of tawḥīd. But Sufi metaphysicians also discuss the complex nature of the muwaḥḥid (read “the perfect human”) or the affirmer of unity in the cosmic order. In doing so, they present a highly sophisticated analysis of the self, which is difficult to describe in simple terms. Building on the pioneering work of William Chittick, who uses the term “anthropocosmic vision” to describe the Islamic worldview, this study will explore the reality of the perfect human in terms of what it calls the “anthropocosmic self.” It will do so by principally drawing upon the School of Ibn ʿArabī and Sufi poets such as Rūmī (d. 672/1273) and Ḥāfiẓ (d. 791/1389).

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Devotion and Metaphysics in a Litany Ascribed to ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī

This article examines the status of Sufi devotional literature, a corpus still rarely considered in its own right within the study of Islamic thought. Focusing on the Ḥizb al-naṣr (Litany of Support) attributed to ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (d. 1166) and still recited today within the Qādiriyya order, it argues that such devotional texts possess a distinctly doctrinal dimension, articulating metaphysical principles akin to those developed in the school of Ibn ʿArabī and his commentators. A close reading of the Ḥizb al-naṣr reveals a sophisticated theological and metaphysical background that contrasts sharply with the anti-intellectual image often associated with al-Jīlānī and his Ḥanbalī milieu. While the litany makes little explicit use of ontological terminology, its underlying vision resonates with Akbarian metaphysical themes and may reflect early intersections between Qādirī heritage and emerging doctrines of the Akbari tradition. By reconsidering the Ḥizb al-naṣr as an instance of “Sufi philosophy” in its own right, this study invites a broader reflection on the intellectual and doctrinal scope of Sufi devotional writing.

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Mysticism and Ethics in Islam (open access) (Sheikh Zayed Series for Arabic and Islamic Texts and Studies; American University of Beirut Press, 2022)

Free publication

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Cosmos as Revelation’: Reason, Imagination and the Foundations of Ibn ʿArabī’s Scriptural Hermeneutics

Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysical framework demonstrates that his hermeneutical approach to the Qurʾan represents a vision of what constitutes objective reality. Such a vision, though rooted in traditional sources, is explicated in a highly theoretical language, and is ultimately predicated on the epistemic modes of unveiling (kashf) and witnessing (mushāhada) as the most certain forms of existential or divine knowledge. This study seeks to characterize Ibn ʿArabī’s hermeneutics in light of his teachings on the intellect (ʿaql) and the faculty of imagination (khayāl). The paper examines the implications of Ibn ʿArabī’s method by employing a comparative reading of verse 44 from Surah al-Isrāʾ in the Futūḥāt al-Makkīyya with the interpretation by the notable Ashʿarite theologian and contemporary of Ibn ʿArabī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.606/1210). By situating the discussion within themes of the mainstream exegetical tradition (tafsīr), the assessment further highlights Ibn ʿArabī’s unique and radical contribution to the field of Qurʾanic hermeneutic.

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World Literature Decentered: Beyond the ‘West’ Through Turkey, Mexico and Bengal By Ian Almond

Cosmologists say that if space-time is infinite, then somehow, somewhere, all possible things exist. As someone who has taught that nebulous entity “world literature” for over ten years, I’d like to begin by sketching out one such alternate world. Think of this alternative world as a kind of World Literature Fantasy. In this parallel world, there is no dominant Western canon: only lots of good Western writers, struggling like everyone else to make their voices heard above the growing crescendo of the planet’s collective murmur. Moreover, the people who live in Western countries actually realize they only form 10% of the planet. They understand that the non-Western is not some misrepresented ethnic minority, but Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East – the overwhelming majority of the world.

There are centers of influence, certainly, but they are multiple and constantly shifting. A decade of readers in Argentina might become obsessed with Middle Eastern fiction; a new generation in China might start to fixate on West African writers. The swirling network of influences – Swedes reading Turks reading Mexicans, Brazilians translating Urdu ghazals and Chinese tanka – forever shimmers, brightens and collapses, reconfiguring itself not in response to power and economy, but through a much more curious, seem- ingly chaotic algorithm. There are certainly books which are read more than others, but they do not subscribe to a common ideology – in the anthologies of this world, Buddhists, Islamists, Anarchists and the occasional Capitalist argue with one another endlessly on contentious editorial boards. Writers in this alternative world feel no compulsion to communicate some anthro- pological information about their community, although many choose to do so

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Representations of Islam in Western Thought By Ian Almond

By Ian Almond

What do we understand by the term ‘representation of Islam’? What does it mean to investigate the depiction of the Muslim world – be it the faith, the cultures, the believers, the literature – in non- Muslim discourse? How would studies of the representation of Muslims by non-Muslims differ from their logical inverse – Muslim representations of Christians and Christianity in texts from Turkish or Arabic literature?

The term has, by now, practically established a genre of its own. Academic books and articles abound in the study of the Muslim world’s portrayal in areas as different as sixteenth century French literature, contemporary cinema, British children’s education syllabi, German drama, medieval thought, many of them preceding Edward Said’s landmark investigation of French and British Orientalist portrayals of their subjects. As a consequence, I’d like to consider some of the things I understand such studies to entail.

First of all, to examine the depiction of the Muslim in Western discourse is to examine the West. To consider the scimitar-bearing Turks and veiled women of Western Oriental landscapes is to consider the anxieties and desires of the gazer, not the gazed upon. This is not to say the Muslim is merely a blank screen upon which the West simply projects whatever facet of itself it happens to be

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Rethinking the Unio Mystica: From McGinn to Ibn Arabī By Arjun A Nair

By Arjun A Nair

Research into the unio mystica has revealed what seems to be an area of “real discussion” between scholars of different traditions of mysticism, particularly those of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Although this research serves as a promising start to the dialogue among scholars, it has also raised many questions about a “shared moment” that is nevertheless expressed in “irreducibly diverse” and distinct ways in each tradition. What purpose, for instance, can generic cross-cultural categories serve when they mean little or nothing to scholars in each tradition? By contrast, tradition-specific vocabularies are profuse and often difficult to represent in interlinguistic contexts without significant explanation. The challenge of translating mystical texts, imagery, and ideas across cultures and linguistic traditions raises obvious concerns about the misrepresentation and distortion of traditions in an environment of post-colonial critique. Nevertheless, the continued promise of dialogue calls for specialists of these traditions-particularly non-western and non-Christian traditions-to approach, assess, re-formulate, and even challenge the categories of mysticism from within the conceptual and theoretical horizons of the traditions that they research. The present study models such an approach to scholarship in mysticism. It offers a (re)formulation of the unio mystica from within the theoretical frame of the 12th/13thcentury Muslim/Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabī (d. 638/1240) and early members of his school of thought. By unpacking the primary terms involved in such an account-“God”, the “human being/self”, and “union”-from within the conceptual and theoretical horizons of that tradition, it problematizes the prevailing understanding of the unio mystica constructed from the writings of specialists in Christian mysticism. More importantly, it illustrates the payoff in terms of dialogue (incorporating the critique of existing theories) when each tradition operates confidently from its own milieu, developing its own theoretical resources for mysticism rather than prematurely embracing existing ideas or categories.

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