Tag Archive for: William C. Chittick

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 they do not see with them, theyhave ears but they do not hear with them”(7:179).The word silence (in Arabic,śamt ) is the opposite of speech (kalām). Muslim theologians and philosophers consider speech an essential attribute ot the divine reality. In other words, by definition, God speaks, constantly and forever, whether or not there are listeners to hear. In the”

The_Sound_of_Silence
The_Sound_of_SilenceDownload

The Wisdom of Animals – William C. Chittick

Abstract:

“More than any other Muslim thinker, Ibn ¡Arabi dedicated his teachings to clarifying the presence of the divine wisdom in all things and the human necessity of conforming to that wisdom. The arguments he offers are at once metaphysical and scrip- tural, cosmological and psychological, scientific and ethical. He addresses every dimension of human and cosmic existence and speaks constantly of the inherent goodness of all of creation and the human duty to respect the rights (huq¬q) of all creatures – not simply the rights of God and the rights of our fellow beings. If there is a single scriptural theme to his writings, after tawh¨d, it is certainly the prophetic saying: “Give to each that has a right”

The Wisdom Of Animals (Chittick)
The Wisdom Of Animals (Chittick)Download

In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought

Abstract:

Arabic and Persian terms have been transliterated in accordance with the system employed by the (), with the following major exceptions: (1) no distinction is made in transliterating consonants shared between Arabic and Persian; (2) complete transliterations of book and article titles have been retained throughout; (3) in contexts where transliteration is not an absolute necessity (i.e., book/article titles and technical expressions), certain terms that appear on the word list, namely hajj, imam……

In_Search_of_the_Lost_Heart_Explorations
In_Search_of_the_Lost_Heart_ExplorationsDownload

Rumi’s View of Imam Husayn – William C. Chittick

Abstract:

The martyrdom of the Imam Husayn can hardly be called a major theme of Rumi’s works; in over 50,000 couplets he refers to it less than twenty times. Nevertheless, these few lines are sufficient to suggest how the events of Karbala’ were viewed not only by Rumi’s, this great representative of the………….

Rumi_s_View_of_Imam_Husayn
Rumi_s_View_of_Imam_HusaynDownload

Love in Islamic Thought – William C. Chittick

Abstract:

Western studies of Islam have paid relatively little attention to love. Early scholars
were heirs to a long history of European animosity toward this upstart religion and tended to
assume that love was a Christian monopoly. When Muslim writing on love did come to their
attention, they typically considered it peripheral or borrowed, often by classifying it as “Sufi.”
As Carl Ernst explains, “The term Sufi-ism was invented at the end of the eighteenth century, as
an appropriation of those portions of ‘Oriental’ culture that Europeans found attractive.

Love_in_Islamic_Thought
Love_in_Islamic_ThoughtDownload

Equilibrium and Realization: William Chittick on Self and the Cosmos by Muhammed Rustom

Abstract:

“William Chittick, currently professor of religious studies at the State University of New York (Stony Brook), is an internationally renowned expert on Islamic thought. His contributions to the fields of Sufism and Islamic philosophy have helped paint a clearer picture of the intellectual and spiritual landscape of Islamic civilization from the seventh/thirteenth century onwards. Yet Chittick is not simply concerned with discussions in Islamic thought as artifacts of premodern intellectual history. His vast knowledge of the Islamic intellectual tradition serves as the platform from which he seeks to address a broad range of contemporary issues. In this short essay, I will outline Chittick’s writings on the self within the context of his treatment of cosmology. Rather than being outdated ways of looking at the universe and our relationship to it, Chittick argues that traditional Islamic cosmological teachings are just as pertinent to the question of the self today as they were yesterday.”

Equilibrium and Realization – William Chittick on Self and the Cosmos by Muhammad Rustom

Equilibrium and Realization - William Chittick on Self and the Cosmos by Muhammad Rustom

Themes of Love in Islamic Mystical Theology by William Chittick

Abstract:

“Muslim scholars who talked about love agreed that it is indefinable. In discussions of human love, they typically limited themselves to describing its symptoms, characteristics, and consequences. They summarized these along the lines of “yearning for union.” By using the word union, they were saying that the goal of lovers is to come together, not to stay apart. They understood love as the energy that brings about the encounter of God and man…”

Themes_of_Love_in_Islamic_Mystical_Theology_Chittick-libre
Themes_of_Love_in_Islamic_Mystical_Theology_Chittick-libreDownload

Rashid al-Din Maybudi’s Tafsir Kashf al-Asrar – Tr. William Chittick

Rashid al-Din Maybudi’s Kashf al-Asrar – Tr. William Chittick

The full name of this commentary is Kashf al-asrār wa ʿuddat al-abrār (“The unveiling of the mysteries and the provision of the pious”). It is the longest Sunni commentary in the Persian language.  Selections translated by William Chittick.