A Study of the Theological Dimensions of Qaw[<id al-Ta~awwuf (original) (raw)
Related papers
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 only be natural to find its reverberations running throughout its mysticism as well. 1 Indeed, some of the most influential literary expressions of Sufism, ranging from Ghazālī's (d. 1111) Iḥyā' 'ūlum al-dīn (Reviving the Religious Sciences) to Rūmī's (d. 1273) Mathnawī-i ma'nawī (Couplets of Inner Meaning), took on the form of commentaries of the holy text, albeit in a different key, not unlike medieval Jewish works that were often analogously rooted in the Torah. "Everything of which we speak in our meetings and in our writings," Ibn 'Arabī (d. 1240) would write, "comes from the Qur'ān and its treasures." 2 And when Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī (d. 996) declared in his Qūt al-qulūb (Nourishment of Hearts) drawing on an early saying, sometimes ascribed to the Prophet, that "the people of the Qur'ān are the people of God, and His elect," 3 he was expressing a firmly held view in the fledging tradition for which he was giving voice. The polyvocality of Muslim scripture would itself generate many of the debates that would animate the intellectual culture of Sufism, and beyond that, the various competing theologies of Islam.
A Critical Edition of Qaw[<id al-Ta~awwuf
2010
The present study is an attempt to restore the text of Qaw[<id al-Ta~awwuf by comparative and comprehensive study of its manuscripts. This thesis also aims to study Zarr]q’s concept of juridical @]fism as manifested in this book. Qaw[<id is one of the most significant works of Zarr]q in which he tried to introduce the principles of @]fism in a way that integrates shar\<ah with +aq\qah and incorporates theology and jurisprudence with the %ar\qah; or a fusion of legal rectitude within @]f\ devotion and piety. Interpreting the Sh[dhil\ notion of u~]l\ ta~awwuf, Zarr]q constructed the theory of juridical @]fism on its theological and metaphysical grounds. The presentation of Islam in such an integrated form appealed and attracted not only the Muslim scholars but also saints to his most impressive accomplishment. His teachings and intellectual legacy left a lasting impact on Maghrib\ society, in particular the circles of the Sh[dhil\yah which were renamed the Zarr]q\yah due to h...
Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī
Routledge, 2021
Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy, this volume is a sweeping examination of the mystical philosophy of Muḥyī-l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 637/1240), one of the most influential and original thinkers of the Islamic world. This book systematically covers Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ontology, theology, epistemology, teleology, spiritual anthropology and eschatology. While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia. Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.
Sufismus und Theologie - Grenze und Grenzüberschreitung in der islamischen Glaubensdeutung by Reza Hajatpour, 2022
Mysticism is a religious phenomenon open to different interpretations, and it receives varying expectations from its followers, which corresponds to the nature of the religion. All religions act with the schools of thought and doctrines within the same religion. In his book Sufismus und Theologie - Grenze und Grenzüberschreitung in der islamischen Glaubensdeutung, Reza Hajatpour addresses the most important aspects of mystical theology. The investigation is primarily intended to analyze the approaches of teachings and understandings from the offer of Sufi beliefs and the associated controversy, which compared to the apologetic and dogmatic interpretation of the beliefs and also characterizes the limit and transgression of an Islamic-mystical theology.
CenRaPS Journal of Social Sciences, 2024
This paper analyses "Introduction to the Science of Sufism (Tasavvuf İlmine Giriş)," which comprises translations of two treatises by the renowned Sufi scholar Dawūd Al-Qayṣarī. A prominent follower of Ibn Arabi, Al-Qayṣarī was the chief instructor of the first madrasa in Iznik, established during the Ottoman Empire. His mystical interpretation of existence, deeply rooted in the concept of Wahdat al-Wujud (the Unity of Being), has significantly influenced Iranian, Arab, Turkish, and Indian cultures. The first treatise delves into topics such as the definition of Sufi science, the names and attributes of God, the degrees of existence, prophethood, sainthood, union, unity, and the role of the perfect human in the world. The second treatise offers a commentary on the initial sentence of a Quranic exegesis by Abdurrazzaq Kashani, Al-Qayṣarī's sheikh, also framed within the Wahdat al-Wujud understanding. This analysis aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Al-Qayṣarī's contributions to Sufi metaphysics and his profound influence on Islamic mysticism.
IVANYI 2022 review of ALI 2021 Philosophical Sufism
This book functions as the extension and companion volume to Mukhtar H. Ali's 2020 translation and edition of the prolegomenon (muqaddima) of Dāʾūd al-Qayṣarī's (d. 751/1350) Maṭlaʿ khuṣūṣ al-kilam fī maʿānī fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. 1 Commonly referred to as Dāʾūd al-Qayṣarī's Sharḥ, the Maṭlaʿ khuṣūṣ al-kilam is a commentary on Ibn ʿArabī's (d. 638/1240) Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, which, in its turn is one of most famous and influential texts of Ibn ʿArabī, next to his much more voluminous and notoriously difficult al-Futūḥāt almakkiyya. Recent decades have witnessed significant scholarly engagement with the reception of Ibn ʿArabī's ideas in the centuries after his death. Most prominent among this has been Caner Dagli's insightful study Ibn al-ʿArabī and Islamic Intellectual Culture: From mysticism to philosophy (London: Routledge, 2016), which represents a substantial addition to scholarship of previous decades-from William Chittick and Michel Chodkiewicz to Henri Corbin. Mukhtar H. Ali stands in this same tradition. Indeed, his analysis of Qayṣarī's muqadimma is heavily influenced by Dagli and Chittick, as well as by the late Iranian scholar Jalāl al-Dīn Āshtiyānī (d. 2005). The latter's Sharḥ-i muqaddima-yi Qayṣarī bar Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, in particular, formed the basis for Ali's selection from Qayṣarī in The Horizons of Being, which in its turn represents the springboard for his exposition in the volume under review. Ali's aim in Philosophical Sufism is to introduce the reader to "the foundational themes that one will encounter when reading Ibn al-ʿArabī and his commentators" (p. 21). Qayṣarī's muqaddima makes this possible, Ali argues, since it encapsulates some of the most important themes and ideas of "the school of Ibn ʿArabī"a term meant to designate "those who were in some way affiliated or influenced by [the Great Master]" (p. 6). First and foremost among these are Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), Muʾayyid al-Dīn al-Jandī (d. ca. 700/1300), ʿAfīf al-Dīn al-Tilimsānī (d. 690/1291), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330), Kāshānī's disciple Dāʾūd al-Qayṣarī, as well as a range of "other prominent Sufis and proponents of [Ibn ʿArabī's] doctrine" (p. 7). The terms "philosophical Sufism" and "school of Ibn ʿArabī," which Ali uses interchangeably and, indeed, synonymously, remain vague, however. The author eschews a substantial explanation for why the prolegomenon of Qayṣarī's commentary, compared to other works of the "school," would in fact be best suited to present the main themes, concerns and modes of expression characterizing the tradition. That is to say, it remains unclear in what ways Qayṣarī's prolegomenon is representative; more than that, there is no attempt to illustrate what, if anything, distinguishes Qayṣarī's exposition from that of other members of the "school." Indeed, little effort is made to give the reader any sense of possible disagreement, tension or change in the tradition at hand. Ali closely follows the structure of his base text. The twelve chapters of Philosophical Sufism thus mirror the twelve sections (fuṣūl, sg. faṣl) of Qayṣarī's muqaddima, as laid out in the Horizons of Being-the only exception being the final two chapters of the book. Chapter 1,
Review of Ali, Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-'Arabī
Studia Islamica, 2022
Taj, Noah H. "Mukhtar Ali, Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-'Arabī. Routledge Studies in Islamic Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2021. £120.00. Hardback, ix + 221 p. ISBN: 9781032019024.", Studia Islamica 117 (2022): 380-3. https://brill.com/view/journals/si/117/2/si.117.issue-2.xml.