Words Of Ecstasy In Sufism

Download or read book Words of Ecstasy in Sufism written by Carl W. Ernst and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first in-depth study in English of the import and impact of ecstatic utterances (shathiyat) in classical Islamic mysticism. It makes available an important body of mystical aphorisms and reveals not only the significance of these sayings in the Sufi tradition, but also explains their controversial impact on Islamic law and society. This study descrives the development and interpretation of shathiyat in classical Sufism and analyzes the principal themes and rhetorical styles of these sayings, using as a basis the authoritative Commentary on Ecstatic Sayings by Ruzbihan Baqli of Shiraz. The special topic of mystical faith and infidelity receives particular emphasis as a type of ecstatic expression that self-reflectively meditates on the inadequacy of language to describe mystical experience. The social impact of ecstatic sayings is clarified by an analysis of the political causes of Sufi heresy trials (Nuri, Hallaj, and 'Ayn al-Qudat) and the later elaboration of Sufi martyrologies. This study also examines the attitudes of Islamic legal scholars toward shathiyat, and concludes with a comparison of Sufi ecstatic expressions with other types of inspired speech.

Download or read book The Philosophy of Ecstasy written by Leonard Lewisohn and published by World Wisdom, Inc. This book was released on 2014 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-73), founder of the Mevlevi Sufi order of “Whirling Dervishes,” is the best-selling poet in America today. The wide-ranging appeal of his work is such that UNESCO declared 2007 to be “International Rumi Year.” However, his writings represent much more than love poetry. Rumi was one of the preeminent thinkers of Sufism, the esoteric form of Islam. In this groundbreaking collection of 13 essays on Rumi, many of the world’s leading authorities in the field of Islamic Studies and Persian Literature discuss the major religious themes in his poetry and teachings. In addition to discussing the ideas of love, ecstasy, and music in Rumi’s Sufi poetry, the essays offer new historical and theological perspectives on his work. The immortality of the soul, freewill, the nature of punishment and reward, and the relationship of Islam to Christianity are all covered, in order to bring Rumi’s poetry properly into the context of the Sufi tradition to which he belonged.

Download or read book Hallaj written by Husayn ibn Mansur Hallaj and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-15 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Global Humanities Translation Prize Hallaj is the first authoritative translation of the Arabic poetry of Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, an early Sufi mystic. Despite his execution in Baghdad in 922 and the subsequent suppression of his work, Hallaj left an enduring literary and spiritual legacy that continues to inspire readers around the world. In Hallaj, Carl W. Ernst offers a definitive collection of 117 of Hallaj’s poems expertly translated for contemporary readers interested in Middle Eastern and Sufi poetry and spirituality. Ernst’s fresh and direct translations reveal Hallaj’s wide range of themes and genres, from courtly love poems to metaphysical reflections on union with God. In a fascinating introduction, Ernst traces Hallaj’s dramatic story within classical Islamic civilization and early Arabic Sufi poetry. Setting himself apart by revealing Sufi secrets to the world, Hallaj was both celebrated and condemned for declaring: “I am the Truth.” Expressing lyrics and ideas still heard in popular songs, the works of Hallaj remain vital and fresh even a thousand years after their composition. They reveal him as a master of spiritual poetry centuries before Rumi, who regarded Hallaj as a model. This unique collection makes it possible to appreciate the poems on their own, as part of the tragic legend of Hallaj, and as a formidable legacy of Middle Eastern culture. The Global Humanities Translation Prize is awarded annually to a previously unpublished translation that strikes the delicate balance between scholarly rigor, aesthetic grace, and general readability, as judged by a rotating committee of Northwestern faculty, distinguished international scholars, writers, and public intellectuals. The Prize is organized by the Global Humanities Initiative, which is jointly supported by Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Studies and Kaplan Institute for the Humanities.

Download or read book Eternal Garden written by Carl W. Ernst and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1992-03-26 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ernst's research, based on rare Persian manuscripts preserved in Sufi shrines in the medieval town of Khuldabad, a major center of pilgrimage in the Indian Deccan, reveals the mystical teachings and practices of the Chishti Sufi order as taught by the ecstatic Shaykh Burhan al-Din Gharib (d. 1337) and his disciples. The book clarifies the diverse historiographical approaches found in an array of narratives. It redefines major topics in the often emotionally charged study of religion and history in South Asia, and it raises provocative theses on much-argued topics such as the basis of Islamic political power in South Asia and the alleged roles of Sufis as warriors and missionaries.

Download or read book Sufism written by Carl W. Ernst and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic introduction to the philosophies, practices, and history of Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam The Sufis are as diverse as the countries in which they've flourished—from Morocco to India to China—and as varied as their distinctive forms of art, music, poetry, and dance. They are said to represent the mystical heart of Islam, yet the term Sufism is notoriously difficult to define, as it means different things to different people both within and outside the tradition. With that fact in mind, Carl Ernst explores the broadest range of Sufi philosophies and practices to provide one of the most complete and comprehensive introductions to Sufism available in English. He traces the history of the movement from the earliest days of Islam to the present day, along the way examining its relationship to the larger world of Islam and its encounters with both fundamentalism and secularism in the modern world.

Download or read book The Shambhala Guide to Sufism written by Carl W. Ernst and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 1997 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An essential introduction to the philosophy and practice of the mystical tradition of Islam."--Cover.

Download or read book Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis written by Binyamin Abrahamov and published by Anqa Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis is a fascinating and groundbreaking analysis of the extent to which various major Sufi figures contributed to the mystical philosophy of Ibn al-'Arabi. While recent scholarship has tended to concentrate on his teachings and life, little attention has been paid to the influences on his thought. Each chapter is dedicated to one of Ibn al-'Arabi's predecessors, from both the early and later periods, such as al-Bistami, al-Hallaj, and al-Jilani, showing how he is discussed in the works of the “Greatest Master” and Ibn al-'Arabi's attitude towards him. This book brings into sharp relief the highly original nature of Ibn al-'Arabi's mystical theory, unprecedented in Islamic mysticism, and the unique way in which he interwove the ideas of others into his own thought.