Prophethood and Khilafa
The Sacred sources
Translation of Al Kahf and Al Hadeed into lifestyle Translation of Hadith into lifestyle
Evolution from Islam to Ihsan
Origins (632-650)
Great discord of 642 leads to withdrawal Abu Dhar Al Al Ghifari (d. (d. 652) People
Ikhwan Al Saffa Hthaifa Ibn Al Yaman (d. 657)
Center moves from Medina to Baghdad
Strict Adherence to Sharia Worship
Emphasis on Supergatory worship Invocation
Character
Austirity Humility
Ascetism (640-730) Goal People
Strive ve to experience ence divine divine prox proximity imity Abu Al Hassan Al Basri (d.728) (d.728) Al Foudil Ibn Ibn Iyath Iyath (d. 730) 730)
Still exist today
From mortification to psychology
Path Brotherhood Invocation Spiritual State
Chararteristics
Sufi Legacy
People
Enlightenment
The reference for East and West is the ME
Kobriyah Nimatullahia
Dhu Al Nun Al Misri Rabia Al Adawiyyah (d 801)
Charteristics
Analysis Of Origins And Evolution Of Sufism
East
Mystical Psychology [1] Mystical Sobreity [2]
Early Mysticism (810-910) (810-910) People
Al Muhassibi (857) (857) [1] Al Junayd (910) [2] [2]
Naqshabandiyah
Popular Sufism (1400-Today)
Rifaiyyah Shadilliyah
Mystical Language Structure: Master and disciple
Transition Transition from Ascetism to Mysticism (750-810)
Mysticism (750-1110)
West
Qadiriyyah
Characteristics
Fana: Annihilation Ecstatic Utterances
Intoxicated Mysticism (850-910) People
Al Hallaj Ba Yazid Al Bastami (d. 875)
The rise of Mysticism away from the heartland of Islam (Balkh and Spain)
The rise of epistles and historical records [1] Characteristics
Non-Devotional
Al Sarraj (988) (988) [1]
Mystical Metaphysics [1]
Sufi Metaphysics, Prose And Poetry (1200-1400)
Poetry [2] Ibn Al Arabi (1200) [1] Fareed Al Din Attar, Rumi, Jami (1400) [2]
The appearance of Sufi Manuals [2] The formation of formal sufi schools in the main stream [3]
Systematization of Sufism (980-1110)
Characteristics
People
People
Al Qushayri Qushayri (1072) (1072) [2] Al Ghazali Ghazali (1085) [3]
Islam (Submission:Free of defects)
Perfecting The Religious Experience
Iman (Belief:Safe) Ihsan Perfection) Commanding Self Conscious Self
Acting On The Spiritual Self
Wali & Sheikh: The spiritual spiritual guide: Dhikr: The invocation and its various styles Complementary not contradictory or hierarchical
Khalwa: Isolation
Sufism connects sincerity and tariqqah
Miscellaneous
Ilm:Knowledge
Kashf: Enlightenment, intuitive knowledge
Sharia: Islamic Islamic way of life, also used for Islamic law
Zahir:Exoterism (Explicit Text) Batin:Esoterism (Speculative Text, Allegorical Meaning) Meaning)
Exoterism Vs. Esoterism
The knowledge of Certainty The eye of Certainty The reality of certainty
Satisfied Self
The Purpose And Content Of Traditional Sufism
Amal:Actions Sidq:Sincerity
Triqqah: Path
Methodology Knowing
Example of difference between hearing about an event and experiencing the event
Haqiqah: Rality
Perfecting The Religious Experience
Unity Of Existence Annihilation
Improving The Spiritual Self The Doctrines Of Sufism
Wali: Spiritual Guide/sainthood
Kashf: Enlightenment
The Context: (The Approaches To Faith And Understanding)
Sufism
Emphasizes perception, maarifa leading to direct knowledge of Self and God, and uses the heart as its medium
Kalam
Emphasizes reason, ilm leading to understanding of God, uses the Aaql as its medium, and subjects reason to revelation
Philosophy
Emphasizes reason, ilm leading to understanding of God, uses the Aaql as its medium
AL BAQARA
Al Junayd Al Hallaj aj
Annihilation By Examples Examples Taqwa: Piety
The Goals Of The Spiritual Journey
Sobriety Paradox and biwelderment
Intoxication
QAAF
The Consequence Of Annihilation Abu Bakr (RAA): (RAA): Incapacity Incapacity to perceive is perception perception
Annihilation
Perplexity
Results from the negation in the first part of the Shahada (fana) And from the affirmation of the subsistence in the second part of the Shahada: (Baqa) Be witness to the divine reality, and eliminate the egocentric self
AL HADEED Living the Shahada
Living the Tawheed
The Motivation For Annihilation
Start as a stone Be shuttered by the divine light of the divine reality you witness
Selftransformation
Emerge restructed as a jewel
The Origins Of Annihilation AL RAHMAN
Born and Raised in Baghdad (died in 910 or 198 H) His education focused on Fiqh and Hadith He studied under the J urist Abu Thawr: An extraordinary jurist started as a Hanafii, then followed the Shafi school once al Imam Al Shafi came to Baghdad. Abu Thawr was equally skilled in Fiqh and Hadith The strength of Al Junayd in classical studies was Fiqh
Biography
Although he distinguished himself early enough as a gifted mystic he refused to teach as a sign of respect for his teacher Sari As-Saqati He also learned from AL Muhasibi and considered him his spiritual master He was a silk merchant by trade Maintained a balanced life style: No excessive material life and no extreme austerity He was also balanced in character
Baqa: Subsistence. This is the prescription against pantheism Sahw: . This is the prescription against libertinism and antinomianism
Preventing Excess And Insuring The Supremacy Of Sharia
Tawhid as opposed to Kalam Esoteric Character
The Mystical School Of Baghdad In The 10th Century
Fana: of natural qualities in one's motives when one carries out religious duties. This is moral and objective.
AL JUNAYD
Fana: of pursuit after pleasures to eliminate intermediation with God. This is mental and subjective. Fana: of consciousness. This is where Al Junayd restore the Baqa. When this stage is attained the worshipper should recover sobriety after intoxication
Separate and fix the Eternal Essence of God and reject all others Separate and fix the attributes of God and disapprove all others
Suffered great persecutions for accusations ranging from innovations and questionable practices to heresy
Details Of Fana In Al Junayd's Theory
Unification (Tawheed): using his f amous definition=> "Unification is the separation of that which has from that whic h was originated in time"
Separate the actions of God and refute all others
Kitab Amthal Al Quran Kitab Al Rasail
The Writings Of Al Junayd Understand the relationship between God the creator and the Human the created, and the realization by the human of his/her place before God: Surah Al Ahzab
"true" Tawheed can only achieved once the created human loses his/her individuality and asserts only the divine presence
Mithaq: Covenant
Fana: Annihilation/Obliteration
The Doctrines Of Al Junayd
Other historians and biographers have attributed to Al Junayd many more books
Born and Raised in Tur south-western Iran (in 858 or 244 H) His education focused on Fiqh Although a Sunni he found himself in Shiite milieu The strength of Al Hallaj was Hanbali Fiqh Prior to his focus on sufism he was known at a preacher Al Hallaj laj came under the influence nfluence of Al Junayd and Amr Al Makki He was a wool carder by trade He was a social activists who denounced injustice and became a voice for the weak and the oppressed in Basra
Biography
Massignon and Mason (BU) His inquisitors His c ontemporaries Later generations of Muslims The ambivalence continues to this day
After his death his mutilated body was laid to rest in Karkh
Tawhid as opposed to Kalam
The Reactions To His Death
Esoteric Character
The Mystical School Of Baghdad In The 10th Century
Suffered great persecutions for accusations ranging from innovations and questionable practices to heresy
AL HALLAJ
Diwan The Martyrdom of al-Hallaj, Baghdad 17th century Indian painting (Allahabad, 1017a) from Diwan, by Amir Najm-ad-din Dihlavi (Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore)
Diwan Al Hallaj
Fana: Total and complete annihilation leading to intoxication with sobriety
Fana For Al Hallaj's: Devotion And Martyrdom Unification (Tawheed) Fana: Annihilation/Obliteration
The Doctrines Of Al Hallaj
The Ta-Sin of the Circle
568/1172 His family Settles in Seville
Place: Murcia, Spain
Dies 22 Rabi II 638/1240 Born 17Ramadan 560/1165
Cordoba falls to the Christians
568/1172 His family Settles in Seville
Composes The Diwan 634/1237 Learns The Quranic Sciences 578/1182
First Draft Of Al Futuhat 629/1231 First Vision: A ll Prophets 586/1190
Enters The Mystical Path Path 580/11 84
Corresponds to the third crusade
Chronology Of Ibn Al Arabi's Life Writes Al Fusus 627/1229
Learns The Scienc es 589/1193
Saint Francis goes to Egypt 1219 West
Mongols invade Persia 1220 Mongols take Kabul 1221
Settles Permanently In Syria 620/1223
Frederick Frederick the 2nd deports deports Muslims from Sicily 1223
East
Travels To Cairo, Jerusalem, Hebron, Mecca, Taif And Medina 1202-1204
Travels To Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Cordoba, Granada And Goes Back To Seville 1194-1201
We experience the duality
Steady State/static
God is being
Existence/Non Existence
Everything else is non existence Self-disclosure The role of divine names
Dynamic
Ontology
New Creation
Infinite possibilities Perpetual Renewal
To resolve ambiguity
Cosmic Imagination
Is access to nature of existence other than God Intermediate rality
Isthmus Isthmus
To separat separate e betw between een God God and and nothi nothingne ngness ss
Law
Revelation
Theology
Knowledge Reason Gnosticism
Epistemology
Knowledge of incomparability accessible to reason
Ibn Al Arabi's Thesis: Oneness Of Being
Faith
Knowledge of similarity accessible to imagination Natural Intelligible
Rational interpretation
Faith and Rational Interpretation
Divine
Hermeneutics
Ontological: Existence Cognitive: Knowledge Unveiling through light
Knowing God's Self Disclosures Understanding Understanding the scripture
Reflection Acquiring Knowledge
Unveiling Following Authority
Ibn Al Arabi's life in the Muslim West is characterized by learning and training, and unveiling leading to the formation of a Spiritual Master
Place: Murcia, Spain Inspired by Andalusia as a heavenly place
Homeland In The Iberian Peninsula
Roots back to Arab tribes claiming generosity and mercy as good characters Protected against temptation in his teens Discovers his gifts at the age of 15 Enters the Mystical Path at the age of 20 (580H)
In 597 He Leaves For The Muslim East Never To Return
Starts his travel and learns from Masters in Andalusia and North Africa
His Calling From 575 To 580/1184
In Fez (Morocco) He Experience A "Miraj" Like Experience In 594
In Seville becomes the disciple of his first master Abu Al Abbas Al Uraybi In addition to teachers and masters of this world, he claims to have been trained by Jesus and Khidr
Ibn Al Arabi Arabi In The Wes t
Corresponds to the third crusade
Experiences a new dimension of Cosmology (New Earth) Spirits take on appearance Bodies take on Spiritual Characters
His Life In North Africa In 589H Cordoba: First Vision: All Prophets 586/1190
78 Scholars of Hadith
He Gets Selected
88 Scholars of Fiqh 126 Scholars of the Quran Literature
His milieu in Spain included
Language and Grammar Scholastic Theology
His Intellectual Upbringing
Philosophy Religious disciplines Literature Kalaam
He trained extensively
Seville uses extensive retreats to obtain revelation: Sees some manifestation of the Divine in 586H
Ibn Al Arabi's life in the Muslim East is characterized by teaching, and writing the experience of a Spiritual Master for future generations
A land of of turmoil with with a brief reprieve reprieve under the Ayyubid dynasty
New Found Land In The East
27 Rajab 583H Salah Eddine takes down the Cross from Masjid Al Aqsa 22 Shaban 598 Salah Eddine signs a peace treaty with Richard at Ramalah Enters the Mystical Path at the age of 20 (580H)
Ibn Al Arabi Acquires The Status Of Seal Of Sainthood
Similar to the hadith he interprets the vision to mean it is a seal of Sainthood
Ibn Al Arabi In The East
638 He Departs To Meet His Maker He trained extensively Focuses on teaching and writing
620 He Makes Damascus His Home
At The Age Age Of 40: Similar To The Prophetic Experience Of Revelation
The year is 600H He sees the Prophet (SAWS) in a Vision who asks him to share his gift
We experience the duality
Steady State/static
God is being
Existence/Non Existence
Everything else is non existence Self-disclosure The role of divine names
Dynamic
Ontology
New Creation
Infinite possibilities Perpetual Renewal
To resolve ambiguity
Cosmic Imagination
Is access to nature of existence other than God Intermediate rality
Isthmus Isthmus
To separat separate e betw between een God God and and nothi nothingne ngness ss
Law
Revelation
Theology
Knowledge Reason Gnosticism
Epistemology
Knowledge of incomparability accessible to reason
Ibn Al Arabi's Thesis: Oneness Of Being
Faith
Knowledge of similarity accessible to imagination Natural Intelligible
Rational interpretation
Faith and Rational Interpretation
Divine
Hermeneutics
Ontological: Existence Cognitive: Knowledge Unveiling through light
Knowing God's Self Disclosures Understanding Understanding the scripture
Reflection Acquiring Knowledge
Unveiling Following Authority
Schoolof gnosisand behavior(suluk)vs. o r(suluk)vs. Schoolof love(Mahaba)
Useof S acred Text and Tradition and rejection of Kalamand Philosophy
Method Knowledge acquired byrational consideration and based upon revelation (known as Al Ilm Al Sharii) -> leads to the interpretation of the scared text with reason playing an important ant role Empirical Knowledge (known as Ilm Al Ahwal) -> sweetness of honey or bitterness of aloes -> leads to the appreciation of (Halawat Al Iman, "the sweetness of faith")
Epistemology
Gnosis (AL Maarifa) leads to Unveiling (Al Kashf) which in turn leads to Experiencing the divine reality (Al Haqq)
Gnosis (AL Maarifa) also known as the knowledge of mysteries. Reserved to do prophets, messengers and saints. Theology Al Nur 39 He builds on acceptable ideas of his time: know the difference between quiddityand existence (mahiya and wujud). Ontology
Thesis
Page135 of AlexanderD. Knysh'sbook, s book, called:Ibn Arabi in the laterIslamict radition, 1999 , Suny Press
Akbarian Work
Critique
Existent entities (a'yan mayjuda) come to be found onlywhen Allah wills it If things cannot exist as phenomena, which means theycannot be found, but they can still have a quiddityand be manifest in Imagination ion (This will be important as we will see shortly)
Elements of the thesis
Relativism: each entityreceiving the will differs from all others this leads to infinite and perpetual disclosures
Imagination n ation orVision (AlKhayal)leadsto atool of experientialSufismto a lSufismto exist in dimensionsoutsidethe o nsoutsidethe world surrounding ng us.Connectsmanyworldstheocosm,macrocosmandmicrocosm. Removesthe temporallimitationsof o nsof thisworld!
Imagination or vision (Al Khayal)
Formulation of the doctrine of Wilaya, its nature and function, ts ti s relation to prophetic inheritance. Healso formalized a typology.Reviewthework of MichaelChodkiewicz, titled:Sealof thesaints,1993, TheIslamictextssociety
Sainthood (Al Wilaya) His rankand school in the legal tradition
Internal: From the Muslim Scholarship ->The main points of the critique: 1) Innovation, 2) Falsehood, 3) Blasphemy, 4) Lack of scholarship, 5) Delusion Chodkiewicz Addas
Supporters
Michel Vaslan Clement Huart: Fantaisie desordonnee Arberry: Confusedmental universe, se, incoherenttechnicalvocabulary Rom Laudau: Contradictions and ambiguities can lead the reader to depression
External: From the Non-Muslim Scholarship ->The main points of the critique: 1) Lack of rigor, 2) Highlyimaginative, 3) Very incoherent, 4) Veryabstruse
Opponents
Massignon Role of Historyof religions Role of Anthropology
Methodology
Role of individual vs. institutional Sufism Blind passion
Myown
Intellectual chauvinism Not crediting the power of Sulukand Maarifa Not denouncing exaggerations around certain suluki qualities such as reliance (Tawakul)
Critiquing the critics
Corporal Asceticism Mental Asceticism Could he have been a mystic by excellence primarily interested in he reform of Sufism? Evidence suggests that it is a viable option Is it possible that he was not unanimously mously celebrated as a reformer? Here too there is evidence suggesting that the number of voices opposed to him was significant and he cannot be viewed as the renewer of the millennium as much as Ibn AL Arabi cannot be viewed as the seal of saints!
Review Of Concepts Learned To Date
The rise of Institutional School of Asceticism Islamic Mysticism
While Sirhindi was represented in the literature as a political reformers with unanimous support it is important to consider alternatives ves
Born in Sirhind India IN 971 (H) or 1563 (CE) Learned classical Islamic studies at the hands of scholars
Conclusion
Enters the Mystical Path at under the guidance of his father
Biography Of Ahmad Sirhindi
Becomes a member of Chishti order At 28 he switches to the Naqshabandi order
South East Asia Central Asia Middle East Africa
At 30 he becomes a scholar and a mystic
Ahmad Sirhindi
At 40 his start political, cal, social and religious reform
Sirhindi's Sirhindi's Approach To Reform Becomes The Basis Of Resistance To Colonialism In Many Muslim Heartlands
963-1013 coincides with the reign of Akbar the Mughol Emperor
Theoretic consciousness strives toward and ideal unified picture of the universe, from which a multiplicity can be deduced In comparing theoretic consciousness with the religious one we find that Ibn Al Arabi's thesis bears the traits of the theoretic and not the religious
Absolute power of Akbar Has the support of the religious scholarship The theoretical critique of Ibn Al Arabi's unity of existence thesis
Sirhindi challenges enges the Kashf experience of Ibn Al Arabi He brackets the experience of Ibn Al Arabi as legitimate but did not reach the intended objective
Akbar declared infallible nfallible Challenges
Akbar rolls back the scriptural authority ty of the Quran
The Context In Which He Evolved
Deconstruction
Akbar excludes Islamic law from Public life
The critique of Ibn AL Arabi's thesis from the experiential view point
Theological Movements of the time
He critique the imaginary framework of Ibn Al Arabi as a construct leading to unsustainable claims.
The mystical Movements
Sirhindi's Critique Of Ibn Al Arabi
Turns belief based on faith or reason to direct experience Can be thought of the spiritual experience of the unity of existence and in fact represents the lowest level of mystical experience
Akbar gives concession to majority non Muslims at the expence of Muslim
Heavy concentration of Fiqh at the expense of other sciences Valued scholars were coopted by the imperial court
Popular Sufism bordering shamanism Loss of Islamic values and rules
Education Wujudiyat: the metaphysics of existence
The mystic perceives a duality between the existence of God and the world The mystic cannot outgrow this stage
Reconciliation
The Reform Principles Adopted By Sirhindi
Sirhindi offers an alternative to the unity of existence: He calls it the Tawhidi experience
Wholistic Approach Non Violence Upbringing
Ziliyat: Shadows of reality
This is an intermediate stage and quite unstable Highest stage of the mystical path
PersonalPreparation Abdiyat: Servitude tude
Training and scholarship Mystical training Political training
Bodies take on Spiritual Characters Reestablished imperial Islam in India Reestablished Sharia as the basis for law and values
Learned students Network of disciples
Political Reform
Good geographical coverage over India and neighboring countries
Details Of The Reform Methodology
Laws and values
Writings
He deconstructed antinomianism and popular Sufism Relinked Sufism with Sharia Instead of driving Sufism away in fact his era saw a larger adoption of spiritual Islam Formed the basis of the reestablishment of the schools of Hadith
Mysticism
Good role models
The Impact Of The Reform
Power base
Epistles Private letters to people of influence Build relationships with imperial court scholars Build relationships with imperial court nobles
Leverage historical events Theology
Use of political office
Exploited the succession from Akbar to Jahangor
Becomes appointed to run the office of special council to Jahangir
Corporal Asceticism Mental Asceticism
Introduction And Review Of Concepts To Date
The rise of Institutional School of Asceticism Islamic Mysticism
Judaism and Christianity had a notable presence in Persia pre-Islam Eastern Christian Mysticism was well known Buddhism flourished in Eastern Persia Hinduism sm had a strong presence in the Eastern posts close to India Zoroastrianism was know in Khorasan In 215 Mani attempted fusion of many faiths Zoro. Buddhism. and Christianity. Islam enters Persia in the 7th c entury
Origins
Persia had heard about Mohamed (SAWS) before Islam arrived to Persia
By some accounts mo dern day Iran has a vibrant and living Sufi tradition in its midst today
Iranian Sufism
Maarifa fa and Hikmah continue to me solid institutions ons and science diligently taught and passed from one generation to the other Could we possibly witness the emergence of a new dynamic between modern day Iran as an Islamic Republic and the reinterpretation of Sufism outside its classical/medieval traditional setting? Could Iran set the path for a renewal of a metaphysical outlook?
The Sassanian Empire has diplomatic relations with the the Arabs bef ore Islam
In Persia while Islam absorbed Greek heritage and it did not do the same for Zoroastrian heritage. South West: Sufism d isplayed traits like Puritan, Puritan, orthodox, asceticism, explicit, Kufa, Arabic
Sufism And Modernity
2 Traits of mystical Islam developed
North East: Mysticism showed traits like Fusion, reconciliation, antinomianism, esoteric, Balkh, Persian The Safavid empire ruled over Persia from 1501 to 1736 Abu Hamid Al Ghazali 1059-1111 Saad Eddine Hamuiyah Hamuiyah 13th century
Same general elements of truth, ontology and epistemology Cross fertilization between both communities and shared geographies leading to similar views on many points
Nasr Eddine Al Tusi 13th century Rajab Al Bursi came along one century later Similarities
Hayder Amoli the author of " Jaami al Asrar" born in 1320
Born in Balkh Khurasan 9/30/1207 Father Baha Eddine Settled in Konia to flee the Mongols Share the thinking about the limitations of an analytical technic applied to study Rumi and all of its shortcomings.
Baha Eddine appointed at the head of the religious scholarship With 10 more years of study in classical Islam Rumi takes the position of his father
Explain that Love is not to explained it is to be experienced
Introduction
Make the point using Kandansky's work: Yellow, Red. Blue
At the age of 37 he meets Sham Tabriz Rumi wrote prolifically He trained a large number of disciples Mathnawi His written works are:
Diwan Shamsi Tabriz Feehi Ma Feeh IN line with the definition of Ihsan (perfection) in he hadith Builds on Asceticism, institutional orthodox Tassawuf, metaphysical mysticism a new path of "Love" For Rumi Love is wisdom made up of knowledge and sanctity
Conclusion The Mystical Path In Rumi's View Rumi & His Doctrine
Maarifa is synonymous with love for Rumi Love for Rumi symbolizes the trust by which the spiritual world expresses itself Love for Rumi is knowledge based on tradition and sharia For Rumi invests the whole being with a direct experience of the Real Defining God and studying him starts with the definition of the Tawhid and more specifically the Shahada The shahada in his view is a combination of negation/affirmation or tanzih/tashbihj
Describing love is like describing art: Be careful of the tools one uses
Theology In Rumi's View Know Allah: He has a clear view of the object of his search on the mystical path (Al Haq: The Real), the way by wish to get there (The mystical path) and the vehicle to journey (one's self)
Leading to the idea that only reality in existence is that of God At the origin Adam was a Universal Man with Universal knowledge
For Rumi man's knowledge of Allah is conditional upon the deliverance of one's self from limitations
Man is part of this world in which one witnesses divine manifestations
Know yourself: For Rumi the ego or self is a veil preventing man from knowing his own true nature
To explain the need to recovery the true nature and go back where we comes from: Rumi discusses the fall of man and ibliss from heaven
Know your heart: At the center of this being we call man is the heart. For Rumi is the direct link to the world of the spirit. As such it is t he center of knowle dge and love Use Dhikr: Dhikr: Contemplation and remembrance helps coalesce the fragmentation of the world and strive against the forgetfulness of the divine Strive for Taqwa (spiritual virtue): This is a state which Rumi defines as a point in which your whole being becomes a mirror reflecting God Use Muraqaba (Be vigilant): Once you attain a spiritual station of great value and experience the gift of love strive to maintain it
With Allah's name being Al Haq: The shahada takes on a profound meaning explaining the nature of God
The Nature Of Man In Rumi's View
Practicing The Path In Rumi's View
To Rumi the fall was the result of the blinding of the eye of the heart The remnant of that blinding is today's forgetfulness of Allah To Rumi the original function of man is to be universal and act as a conduit of Allah's grace