Words of Ecstasy in SufismSUNY Press, 1985 M01 1 - 184 pages 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. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
A The Literature and Theory of Ecstatic Expressions | 9 |
B Topics and Forms of Expression | 25 |
Conclusions | 47 |
ECSTATIC EXPRESSIONS ON FAITH AND INFIDELITY | 53 |
THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER | 95 |
B Sufism the Law and the Question of Heresy | 117 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abu Sa'id Ahmad Akhbar al-Din annihilation Arabic Arberry Attributes Ayn al-Qudat Baghdad Bayazid caliph commentary Darguzini divine dualistic ecstasy ecstatic expressions ecstatic sayings essential union eternal experience faith and infidelity Farmanish gnosis God's hadith Hallaj Hamid Hanbali heart Hellmut Ritter heresiographic heresy Hujwiri hulul Husri Ibid Iblis Ibn al-Jawzi Ibn al-Khafif Ibn Arabi Ibn Ata idolatry iman interpretation Islamic Isma`ili Junayd jurists Kalabadhi Kitab knowledge koan kufr libertinism Louis Massignon Luma madhhab manifestation martyrdom Massignon master Muhammad Muslim mystical Nuri Nwyia paradox Passion path Persian prayer Prophet qualities quoted Qur'an reality of infidelity religion religious reveals Ruzbihan saints Sarraj Schimmel selfhood Shakwa Sharh Shatahat shath shathiyat Shi'i Shibli Simnani soul spiritual Sufis Sufism Sulami symbolism takfir Tamhidat Tawasin tawhid theological tion tradition trans transcendence treatise trial Truth unity unknowing utterances verse Wasiti wazir word zandaqah zindiq