Search Results (94)

In this paper, I analyze the account of miracles given by ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jīlī (d. 811/1408), one of the major interpreters of the Sufi metaphysics of Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). Al-Jīlī outlines his theory of miracles in chapter fifty of his major work, al-Insān al-kāmil fī maʿrifat al-awākhir wa-l-awāʾil, which is devoted to the Holy Spirit. Based on a close reading of this chapter and other relevant sections of al-Insān al-kāmil, I suggest that al-Jīlī’s interest in miracles reflects the miracle-saturated Yemeni environment in which he wrote, and find that he most often uses taṣarrufāt (“acts of free disposal”) to denote saintly miracles, rather than the more common karāmāt. Most significantly, I show how, based on his threefold categorization of humanity (into those dominated by their physical form, spiritual things, and divine things), he articulates a hierarchy of the miraculous, distinguishing between bodily miracles, which indicate the dominance of the Holy Spirit, and the higher level of creative speech acts, which reflect the dominance of God’s creative attributes. Finally, notwithstanding the fact that his account of miracles and the Holy Spirit chimes with certain Christian ideas, I show that miracles, in his view, point to the spiritual pre-eminence of the Prophet Muhammad. Full article

Om-nāma is a poem written in India in the 17th century. Its author was Banwalidas Wali, a protégé of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh. It is a free adaptation of the much older Sanskrit treatise Yogavāsiṣṭha. However, while deeply rooted in the Indic tradition, Om-nāma extensively uses Islamicate imagery, especially from the realm of Sufism. In this article, we will analyze the terminology of Indic origin in Om-nāma, focusing on forms that interact ininterestingly with Islamicate (Perso-Arabic) vocabulary. Full article

This article offers a descriptive analysis of a specific form (uṣūl) of prophetic eulogy (ṣalawāt) as vocally performed within Sufi orders such as the Rifāʿiyya, Qādiriyya, and Jarrahiyya of today’s Türkiye. It combines a music–theoretical and music–sociological as well as ritual–theoretical perspective to examine how the structured performance of these chants functions both as a spiritual practice and as a means of social formation. Drawing on this dual perspective, the article analyses the underlying musical structures and elements of the ṣalawāt chant, such as melody, rhythm, harmony, modal frameworks, and dynamics. By examining how these formal aspects shape the aesthetic experience, emotional resonance, and theological significance of the eulogy, the study aims to highlight its performative and affective potential within Sufi devotional practice. Within the ritual framework of Sufi orders (ṭarīqa), this rhythmic and collective performance acts as a practice of tazkiya an-nafs (self-purification), cultivating attentiveness, moral refinement, and communal belonging through synchronized voice, breath, and bodily presence. The repeated invocation of the Prophet Muḥammad, venerated as the perfect human (al-insān al-kāmil), thus becomes a means of fostering inner transformation and spiritual proximity. In this way, ṣalawāt chanting mediates religious meaning not only through text but through embodied experience and performative devotion. Full article

This article examines the adaptive Sufi praxis of Ken‘ān Rifā‘ī (1867–1950) in early 20th-century Istanbul through the lens of practical theology. Navigating the political, social, and legal transformations of the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, Rifā‘ī sustained Sufi practices not by rigid institutional preservation but through a dynamic integration of spiritual tradition into the rhythms of urban modernity. His lodge, the Ümmü Ken‘ān Dergāh, functioned as a “moral commons”—simultaneously a site of devotional practice, social refuge, and ethical formation. Utilizing the frameworks of Don S. Browning’s fundamental practical theology, Elaine L. Graham’s emphasis on lived praxis, and John Swinton’s theology of qualitative reflection, this study explores how Rifā‘ī recontextualized classical Sufi rituals, ethical teachings, and communal hospitality to meet the needs of a rapidly secularizing and urbanizing society. Particular attention is given to his inclusive pedagogies, non-monetary ethos, integration of women as active participants, and the lodge’s role as a “shelter” amid widespread displacement, war, and social dislocation. By reading Rifā‘ī s practices as forms of contextual theology and lived religious adaptation, this article contributes to broader conversations on the resilience of spiritual communities under conditions of modern transformation, offering insights into how religious traditions may remain both rooted and responsive in times of profound societal change. Full article

The Alevis of Anatolia and the Balkans and the Alawites of Syria and southeastern Turkey are two distinct ethnoreligious communities frequently conflated in both media and scholarly literature, despite their divergent historical origins, theological differences, and varying sociocultural formations. While their shared histories of marginalization and persecution, certain theological parallels, and cognate ethnonyms contribute to this conflation, it largely stems from a broader tendency within mainstream Islamic frameworks to homogenize so-called heterodox communities without sufficient attention to their doctrinal and cultural specificities. This paper, grounded in a synthetic analysis of current scholarship, maps the key historical, theological, and sociocultural intersections and divergences between Alawite and Alevi communities. Situated within the broader framework of intra-Islamic diversity, it seeks to move beyond essentialist and homogenizing paradigms by foregrounding the distinct genealogies of each tradition, rooted, respectively, in the early pro-Alid movements of Iraq and Syria and in Anatolian Sufism. In addition, the study examines the communities’ overlapping political trajectories in the modern era, particularly their alignments with leftist and secular–nationalist currents, as well as their evolving relationship—from mutual unawareness to a recent political rapprochement—prompted by the growing existential threats posed by the rise of Sunni-Salafi Islamist movements. Full article

This study examines the complex process of Islam’s localization in Sudan, focusing on how hospitality, Sufi dhikr, and Mawlid celebrations integrate with Islamic practices. Drawing on three years of qualitative fieldwork, it demonstrates how Sudan’s geography, ethnic diversity, and historical heritage enable the blending of core religious principles with local customs. Sufi brotherhoods—particularly Qādiriyya, Tījāniyya, Shādhiliyya, and Khatmiyya—play a pivotal role in local culture by incorporating traditional musical, choreographic, and narrative art forms into their rituals, resulting in highly dynamic worship and social interaction. In Sudan, hospitality emerges as a near-sovereign social norm, reflecting the Islamic ethics of charity and mutual assistance while remaining deeply intertwined with local traditions. Islam’s adaptability toward local customs is further illustrated by the vibrant drumming, chanting, and dancing that enhance large-scale Mawlid al-Nabi celebrations, uniting Muslims under a religious identity that goes beyond dogmatic definitions. Beyond their spiritual meanings, these Sufi practices and networks also serve as tools for social cohesion, often functioning as support systems in regions with minimal state presence. They help prevent disputes and foster unity, demonstrating the positive impact of a flexible Islam—one that draws on both scripture and local traditions—on peacebuilding in Sudan. While highlighting the country’s social realities, this study offers insights into how Islam can function as a transformative force within society. Full article

This article examines the contributions of Turkish screenwriter Ayşe Şasa (1941–2014) to Turkish cinema and visual culture through her engagement with Sufism and metaphysical themes. It explores how Şasa draws on esoteric Sufi concepts such as the oneness of being (waḥdat al-wujūd), asceticism (zuhd), and inspiration (ilhām), using cinema as a vehicle for spiritual inquiry and the quest for truth (ḥaqīqa). Her films—including Hear the Reed (Dinle Neyden), The Night That Never Was (Hiçbir Gece), and My Friend the Devil (Arkadaşım Şeytan)—are explored through thematic and interpretive approaches that uncover their Sufi dimensions. The methodological approach combines Gillian Rose’s visual methodology, Klaus Krippendorff’s content analysis, and Arthur Asa Berger’s interpretive model. Rose’s framework facilitates an exploration of symbolic narrative in Şasa’s films and writings, while Krippendorff’s methods identify recurring metaphysical motifs. Berger’s approach uncovers layered meanings in visual and narrative elements. Through narrative structure, symbolic imagery, color, setting, costume, light, and sound, Şasa constructs a spiritually resonant cinematic esthetic that challenges the secular paradigms of modern cinema. Ultimately, this article argues that Şasa develops a distinct cinematic language grounded in Sufi metaphysics, enriching Turkish visual culture with a profound spiritual and moral sensibility. Full article

This article is a case study of an early Persian Sufi Abū Sa‘īd-i Abū l-Ḫayr (357–440H/967–1049 CE) within the wider question of the approach to the religious other in the multi-religious society of medieval Islam. In his poetry and the tales ascribed to him, Abū Sa‘īd was one of the first Muslim mystics to have conveyed empathy and even admiration towards Jews, frequently portrayed negatively in early Sufi texts. Simultaneously, he also expresses fundamental enmity towards them and a traditional missionary desire to convert them to Islam. This apparent ambivalence, revealing a complexity that straddles tolerance and intolerance, is set in a broader context of Sufi attitudes toward religious diversity, and a cursory survey is presented of conceptions of the transcendental unity of religions in Sufi writings in Arabic or Persian. The author posits that Abū Sa‘īd’s duality may mirror a personal religious journey or an intentional concealment of his convictions in order to escape reproof. Full article

The prevalent conception in many Muslim communities globally that women’s visibility must be minimized or attenuated in the presence of unrelated men profoundly shapes Muslim women’s relationship to visibility. Many Muslim women participate in and influence their communities through forms of “wrapping”—a semiotic act that covers and protects yet also identifies and displays. The concept of “wrapping” encompasses “veiling” yet moves beyond clichés of invisible and silenced Muslim women. In the Fayḍa Tijāniyya Sufi community in Senegal, female Sufi chanters were until recently practically unknown, largely due to the perception that a woman’s voice—like her body and social presence—is ʿawra, or something to be cloaked and protected. Since around 2009, however, female chanters have proliferated, some becoming online superstars and acting as formally appointed spiritual guides (muqaddamas). These women largely embrace the notion of a woman’s voice and body as ʿawra, yet they adopt various social and material technologies as “wrappers” that mediate their chanting before large audiences. Female chanters exemplify the dialectic in the Sufi tradition—between the flexibility associated with transcendent reality (ḥaqīqa) and the limits associated with divine law (sharīʿa)—which facilitates yet constrains adaptation to changing historical conditions. Full article

The following article aims at highlighting the theurgical tendencies in the teachings of the great Andalusī Muslim mystic Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (560/1165–638/1240). By “theurgy” is meant the influence of man on Divinity in its manifest external dimension, that is to say, the dimension of God that creates beings and is involved with their lives and fortunes, as opposed to His hidden essence. The category “theurgy/theurgical” is adopted from the modern academic study of Kabbalah, and is ultimately derived from Late Antique Neoplatonism. The bulk of this article is dedicated to analyzing relevant texts from Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre and elucidating the theurgical elements reflected in them, while the last two sections (5–6) present preliminary observations on the relevant links between Ibn al-ʿArabī, Kabbalah, and Late Antique Neoplatonism. It is argued that these three traditions should be studied together, as they shed light on one another. Full article

The Sufi dimension is usually underestimated within the debate on Islam and modernity as well as in discussions about resistance to Western ideas within contemporary Islamic culture. In contrast, Islamic modernism is often defined as the result of a coherent process of modernization and reform, which stems from cultural confrontation with European Western thought and is accelerated by certain key historical events between the 19th and 20th centuries. This modernization, in the last decades of the 19th century, led to the emergence of a cultural Arab renaissance, known as naḥḍa, and a religious reform, iṣlāḥ; both are strongly influenced by modern Western thought. At the opposite end of this current of thought is the perspective of Sīdī Salāma al-Rāḍī, who denounced the damage that the scientistic view of Western origin was doing to Egyptian culture. His most important work, from this point of view, is an untranslated book entitled al-Insāniyya (“Humanity”), in which the author criticizes, from a traditional perspective, the biochemical, medical, evolutionary, and spiritualist conceptions of the physical, psychic, and spiritual constitution of the human being. The general tenor of this work is highly critical of modern Western civilization and represents an attempt to propose a traditional Islamic viewpoint, which is of extreme interest due to its uniqueness. Al-Insāniyya highlights a topic rarely addressed in academic literature on early twentieth-century Sufism: the involvement of a Sufi master in the dialogue between Western modernity and the Sufi Islamic tradition. This reveals a historical framework in which the Sufis of Cairo’s cosmopolitan environment, while mastering scientistic themes, reject modernity in favor of a classical Sufi vision of evolution understood as an initiatory path of spiritual perfection. Full article

This article explores the veneration of Hatixhe, an 18th-century Sufi saint from Tirana, Albania, whose legacy continues to resonate across religious and cultural boundaries. Despite limited historical records, Hatixhe’s sainthood is venerated through hagiographic narratives that portray her as a compassionate healer, spiritual protector, and symbol of resilience. This study investigates the visual, ritual, and sensory dimensions of her shrine, which has become one of the focal points for interfaith devotion in post-socialist Albania. Embodied rituals—such as touching her tomb and lighting candles—allow devotees to connect with her shenjtëri (“sainthood”). Through these acts, Hatixhe’s legacy as a grua e shenjt (“holy woman”) or grua e mirë (“good woman”) is anchored in both religious and cultural contexts, as her shenjtëri integrates local and national values, partly transcending Islamic frameworks. Hatixhe’s teqe, preserved through the efforts of her female heirs during the communist era, serves as a unique testament to a female lineage in Albanian Sufism. By examining the spatial, material, and symbolic aspects of her veneration, this study underscores the significance of Hatixhe’s shenjtëri as a site of blessing and communal solidarity for women, enriching the understanding of their roles in Albanian spiritual and social life. Full article

Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, with specific emphasis on the post-Jungian transpersonal psychological theories on the ‘Spectrum of Human Consciousness’, this paper introduces a transpersonal psychological thread of understanding of ‘Mystical Consciousness’ through an interreligious field of comparative religious approaches to action, contemplation and non-action. This paper draws on Merton’s interreligious contemplative thinking in relation to three major world religious mystical traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and mystical Islam/Sufism and elucidates comparative insights with the Christian mystical–contemplative tradition, akin to the ‘mystical contemplation’ of Evelyn Underhill. This paper introduces and applies the transpersonal perspective to the scholarly field of mysticism. The reader is invited to consider how Merton may have responded or written about interreligious contemplative depth mysticism in terms of his own writings on ‘pure consciousness’, had he had the benefit of the language of the transpersonal models of consciousness. Finally, the reader is left with a contemplative question at the ‘heart’ of mysticism—does the ancient sculpture of the Sleeping Hermaphrodite helpfully represent an art–theological symbolic analogy for the inner repose of an illumined soul, one with God’s Unity, in whose awakened consciousness through depth mystical contemplation, action occurs as an extended manifestation, a total gestalt of contemplative solitudinous action? Full article

The aim of the study is to highlight some characteristics of education during the Almohad, Marinid, and Naṣrid periods, taking into account to the influences exerted in the Andalusian educational system by the Marinids, especially with the establishment of the Andalusian madrasa. Part of the conclusions reached in this study is mainly based on the data offered by the Maghrebi hagiographic literature. The article provides new information on various aspects of education and the educational system in the Islamic West, especially those linked to models of sanctity and educational institutions in the Maghreb and al-Andalus. Other topics covered here include the historical overview of education in the Maghreb and al-Andalus; some examples of women’s education; education and the Berber language; sanctity and education; educational institutions such as the ribāṭ, mosque, madrasa, or school; and the role of the Berber language in the Maghrebi education. In al-Andalus, education was primarily conducted in Arabic, and it will be analyzed. All these aspects are key in understanding not only the processes of Arabization and Islamization, but also the history of religiosity throughout the Islamic West. Full article

This article delves into two Iranian Sufi women’s approaches to the Qurʾān, gender, and visual culture: (1) Parvāneh Hadāvand, a Sufi leader in Tehran, uses visual means to enhance the spiritual–aesthetic–emotional experiences of her students. She challenges gender norms within male-dominated spaces by reinterpreting visual-material objects and asserting her authority as a woman Sufi guide. (2) Mītrā Asadī, a Sufi teacher in Shiraz, problematizes the overall visual culture of gender roles by arguing that, through the spiritual transformation of the human being’s genderless essence (Arabic rūḥ; Persian jān), categories of gender become ephemeral and irrelevant. These two case studies are examined in terms of how these Sufi women utilize aesthetic experience, visual aspects, and visual-material culture in their Sufi practices and teachings. Further, it is investigated how these practices shape Hadāvand’s and Asadī’s gender performativities. Full article