Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice".
Al-Ghazali, full name Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad aṭ-Ṭūsiyy al-Ġazzālīy, and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian Sunni Muslim polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsult, legal theoretician, mufti, philosopher, theologian, logician and mystic in Islamic history.
Martin Lings, also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon and an authority on the work of William Shakespeare, he is best known as the author of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, first published in 1983 and still in print.
Ayn-al-Qużāt Hamadānī, also spelled Ain-al Quzat Hamedani or ʿAyn-al Qudat Hamadhani (1098–1131), full name: Abu’l-maʿālī ʿabdallāh Bin Abībakr Mohammad Mayānejī, was a Persian jurisconsult, mystic, philosopher, poet and mathematician who was executed at the age of 33.
Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam in which Muslims seek divine love and truth through direct personal experience of God. This mystic tradition within Islam developed in several stages of growth, emerging first in the form of early asceticism, based on the teachings of Hasan al-Basri, before entering the second stage of more classical mysticism of divine love, as promoted by al-Ghazali and Attar of Nishapur, and finally emerging in the institutionalized form of today's network of fraternal Sufi orders, based on Sufis such as Rumi and Yunus Emre. At its core, however, Sufism remains an individual mystic experience, and a Sufi can be characterized as one who seeks the annihilation of the ego in God.
Dhia' ul-Dīn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Yūsuf al-Juwaynī al-Shafi'ī was a Persian Sunni scholar famous for being the foremost leading jurisconsult, legal theoretician and Islamic theologian of his time. His name is commonly abbreviated as al-Juwayni; he is also commonly referred to as Imam al Haramayn meaning "leading master of the two holy cities", that is, Mecca and Medina. He acquired the status of a mujtahid in the field of fiqh and usul al-fiqh. Highly celebrated as one of the most important and influential thinkers in the Shafi'i school of orthodox Sunni jurisprudence, he was considered as the virtual second founder of the Shafi'i school, after its first founder Imam al-Shafi'i. He was also considered a major figurehead within the Ash'ari school of theology where he was ranked equal to the founder, Imam al-Ash'ari. He was given the honorific titles of Shaykh of Islam, The Glory of Islam, The Absolute Imam of all Imams.
Sufi studies is a particular branch of comparative studies that uses the technical lexicon of the Islamic mystics, the Sufis, to exemplify the nature of its ideas; hence the frequent reference to Sufi Orders. It may be divided into two main branches, the orientalist/academic and the spiritual.
Maqasid or maqāṣid al-sharīʿa is an Islamic legal doctrine. Together with another related classical doctrine, maṣlaḥa, it has come to play an increasingly prominent role in modern times. The notion of maqasid was first clearly articulated by al-Ghazali, who argued that maslaha was God's general purpose in revealing the divine law, and that its specific aim was preservation of five essentials of human well-being: religion, life, intellect, lineage, and property. Although most classical-era jurists recognized maslaha and maqasid as important legal principles, they held different views regarding the role they should play in Islamic law. Some jurists viewed them as auxiliary rationales constrained by scriptural sources and qiyas. Others regarded them as an independent source of law, whose general principles could override specific inferences based on the letter of scripture. While the latter view was held by a minority of classical jurists, in modern times it came to be championed in different forms by prominent scholars who sought to adapt Islamic law to changing social conditions by drawing on the intellectual heritage of traditional jurisprudence. These scholars expanded the inventory of maqasid to include such aims of sharia as reform and women's rights ; justice and freedom ; and human dignity and rights.
Kīmīyā-yi Sa'ādat is a book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, a Persian theologian, philosopher, and prolific Muslim author, often regarded as one of the greatest systematic thinkers and mystics of Islam, in Persian. The Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat was written towards the end of his life shortly before 499 AH/1105 AD. During the time before it was written, the Muslim world was considered to be in a state of political, as well as intellectual unrest. Al-Ghazālī, noted that there were constant disputes about the role of philosophy and scholastic theology, and that Sufis became chastised for their neglect of the ritual obligations of Islam. Upon the release of this book, the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat allowed al-Ghazali to considerably cut the tensions between the scholars and mystics. Kimiya-yi sa'ādat emphasized the importance of observing the ritual requirements of Islam, the actions that would lead to salvation, and avoidance of sin. The factor that set the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat apart from other theological works at the time was its mystical emphasis on self-discipline and asceticism.
Following is a list of English translations of the Quran. The first translations were created in the 17th and 19th centuries by non-Muslims, but the majority of existing translations have been produced in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Qamar-ul Huda is an American religious scholar.
Sheikh Mohammed al-Ghazali al-Saqqa (1917–1996), was an Islamic scholar whose writings "have influenced generations of Egyptians". The author of 94 books, he attracted a broad following with works that sought to interpret Islam and its holy book, the Qur'an, in a modern light. He is widely credited with contributing to a revival of Islamic faith in Egypt in recent times. Another sources have called him "one of the most revered sheikhs in the Muslim world".
The Hussaini Encyclopedia is a one-of-a-kind encyclopedia in Arabic, completely themed on the third Imam, Husayn ibn Ali, his biography, thought and way of conduct, as well as on the social circle of personalities around him and also of places, chronicles and various other related subjects. This encyclopedia consisted of 700 volumes and well over 95 million words. Sheikh Mohammed Sadiq Al-Karbassi, author of the voluminous Arabic encyclopedia dedicated to Imam al-Hussain started his work by establishing the Hussaini Center for Research in London in 1993. The Hussaini Encyclopedia is a historic study of al-Hussain which provides a heritage owing to its impact on all events, particularly the aftermath of battle of Karbala with its impact being observed in recent times.
Akbari Sufism or Akbarism is a branch of Sufi metaphysics based on the teachings of Ibn Arabi, an Andalusian Sufi who was a gnostic and philosopher. The word is derived from Ibn Arabi's nickname, "Shaykh al-Akbar," meaning "the greatest master." 'Akbariyya' or 'Akbaris' have never been used to indicate a specific Sufi group or society. It is now used to refer to all historical or contemporary Sufi metaphysicians and Sufis influenced by Ibn Arabi's doctrine of Wahdat al-Wujud. It is not to be confused with Al Akbariyya, a secret Sufi society founded by Swedish Sufi 'Abdu l-Hadi Aguéli.
The Ẓāhirī school or al-Ẓāhirīyyah is a Sunnī school of Islamic jurisprudence founded in the 9th century CE by Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī, a Persian Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian of the Islamic Golden Age. It is characterized by strict adherence to literalism and reliance on the outward (ẓāhir) meaning of expressions in the Quran and ḥadīth literature; the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the first generation of Muhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba), for sources of Islamic law (sharīʿa); and rejection of analogical deduction (qiyās) and societal custom or knowledge (urf), used by other schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
The Revival of the Religious Sciences is a 12th-century book written by the Persian scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. The book was composed in Arabic by Al-Ghazali on his spiritual crises that stemmed from his appointment as the head of the Nizzamiyya University in Baghdad, which led to his eventual disappearance from the Muslim world for over 10 years.
Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya fi 'Ilm al-Tasawwuf, mostly known as al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, is one of the early complete manuals of the science of Sufism, written by the Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri. It was written in 438/1045–6 and has been published in several editions and translated in various languages, including English, French, German, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. It became the most widely disseminated handbook of Sufism in the Islamic world.
Mohammed Rustom is Full Professor of Islamic Thought and Global Philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and Director of the Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam. His research interests include Arabic and Persian Sufi literature, Islamic philosophy, Qur’anic exegesis, translation theory, and cross-cultural philosophy.
