Sa'diyya Shaikh

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Sa'diyya Shaikh
Born1969
Krugersdorp, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
OccupationIslamic studies scholar
Notable workSufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn 'Arabī, Gender, and Sexuality

Sa'diyya Shaikh (born 1969) is a South African scholar of Islam and feminist theory. She is a professor of religion at the University of Cape Town. Shaikh studies Sufism in relation to feminism and feminist theory. [1] [2] Shaikh is known for work on gender in Islam and 'Ibn Arabi.

Contents

Biography

Sa'diyya Shaikh was born in 1969 in Krugersdorp, South Africa to Indian Muslim parents. [3] [4] She grew up under the apartheid regime and witnessed the anti-apartheid movement which influenced her to seek liberatory readings of the Qur'an and the Islamic tradition. [5]

Shaikh has published works on Muslim women and gendered violence, feminist approaches to the Qur'an and hadith, contraception and abortion in Islam, and gender and Islamic law. [2] Shaikh was a 2016-2017 fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg Zu Berlin on the project "Gender, Justice and Muslim Ethics." [3] [6]

Shaikh is the author of Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn 'Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality. The book explores the thought of Ibn 'Arabi from a feminist perspective. [7]

Shaikh is the co-author of The Women's Khutbah Book: Contemporary Sermons on Spirituality and Justice from around the World. Two khutbahs of Shaikh are featured, "Spirituality of the Ordinary" and "Divine Love, Human Love: Marriage as Heart-Cultivation". [8]

Works

Books

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufism</span> Body of mystical practice within Islam

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".

Sheikh is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "Elder"; in a monarchical context it is also translated as "Lord/Master".

<i>Wali</i> Arabic term meaning "master", "authority", "custodian", or "protector

A wali, the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal "friend of God".

There is a difference of opinion among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams, i.e. to lead a mixed gendered congregation in salat (prayer). The orthodox position is that women cannot lead prayers for men, which is justified by the different roles that men and women take in society however, there is no Hadith and Quran verse that prohibits Muslim women from doing so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qutb</span> Sufi spiritual leader

Qutb, Qutub, Kutb, Kutub or Kotb, means 'axis', 'pivot' or 'pole'. Qutb can refer to celestial movements and be used as an astronomical term or a spiritual symbol. In Sufism, a Qutb is the perfect human being, al-Insān al-Kāmil, who leads the saintly hierarchy. The Qutb is the Sufi spiritual leader that has a divine connection with God and passes knowledge on which makes him central to, or the axis of, Sufism, but he is unknown to the world. There are five Qutbs per era, and they are infallible and trusted spiritual leaders. They are only revealed to a select group of mystics because there is a "human need for direct knowledge of God".

Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.

Shah Shahidullah Faridi (1915–1978) was a British Muslim convert, born to a Christian family.

William Clark Chittick is an American philosopher, writer, translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi, and has written extensively on the school of Ibn 'Arabi, Islamic philosophy, and Islamic cosmology. He is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Stony Brook University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sufism</span> Aspect of Islamic history

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufi philosophy</span> Philosophy in Sufism

Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, the mystical tradition within Islam, also termed as Tasawwuf or Faqr according to its adherents. Sufism and its philosophical tradition may be associated with both Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century CE, but adherents are now found around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sufi metaphysics</span> Part of Sufi Islamic philosophy

In Islamic philosophy, Sufi metaphysics is centered on the concept of وحدة, waḥdah, 'unity' or توحيد, tawhid. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this topic. Waḥdat al-wujūd literally means "the Unity of Existence" or "the Unity of Being." Wujūd, meaning "existence" or "presence", here refers to God. On the other hand, waḥdat ash-shuhūd, meaning "Apparentism" or "Monotheism of Witness", holds that God and his creation are entirely separate.

Abu Talib Muhammad ibn Ali al-Makki, was a hadith scholar, Shafi'i jurist, and Sufi mystic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leila Ahmed</span> Egyptian-American writer and professor

Leila Ahmed is an Egyptian-American scholar of Islam. In 1992 she published her book Women and Gender in Islam, which is regarded as a pioneering historical analysis of the position of women in Arab Muslim societies. She became the first professor of women's studies in religion at Harvard Divinity School in 1999, and has held the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity chair since 2003. She was later awarded the Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity in 2020.

<i>Al-Insān al-Kāmil</i> Concept of "Perfect Human" in Islam

In Islamic theology, al-Insān al-Kāmil, also rendered as Insān-i Kāmil and İnsan-ı Kâmil (Turkish), is an honorific title to describe the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The phrase means "the person who has reached perfection", literally "the complete person". It is an important concept in Islamic culture of the prototype human being, pure consciousness, one's true identity, to be contrasted with the material human who is bound by their senses and materialism. The term was originally used by Sunni Sufis and is still used by them, but it is also used by Alawis and Alevis. This idea is based upon a hadith, which was used by Ibn Arabi, that states about Muhammad: "I was a prophet when Adam was between water and clay."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhibullah Allahabadi</span> Sufi poet and scholar

Shaykh Muhibullah Allahabadi, or Muhibb ullah Ilahabadi was a Sufi scholar who was active in Allahabad in northern India during the reign of the Mughul emperor Shah Jahan. He is noted as a leading proponent of the Sufi doctrine of Wahdat al-Wujud, sometimes called "Oneness of Being". Some Sufis consider that he was a saint.

Kecia Ali is an American scholar of Islam who focuses on the study of Islamic jurisprudence, ethics, women and gender, and biography. She is currently a professor of religion at Boston University. She previously worked with Brandeis University's Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, presided over the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics and was a research associate and postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University and Harvard Divinity School.

Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam is a system of interpreting the sacred texts of that religion, the Quran and Sunnah. Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of sacred texts, and Islamic feminism has a long history upon which to draw. Muslim feminists reinterpret gendered Islamic texts and challenge interpretive traditions to promote the ideas of gender equality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wazifa</span> Recitation of Quran and Dhikr in Islam

In Sufism, the wazifa is a regular litany practiced by followers and comprising Quranic verses, hadiths of supplication and various Duas.

Fatima Seedat is a South African feminist, Islamic scholar and women's rights activist. She is known for her scholarly work on gender and Islamic law, and Islam and feminism.

Margot Badran is a professor of Middle Eastern history with a focus on women and gender studies. She is a well-known scholar on the topic of Islamic feminism.

References

  1. "Associate Professor Sa'diyya Shaikh | Department for the Study of Religions". www.religion.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Sa'diyya Shaikh | WISE Muslim Women Sa'diyya Shaikh". WISE Muslim Women. 14 August 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin: Sa'diyya Shaikh, Ph.D." Sa'diyya Shaikh, Ph.D. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. Shaikh, Sa'diyya (2021), Lewis, Desiree; Baderoon, Gabeba (eds.), "Refining Islamic Feminisms: Gender, Subjectivity and the Divine Feminine", Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa, Wits University Press, pp. 119–129, ISBN   978-1-77614-610-9 , retrieved 25 October 2021
  5. Hidayatollah, Aysha (2014). Feminist Edges of the Qur'an. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199359578.
  6. "Sa'diyya Shaikh – The Immanent Frame". SSRC The Immanent Frame. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  7. "Award-winning book gives voice to feminism in Islam". University of Cape Town News. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  8. Shaikh, Sa¿diyya; Seedat, Fatima (13 October 2022). The Women's Khutbah Book: Contemporary Sermons on Spirituality and Justice from Around the World. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-24416-8.
  9. Reviews of Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn 'Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality
    • Leatt, Annie (2013). "Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn 'Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality". Social Dynamics: A Journal of African Studies . Routledge. 39 (1): 144–139.
    • Smith, Anthony Paul (2017). "Sufi narratives of intimacy: Ibn 'Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality." Theology And Sexuality. Routledge. 22 (16): 126 - 128
    • Hammer, J. (2012). Sufi narratives of intimacy: Ibn  'Arabi, gender, and sexuality. CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 49 (12): 2301