The texts in this volume represent four phases of classical Islamic spirituality: (1) The pre-Sufi phase includes the Qur'an, the central ritual elements of Islam, and the accounts of Prophet Muhammad's Mi'raj: (2) The early period of Sufism includes the sayings and writings of the early Sufi masters such as Hasan of Basra, Dhun-Nun of Egypt, Rabi'a of Basra, Bistami, Muhasibi, and Junayd of Baghdad, the legacies of whom have come down to us largely through collections of their sayings in the works of later writers. This phase extends from the time of Hasan of Basra (d. 110/728) to that of Niffari (d. 354/965); (3) The formative phase of Sufi literature shows Sufism as a self-conscious mode of spirituality embracing all aspects of life and society. This phase begins with Sarraj (d. 378/988) and extends to Qushayri (d. 465/1074); (4) The Sufi synthetic works of the seventh century of Islam by 'Attar, Rumi (d. 672/1273), and Ibn 'Arabi. The text selected for the volume are the early Sufi interpretations of Jaffa al-Sadiq and Sahl al-Tustari, extracts from Qushayri's Risalah, life of Rabi'a of Basra from 'Attar's Tadhkirah al-Awliya, parts of Muhasibi's Book on the Observance of the Rights of God, extracts from Sarraj's Kitab al-Luma' on Bistami, extracts from Junaid on tawhid and fana, utterance of Hallaj of Iblis as a tragic lover and from his Diwan, extracts from Niffari's Kitab al-Mawaqif and Sharastani's theology.
Michael A. Sells is Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professor of Comparative Religions at Haverford College & Chairperson of the Haverford Department of Religions. He served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia and studied Arabic language and literature in Egypt. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1982. His research interests are Arabic poetry, the Qur'an, Islamic spirituality and Western mysticism. Among his published writings are Mystical Languages of Unsaying (University of Chicago press, 1994), a study of the mystical language of Plotinus, Erigena, Ibn 'Arabi, Meister Eckhart and Marguerite Porete; Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes (Wesleyan University Press, 1989); "Sound and Meaning in Surat al-Qari'a" (Arabica 40.3, 1993); "Bewildered Tongue: the Semantic of Mystical Union in Islam," in Moshe Idel and Bernard McGinn, eds., Mystical Union & Monotheistic (1989) numerous articles on Arabic poetry, Qur'anic language, and the mystical writings of Ibn 'Arabi, Marguerite Porete & Meister Eckhart. He is co-editor and contributor to the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Andalusia Volume.
Dr. Sells is a founder and president of the Community of Bosnia Foundation, dedicated to supporting a multi-religious Bosnia Herzegovina.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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