Difference between revisions of "On Sufism"

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* Cairo stories
 
* Cairo stories
 
* Parable of the elephant
 
* Parable of the elephant
−
* Alastu
+
* Alastu (the covenant of pre-eternity and imperative to remember)
−
* Name and reality
 
−
* Reason and controlled observation vs. experience
 
−
* Ineffability of mystical experience and knowledge
 
 
* Sufism as a return to origins
 
* Sufism as a return to origins
−
* Sufism as the mystical dimension of Islam (Annemarie Schimmel)
+
* Name and reality ("formerly Sufism was a reality without a name; now it is a name without a reality" - ''Kashf al-Mahjub'', 10th century text of al-Hujwiri)
 +
* Reason and controlled observation vs. experiential knowledge of reality
 +
* The deep meaning of Monotheism (tawhid):  God as the Only True Reality (al-Haqiqa)
 +
* Ineffability of mystical experience and knowledge; futility and necessity of all expression (the great Sufi poet Jalal al-Din Rumi said:  "By Allah, I care nothing for poetry. There is nothing worse in my eyes. To me, it is like the cook who plunges his hand into tripe, cleaning it out for the sake of a guest’s appetite.")
 +
* Sufism as transcending Islam (Ibn Arabi, Inayat Khan), or apart from Islam (early Orientalists, modern Muslim reformers), or deeply embedded in Islam, as its mystical dimension (Annemarie Schimmel)...
 
** Qur'an
 
** Qur'an
−
** Hadith
+
** Hadith (Sunna)
−
** Non-sectarian
+
** Non-sectarian affiliation groups (tariqas) performing supererogatory devotions ''in addition to'' the more usual Islamic ones (prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage), not replacing them (ordinarily).
 
* Sufism as devotion to saints, intermediaries
 
* Sufism as devotion to saints, intermediaries
 
* Sufism as turuq, social orders
 
* Sufism as turuq, social orders
Line 29: Line 30:
 
** Knowledge of Unity (wahdat al-wujud)
 
** Knowledge of Unity (wahdat al-wujud)
 
** Self-perfection (al-insan al-kamil)
 
** Self-perfection (al-insan al-kamil)
 +
** Antinomianism (e.g.: the Divinely mad, majdhub; the anti-sanctimonious, Malamatiyya; the wandering poor ascetic, darwish...)
 +
* Islam: basic practices (5 arkan, pillars)
 +
** Shahada: testimony of faith
 +
** Salah: canonical prayer (5x/day)
 +
** Sawm:  fast (dawn to sunset) during month of revelation, Ramadan
 +
** Zakah:  poor due
 +
** Hajj:  pilgrimage to Mecca
 
* Islamic core
 
* Islamic core
 
** Mystical practices, visions and journeys of the Prophet (Hira, Mi`raj)
 
** Mystical practices, visions and journeys of the Prophet (Hira, Mi`raj)
 
** The Awliya or saints: holy men and women of Islam
 
** The Awliya or saints: holy men and women of Islam
 
** Non-sectarian nature:  supererogatory practices
 
** Non-sectarian nature:  supererogatory practices
 +
* Sufism as...
 +
** "Spiritual path" (tariqa)
 +
** "Spiritual journey" (siluk)
 +
** Spiritual state (hal)
 +
** Spiritual knowledge (ma`rifa, `irfan)
 +
** Ritual practices (e.g. dhikr)
 
* Neoplatonic elements
 
* Neoplatonic elements
 
** Christian ascetic elements (monk Buhayra)
 
** Christian ascetic elements (monk Buhayra)
 
** Ancient Middle Eastern religion (Egyptian, Persian...)
 
** Ancient Middle Eastern religion (Egyptian, Persian...)
 
* Unity (tawhid)
 
* Unity (tawhid)
−
** Inner unity (reality)
+
** Inner unity of Reality
 
** Outer multiplicity (illusion)
 
** Outer multiplicity (illusion)
−
* Division
+
* Division in interpretation:
 
** Islam - Iman - Ihsan:  outer to inner
 
** Islam - Iman - Ihsan:  outer to inner
 
** Zahir - Batin:  symbolism (signifer to signified)
 
** Zahir - Batin:  symbolism (signifer to signified)
 
** Sharia - Tariqa - Haqiqa
 
** Sharia - Tariqa - Haqiqa
 
** The maqamat, as a series of parallel oppositions (fear/hope, contraction/expansion, baqaa/fanaa)
 
** The maqamat, as a series of parallel oppositions (fear/hope, contraction/expansion, baqaa/fanaa)
 +
* Inner (batini) interpretations of Sharia (as derived from Qur'an, Sunna, qiyas, ijmaa`)
 +
** Tawhid and Unity of Being
 
* Order and disorder
 
* Order and disorder
 
** Social:  turuq vs. darwish
 
** Social:  turuq vs. darwish
 
** Emotional:  closeness vs. ecstasy (hal, jadhb, shath)
 
** Emotional:  closeness vs. ecstasy (hal, jadhb, shath)
−
** Ritual:  hadra vs. hal
+
** Ritual:  hadra vs. mawlid
 
* Manifestations of the Sacred
 
* Manifestations of the Sacred
 
** Nature
 
** Nature
Line 65: Line 81:
  
 
= Literary expressions of Sufism =
 
= Literary expressions of Sufism =
−
* Sacred interpretation of conventional themes:
+
* Sacred interpretation of conventional poetic themes:
−
** praise
+
** praise (madih) - typically directed to Prophet, Saints
−
** love
+
** love (al-hubb al-ilahi)
−
** intoxication
+
** physical attraction (ghazal)
 +
** intoxication (khamr)
  
 
[[Early Islamic poetry | Early Madih (praise poems)]]
 
[[Early Islamic poetry | Early Madih (praise poems)]]
Line 79: Line 96:
  
 
* Remembrance (dhikr)
 
* Remembrance (dhikr)
 +
* Spiritual audition (sama`)
 +
* Sufi liturgy (hadra)
 +
* Spiritual hymns (inshad sufi)
  
 
[[Music and Islam talk | Music and Islam]]
 
[[Music and Islam talk | Music and Islam]]
Line 85: Line 105:
  
 
[[Inshad sufi]]
 
[[Inshad sufi]]
 +
 +
= Films and film segments =
 +
 +
''Basic Islam''
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=36429&loid=48091&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Essentials%20of%20Faith:%20Islam&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Essentials of Islam]
 +
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=8314&loid=47451&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Holy%20Days:%20Christian%20and%20Jewish%20Feasts%20and%20Rituals&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Holy Days]: watch segments #12-17 (background) and segment #23 (Sufism).  Please note a couple of factual errors:
 +
* Ramadan does not end on the 27th of the month; rather the 27th is widely acknowledged as the "Lailat al-Qadr", Night of Power, when the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad.
 +
* Ibrahim's Egyptian concubine Hajar was the mother of Ismaili (Ishmael), not the father! (the voiceover erroneously says "his son", rather than "her son")
 +
 +
----
 +
 +
''On Sufism:''
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8750&xtid=6553&loid=51749 I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=33367&loid=28751&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Inner%20Journey:%20The%20Path%20of%20Mysticism&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Muslim Mysticism] (you may wish to watch more of this film in conjunction with the course on Mysticism)
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=6237&loid=45623&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Islam&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Rumi]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8750&xtid=6237&loid=45620 Islamic Mystics and the Five Pillars of Islam (04:44)] (esp. segments 6-10)
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=32512&loid=5978&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Islam:%20Discovery%20and%20Discussion&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Sufism in North Carolina]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39451&loid=60138&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Paper%20Gods:%20Aspects%20of%20Religion%20in%20Benin,%20Egypt,%20Ethiopia,%20Ghana,%20and%20Mali&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Islamic Sufism - in Africa]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=39451&loid=60138&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Paper%20Gods:%20Aspects%20of%20Religion%20in%20Benin,%20Egypt,%20Ethiopia,%20Ghana,%20and%20Mali&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Sufism and Dervishes]
 +
 +
 +
----
 +
 +
''On Sufi Music:''
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=30999&loid=101&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Sacred%20Sounds:%20Music%20of%20the%20World,%20Songs%20of%20the%20Soul&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Sacred sounds] (several segments devoted to Muslim regions, from the Festival of World Sacred Music held in Fez, Morocco.
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=30999&loid=101&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Sacred%20Sounds:%20Music%20of%20the%20World,%20Songs%20of%20the%20Soul&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami], prominent Sufi singer of Egypt
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8750&xtid=6553&loid=51749 I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim] (including music segments)
 +
 +
----
 +
 +
''Other relevant background material:''
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=8750&xtid=41004&loid=70341 Islam, Empire of Faith]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=9362&loid=46565&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Byzantium%20and%20the%20Holy%20Roman%20Empire:%20Christianity%20in%20the%207th%20and%208th%20Centuries&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Islam Appears]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=9362&loid=46565&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Byzantium%20and%20the%20Holy%20Roman%20Empire:%20Christianity%20in%20the%207th%20and%208th%20Centuries&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Common roots: Judaism, Christianity, Islam]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=11411&loid=29360&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=The%20Arabs%20Make%20Their%20Entrance:%20Islam%20and%20Empire&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Mecca, Muhammad, and Islam]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=11411&loid=29361&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=The%20Arabs%20Make%20Their%20Entrance:%20Islam%20and%20Empire&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Islam spreads]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=11416&loid=29027&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=An%20Art%20of%20Living:%20Arab%20Aesthetics%20in%209th-Century%20Spain&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= An Art of Living: Arab Aesthetics in 9th-Century Spain]
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=36197&loid=36193&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Africa%27s%20West%20Coast&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Sufism in Senegal] (2:22)
 +
 +
[http://digital.films.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=9304&loid=29630&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Coleman%20Barks&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID= Coleman Barks], one of Rumi's most popular translators
 +
 +
= Web resources =
 +
 +
[http://www.al-islam.org/al-serat/interior-nasr.htm The Interior Life in Islam], by
 +
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
 +
 +
[http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html Sufism] page of Prof. Alan Godlas

Latest revision as of 21:12, 31 January 2011

Sufism - general

  • Cairo stories
  • Parable of the elephant
  • Alastu (the covenant of pre-eternity and imperative to remember)
  • Sufism as a return to origins
  • Name and reality ("formerly Sufism was a reality without a name; now it is a name without a reality" - Kashf al-Mahjub, 10th century text of al-Hujwiri)
  • Reason and controlled observation vs. experiential knowledge of reality
  • The deep meaning of Monotheism (tawhid): God as the Only True Reality (al-Haqiqa)
  • Ineffability of mystical experience and knowledge; futility and necessity of all expression (the great Sufi poet Jalal al-Din Rumi said: "By Allah, I care nothing for poetry. There is nothing worse in my eyes. To me, it is like the cook who plunges his hand into tripe, cleaning it out for the sake of a guest’s appetite.")
  • Sufism as transcending Islam (Ibn Arabi, Inayat Khan), or apart from Islam (early Orientalists, modern Muslim reformers), or deeply embedded in Islam, as its mystical dimension (Annemarie Schimmel)...
    • Qur'an
    • Hadith (Sunna)
    • Non-sectarian affiliation groups (tariqas) performing supererogatory devotions in addition to the more usual Islamic ones (prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage), not replacing them (ordinarily).
  • Sufism as devotion to saints, intermediaries
  • Sufism as turuq, social orders

What is Sufism?

  • What is Sufism? Doctrinal, social, ritual, discursive aspects
  • A critical view: Sufism as created, foreign...
    • Sufism, Sufi, tasawwuf
    • Fundamentalism, Salafism
    • Orientalism
    • New Age popularity (e.g. Rumi)
  • Sufism of...
    • Asceticism
    • Adab (ethics, humility)
    • Devotion & Remembrance
    • Love as Submission
    • Ecstasy
    • Knowledge of Unity (wahdat al-wujud)
    • Self-perfection (al-insan al-kamil)
    • Antinomianism (e.g.: the Divinely mad, majdhub; the anti-sanctimonious, Malamatiyya; the wandering poor ascetic, darwish...)
  • Islam: basic practices (5 arkan, pillars)
    • Shahada: testimony of faith
    • Salah: canonical prayer (5x/day)
    • Sawm: fast (dawn to sunset) during month of revelation, Ramadan
    • Zakah: poor due
    • Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
  • Islamic core
    • Mystical practices, visions and journeys of the Prophet (Hira, Mi`raj)
    • The Awliya or saints: holy men and women of Islam
    • Non-sectarian nature: supererogatory practices
  • Sufism as...
    • "Spiritual path" (tariqa)
    • "Spiritual journey" (siluk)
    • Spiritual state (hal)
    • Spiritual knowledge (ma`rifa, `irfan)
    • Ritual practices (e.g. dhikr)
  • Neoplatonic elements
    • Christian ascetic elements (monk Buhayra)
    • Ancient Middle Eastern religion (Egyptian, Persian...)
  • Unity (tawhid)
    • Inner unity of Reality
    • Outer multiplicity (illusion)
  • Division in interpretation:
    • Islam - Iman - Ihsan: outer to inner
    • Zahir - Batin: symbolism (signifer to signified)
    • Sharia - Tariqa - Haqiqa
    • The maqamat, as a series of parallel oppositions (fear/hope, contraction/expansion, baqaa/fanaa)
  • Inner (batini) interpretations of Sharia (as derived from Qur'an, Sunna, qiyas, ijmaa`)
    • Tawhid and Unity of Being
  • Order and disorder
    • Social: turuq vs. darwish
    • Emotional: closeness vs. ecstasy (hal, jadhb, shath)
    • Ritual: hadra vs. mawlid
  • Manifestations of the Sacred
    • Nature
    • Traditional arts

Sufism and the person

  • al-`Alam al-Azali and "Alastu"
  • Individual experiential understanding, independence
  • Social group, tariqa, shaykh, submission to
  • Psychology: ruh and nafs

Sufism and Qur'an and Sunna

Literary expressions of Sufism

  • Sacred interpretation of conventional poetic themes:
    • praise (madih) - typically directed to Prophet, Saints
    • love (al-hubb al-ilahi)
    • physical attraction (ghazal)
    • intoxication (khamr)

Early Madih (praise poems)

Classical Arabic poetry - the ambiguity of spiritual love

Tawasin

Performative expressions of Sufism

  • Remembrance (dhikr)
  • Spiritual audition (sama`)
  • Sufi liturgy (hadra)
  • Spiritual hymns (inshad sufi)

Music and Islam

Islamic performance genres

Inshad sufi

Films and film segments

Basic Islam

Essentials of Islam


Holy Days: watch segments #12-17 (background) and segment #23 (Sufism). Please note a couple of factual errors:

  • Ramadan does not end on the 27th of the month; rather the 27th is widely acknowledged as the "Lailat al-Qadr", Night of Power, when the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad.
  • Ibrahim's Egyptian concubine Hajar was the mother of Ismaili (Ishmael), not the father! (the voiceover erroneously says "his son", rather than "her son")

On Sufism:

I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim

Muslim Mysticism (you may wish to watch more of this film in conjunction with the course on Mysticism)

Rumi

Islamic Mystics and the Five Pillars of Islam (04:44) (esp. segments 6-10)

Sufism in North Carolina

Islamic Sufism - in Africa

Sufism and Dervishes


On Sufi Music:

Sacred sounds (several segments devoted to Muslim regions, from the Festival of World Sacred Music held in Fez, Morocco.

Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami, prominent Sufi singer of Egypt

I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim (including music segments)

Other relevant background material:

Islam, Empire of Faith

Islam Appears

Common roots: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Mecca, Muhammad, and Islam

Islam spreads

An Art of Living: Arab Aesthetics in 9th-Century Spain

Sufism in Senegal (2:22)

Coleman Barks, one of Rumi's most popular translators

Web resources

The Interior Life in Islam, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Sufism page of Prof. Alan Godlas

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