Islamic Mysticism (Religion 337)

Omid Safi

Colgate Universsity

	Sufism: Path to God, through the Heart "Love is a flame. It burns away all that is not God."

Islamic Mysticism (Religion 337)

Colgate University

Omid Safi: osafi@mail.colgate.edu

(315) 228-7690

Catalogue Description

• This course seeks to engage the mystical interpretations of Islam (Sufism) as simultaneously one of the most important historical manifestations of the Islamic experience and one of the most pertinent ones for understanding Islam in the contemporary situation. Themes explored in this class include the tradition of love mysticism embodied by Rumi, the metaphysical formulations of Ibn al-Arabi, the formation of Sufi orders, the various meditative techniques, and Sufi poetry and music. The class also explores the controversies surrounding Sufism in the contemporary scene ranging from attacks on Sufism from Muslim fundamentalists to the role of Sufism in the spread of Islam in Europe and North America.

Grade to be based on:

• Daily assignment (Talking Points) plus active, in-class discussion: 40 %
• Bring a focused "talking point" (between 2-3 pages) to every class. A talking point is a form of dialogue between you and the readings: that is to say, reflections and queries you are prepared to share with a classmate and/or with the instructor. Your daily "talking points" will play a considerable role in shaping the day's discussion. Every talking point must contain 2-3 written questions to be asked in class.
• I leave it up to you to decide how you will engage the text in your talking point:
  *reflect on an idea you found interesting or intriguing in the assigned readings,
  *explore the implications of a particular idea,
  * discuss how the various readings complement or differ from each other,
  *compare to another work we've studied,
  *trace how the work speaks to a theme we encountered earlier.
• Two five page reports 30 %
• Final research paper (15-20 pages): 30 %

Important Dates to keep in mind:

January 25^th, 2000 6 P.M. Dinner at Omid’s home, 64 Lebanon St.
February 5^th, 2000 7 p.m. Sufi Music Concert, at the Commons
February 28^th, 2000 5 p.m. Assignment #1 due.
March 6^th, 2000 in-class Topics for final research paper due.
March 22^nd, 2000 5 p.m. Assignment #2 due.
April 3^rd, 2000 5 p.m. Annotated bibliography due.
April 26^th, 2000 5 p.m. 3-page synopsis of the final research paper.
May 8-12 Final paper due at time of final exam.

Assigned sources:

Books:

Required for the class, bring the readings with you to each class.

1. Martin Lings, Sufi Saint of 20th Century

2. Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism

3. Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam

4. Annemarie Schimmel, Triumphal Sun

5. S. Hirtenstein, Unlimited Mercifier

6. Ruzbihan Baqli, Unveiling of Secrets

7. Shams Friedlander, Whirling Dervishes

8. CD: Oruj Guvenc, Oceans of Remembrance.

Web resources:

You would do well to acquaint yourselves with the following web-page,

and use it as a frequent point of entry and exploration around many of the issues we will be discussing:

http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/sufism1.html

The Course-PAC [CP]

The CP is to be purchased in the class. This is to save you the hefty cost of an official "Course-Pac."

1. Javad Nurbakhsh, "The Key Features of Sufism in the Early Islamic Period", Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi, p. xv-xxxix., [handed-out first day of class]
2. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, "The Sufi Master as Exemplified in Persian Sufi Literature", Sufi Essays, pp. 57-67.
3. H. Landolt, "Walyah", The Encyclopedia of Religion, pp. 316-323.
4. F. Samuel Brainard, "Defining 'Mystical Experience", JAAR 1996(1): 359-388.
5. Al-Kalabadhi, "How the Sufis Account for their being called Sufis", The Doctrine of the Sufis, Translated by A. J. Arberry, pp. 5-11.
6. R. A. Nicholson, "Origin and Development of Sufism", Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (1906): 330-348.
7. Carl Ernst, "What is Sufism? The Orientalist Discovery of Sufism", Shambhala Guide to Sufism, pp. 1-31.
8. James Morris, "Situating Islamic ‘Mysticism’: Between Written Traditions and Popular Spirituality", Mystics of the Book, Robert A. Herrera, ed., 293-334.
9. Nicholas Heer, "Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s Esoteric Exegesis of the Koran", Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi, pp. 235-257.
10. James Morris, "The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arabi and the Mi’raj", J.A.O.S. 107(4): pp. 629-652.
11. A. Schimmel, And Muhammad is His Messenger, pp. 24-55, 123-143.
12. Leonard Lewisohn, "In Quest of Annihilation: Imaginalization and Mystical Death in the Tamhidat of Ayn al-Qudat Hamadhani", Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi, Lewisohn, ed., 285-335.
13. Junayd, "The Theory of Fana’", and "Kitab al-Fana’", The Life, Personality, and Writings of al-Junayd, pp. 81-87, 152-167.
14. Jamal Elias, "Traveling the Sufi Path", The Throne Carrier of God, pp. 101-118.
15. Jamal Elias, "The Spiritual Body and the Mirror of God", The Throne Carrier of God, pp. 79-99.
16. Muhammad Isa Waley, "Contemplative Disciplines in Early Persian Sufism", ", Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi, pp. 497-549.
17. Jamal Elias, "Seclusion and Recollection", The Throne Carrier of God, pp. 119-146.
18. Razi, "The Need for Zekr", "The Method of Zekr", "The Transmission of Zekr", "The Need for Seclusion", Path of God’s bondsmen, translated by Hamid Algar, pp. 268-285.
19. Herbert Mason, "Hallaj and the Baghdad School of Sufism", Classical Persian Sufism: From its Origins to Rumi, Lewisohn, ed., pp. 65-83.
20. J. Gross, "Authority and Miraculous Behavior", The Legacy of Mediœval Persian Sufism, Lewisohn, ed., pp. 159-171.
21. J. Elias, "Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism", The Muslim World LXXVIII, pp. 209-224.
22. M. Chodkiewicz, "The Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood", Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn 'Arabi, pp. 128-146.
23. Michael Sells, "Ibn Arabi’s Garden Among the Flames: The Heart Receptive of Every Form", Mystical Language of Unsaying, pp. 90-115.
24. James Morris, "Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futûhât",[available through www.ibnarabisociety.org/morris.html
25. Abu Najib Suhrawardi, A Sufi Rule for Novices, trans. Menahem Milson, pp. 27-83.
26. Jean During, "What is Sufi Music?", The Legacy of Mediœval Persian Sufism, Lewisohn, ed., pp. 277-87.
27. Jean-Louis Michon, "Sacred Music and Dance in Islam", Islamic Spirituality II: Manifestations, S. H. Nasr, ed., pp. 469-506,
28. Th. E Homerin, "Ibn Arabi in the People's Assembly: Religion, Press, and Politics in Sadat's Egypt", Middle East Journal 80:4 (Summer, 1986), 462-77.
29. S. H. Nasr, "Islam and the Encounter of Religions", Sufi Essays, pp. 123-152.
30. Marcia K. Hermansen, "Hybrid Identity Formations in Muslim America: The case of American Sufi Movements", Muslim World (forthcoming).
31. Gisela Webb, "Sufism in America", in America's Alternative Religions, Tim Miller, ed., pp. 249-259.

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