Encountering a Sufi master

Wednesday January 24^th
* Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak, Love is the Wine, p. iii-39.

January 25^th, Thursday night: invitation to Omid’s home.
( Assignment:
I need all of you to have thought about your own spirituality,
your own quest for meaning and fulfillment,
and how spirituality/religion fits into that.

How does studying a religious tradition
that may be other than "your own" fit into that quest?)

Monday, January 29th
* Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak, Love is the Wine, p. 40-94.
* For a web representation of the followers of Sheikh Muzzafer,
see http://www.jerrahi.org/

* For some thoughtful reflections on the category of "mystical", refer to:
www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/mys/interp.htm
* For samples of early definitions of Sufism, refer to:
www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/Sufism.html#Classical
and pay particularly close attention to:
www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/sufism/sufismlumdef.htm

( Assignment: Based on what you have seen so far, how would you translate the term tasawwuf ?
What seems to be the problematic of translating the term as "Islamic Mysticism"?
How comfortable are you with a rendering that ends in an "-ism"?
What problems arise with translating the term as Islamic "esotericism" or "spirituality"?)

Monday, February 5th: The the mystical Path (tariqat)
*Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, "The Path", p. 98-186
* Ernst, Teachings of Sufism, "The Errors of Wayfarers", p. 118-147
* For obstacles on the spiritual path, see

www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/Sufism.html#Obstacles on the Path

To get a sense of the love for the Prophet in practice, see:
* V. Hoffman, Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt, "The Prophet Muhammad and His Family in Egyptian Sufism", p. 50-88

* See the following web-site associated with the Mi'raj:
http://www.al-aqsa.com/HISTORY.html#anchor661673

The poem to the right is by the Persian poet, Sa'di, in honor of the Prophet..

This poem, in Arabic, is sung all over the Muslim world.

Balagha 'l-ula bi-kamlalihi
kashafa 'l-dujja bi-jamalihi
hasunat jami'u khisalihi
sallu alayhi wa alihi

"He reached hights of perfection
he unveiled darkness through his beauty
he acheived the totality of beauty in all qualities
Peace be upon him, and his family."

(Assignment: What aspects of Muhammad’s being do Sufis seek to emulate? )

*Sells, "Qushayri" and "Sarraj", in Early Islamic Mysticism, p. 97-150, 196-211.
* Music: "Namidanam kuja budam" plus handout from Burckhardt book.,
(poem by Amir Khusrau, song by Sabri Brothers, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)

Dhikr:
Sufi meditative/contemplative practice

Monday, February 19th:
* Ernst, Teachings of Sufism, "Spiritual Practice", p. 40-81
* V. Hoffman, Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt, Ch. 6, pp. 156-195

* For some more information on dhikr/zekr, see
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/Sufism.html#Remembering God
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ABewley/Page5.html

* Music: Bosnian zekr, Turkish zekr.

Pir Vilyat Khan, in meditation. Ajmer, India, Circa 1979.

Sufi Aesthetics:
Sufi Music, Dance, and Poetry:

Ernst, Teachings of Sufism, "Listening to Music", p. 95-117
* Jean-Louis Michon, "Sacred Music and Dance in Islam", pp. 469-506
[handout available in the religion department, ask Ellen the kind secretary]

* check out web page: See here for the rulings of al-Ghazali on music.

Tuesday, February 27th, 5:30 at the Hall of the Presidents

Mandatory Sufi Concert,
Featuring Amir Koushkani and Seemi Ghazi.

Attendance Required.
Bring a friend.

Thursday, March 1st

Colgate Chapel

4 pm

Recitation of the Qur'an by Seemi Ghazi.

Tuesday, March 6th

11:30 Brown bag lunch with Sa'diyya Shaikh
at the Women's Studies Center

4 p.m. talk by Sa'diyya Shaikh on
Islam and Feminism
105 Lawrence

Your friendly little writing pleasure,

a.k.a. "midterm"

Dear friends...

Be at ease about this writing opportunity.
Most of the questions are deliberately posed in a vague and general way,
to allow you to formulate your own thoughts and reflections.

There are, in most cases, some points that I want you to address.
However, there are no "right" answers that I have already in mind.
I am interested above all in two things:
the depth of your thinking about this issues,
and your ability to demonstrate the synthesis of what you have read so far and how you have analyzed it.

The total for the whole assignment should be around 10 pages.
Think of answering each section in 5 pages.
I think once you start writing you will find that things will flow, and most of you will probably want to go over 5 pages.
Try to be succinct in writing. Use footnotes when necessary.
The whole thing is due Monday, March 26^th, by 5 p.m. in the Religion department.

Question one:

We have so far in this class presented Sufism as a spiritual path,
and perhaps all too often spoken of it in very general, universal fashion.
The first question is an opportunity for you to address the specific Islamic context of Sufism.
In particular, I want you to address the "twin foundations" of Sufism,
being the Qur'anic revelation and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

What do the Sufis get from the Qur'an?
How do they read the verse?
Are there some verses which seem to be central to their self-understanding, or otherwise their favorite?

How do the Sufis relate to Prophet Muhammad?
What aspect of his being do they seek to emulate?
How do they do this?

Question two:

We have, during the course of the semester, spent much time talking about the "path" and stages and stations on the path.
We have also talked about the various tests that the "self" (nafs) undergoes, in order to become either annihilated or transformed.
Recall here the importance of passages on love, errors made on the path, etc.

What I want you to do for this segment is far more challenging
but also hopefully rewarding
than simply writing a four or five page section telling me about the nafs, hal, maqam, fana, etc.
I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a Sufi master, and write as a Sufi teacher
to one who is familiar with the path but is seeking to go further.
Keeping in touch with the Sufi tradition,
be sure to cite examples from the Qur'an or Muhammad and (especially) earlier Sufis,
but make sure the whole thing is somehow yours.

The tone and flow of what you write is significant.
Think of how Love is Wine read, and see what you can write similar to that,
again, in your own voice..

For this question, be sure to use Love is Wine, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, Early Islamic Mysticism, and Teachings of Sufism

For both questions, be sure to breathe, and again, be at peace....

If you have been coming to class and keeping up with (let's be honest: not all, but most?) of the readings,
the answers are already within you.