The Mystics of Al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century

ISBN-13: 9781316636022 / Angielski / Miękka / 2019 / 372 str.

Yousef Casewit

Opis

This book is a study of the writings of Ibn Barrajan, an influential Sunni mystic who introduced a worldview to the Muslim West based in Muslim scripture and Neoplatonic cosmology. It will be of interest to researchers of the medieval Islamic world, and those studying the history of mysticism and Sufism in the Muslim West.

Recenzje

'Yousef Casewit's study does justice to one of the greatest figures of Muslim spirituality and thought in medieval al-Andalus, Abu al-Hakam Barrajan (d. 536/1141). For the first time, Ibn Barrajan's work, with its focus on commentaries on the divine names and the Qurʾan, is placed in its context and approached as a whole. Situated between Ibn Massara and Ibn ʿArabi, this work illustrates a path based on a spiritual reading of the Qurʾan and rooted in iʿtibar, the passage from outward meaning towards inward significance, from this world to the next. Yousef Casewit emphasizes the originality of this author, who undertakes a synthesis of traditional Islamic knowledge and Neo-Platonist philosophy, as inspired by the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-safa). Beyond Sufism and philosophy, The Mystics of al-Andalus represents the quest for universal wisdom in the Divine mystery concealed within revelation and the world.' Denis Gril, Professor Emeritus, Aix Marseille Université

Spis treści

1. The beginnings of a mystical discourse in al-Andalus: Ibn Masarra, Mālikism, and the politics of an epistemological debate; 2. The rise of the Andalusī Muʿtabirūn: the influence of Ghazālī, markers of the Muʿtabirūn tradition, and the onset of institutional Sufism; 3. The life of a contemplative: Ibn Barrajān's educational formation, spiritual practices, political views, and decease; 4. The works of Ibn Barrajān: chronological sequence, manuscript tradition, and central themes; 5. The divine descent: bridging the chasm between God and creation; 6. The hermeneutics of certainty: harmony, hierarchy, and hegemony of the Qurʾān; 7. A Muslim scholar of the Bible: biblical proof-texts for Qurʾānic teachings in the exegetical works of Ibn Barrajān; 8. The human ascent: Iʿtibār, cycles of time, and future predictions.