The triple themes of this book - migration, pilgrimage and travel in Islam - are as old as the religion itself. The Prophet Muhammad made his famous archetypal Hijra (migration) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, a year which became the Year 1 of the Muslim lunar calendar; the Hajj (pilgrimage) of Farewell enacted by the Prophet in 632 AD provided the paradigm for all future pilgrimages to the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca; while a much quoted hadith portrays the Founder of Islam counselling his followers that they should seek knowledge even as far as China. The concept of Rihla (travel) in search of...

This study reveals the world of Sufi ritual with particular reference to two major Sufi orders. It examines the ritual and practices of these orders and surveys their organisation and hierarchy, initiation ceremonies, and aspects of their liturgy such as dhikr (litany) and sama (mystical concert). Comparisons are made with the five pillars of Islam (arkan), and the Sufi rituals, together with the arkan, are examined from the perspective of theology, phenomenology, anthropology and semiotics. The work concludes with an examination of the Sufi in the context of alienation. This is a major work...