Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus

Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus PDF

Author: Michael Ebstein

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9004255370

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Muslim Spain gave rise to two unusual figures in the mystical tradition of Islam: Ibn Masarra (269/883-319/931) and Ibn al-ʿArabī (560/1165-638/1240). Representing, respectively, the beginning and the pinnacle of Islamic mysticism in al-Andalus, Ibn Masarra and Ibn al-ʿArabī embody in their writings a type of mystical discourse which is quite different from the Sufi discourse that evolved in the Islamic east during the 9th-12th centuries. In Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus, Michael Ebstein points to the Ismāʿīlī tradition as one possible source which helped shape the distinct intellectual world from which both Ibn Masarra and Ibn al-ʿArabī derived. By analyzing their writings and the works of various Ismāʿīlī authors, Michael Ebstein unearths the many links that connect the thought of Ibn Masarra and Ibn al-ʿArabī to the Ismāʿīlī tradition.

The Mystics of al-Andalus

The Mystics of al-Andalus PDF

Author: Yousef Casewit

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 1107184673

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A study of the writings of Ibn Barrajān, an influential pioneer of intellectual mysticism in the Muslim West.

Andalus and Sefarad

Andalus and Sefarad PDF

Author: Sarah Stroumsa

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0691176434

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An integrative approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus Al-Andalus, the Iberian territory ruled by Islam from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, was home to a flourishing philosophical culture among Muslims and the Jews who lived in their midst. Andalusians spoke proudly of the region's excellence, and indeed it engendered celebrated thinkers such as Maimonides and Averroes. Sarah Stroumsa offers an integrative new approach to Jewish and Muslim philosophy in al-Andalus, where the cultural commonality of the Islamicate world allowed scholars from diverse religious backgrounds to engage in the same philosophical pursuits. Stroumsa traces the development of philosophy in Muslim Iberia from its introduction to the region to the diverse forms it took over time, from Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism to rational theology and mystical philosophy. She sheds light on the way the politics of the day, including the struggles with the Christians to the north of the peninsula and the Fāṭimids in North Africa, influenced philosophy in al-Andalus yet affected its development among the two religious communities in different ways. While acknowledging the dissimilar social status of Muslims and members of the religious minorities, Andalus and Sefarad highlights the common ground that united philosophers, providing new perspective on the development of philosophy in Islamic Spain.

Philosophers, Sufis, and Caliphs

Philosophers, Sufis, and Caliphs PDF

Author: Ali Humayun Akhtar

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-06-09

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1316858111

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What was the relationship between government and religion in Middle Eastern history? In a world of caliphs, sultans, and judges, who exercised political and religious authority? In this book, Ali Humayun Akhtar investigates debates about leadership that involved ruling circles and scholars of jurisprudence and theology. At the heart of this story is a medieval rivalry between three caliphates: the Umayyads of Cordoba, the Fatimids of Cairo, and the Abbasids of Baghdad. In a fascinating revival of Late Antique Hellenism, Aristotelian and Platonic notions of wisdom became a key component of how these caliphs debated their authority as political leaders. By tracing how these political debates impacted the theological and jurisprudential scholars and their own conception of communal guidance, Akhtar offers a new picture of premodern political authority and the connections between Western and Islamic civilizations. It will be of use to students and specialists of the premodern and modern Middle East.

Ibn Gabirol's Theology of Desire

Ibn Gabirol's Theology of Desire PDF

Author: Sarah Pessin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-07-08

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1107032210

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The first full-length treatment of Ibn Gabirol's philosophy in English, this study completely reinvents the medieval author of the Fountain of Life or Fons Vitae (known to many in the history of philosophy by his Latinized name, Avicebron). Developing Ibn Gabirol's vision in terms of a "Theology of Desire," the book rescues the voice of the eleventh-century Jewish poet-philosopher from centuries of misreadings as it sets out to examine the role of love, desire, and ethical self-transformation in medieval Jewish Neoplatonism.

Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis

Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis PDF

Author: Binyamin Abrahamov

Publisher: Anqa Publishing

Published: 2014-06-01

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1905937555

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Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis is a fascinating and groundbreaking analysis of the extent to which various major Sufi figures contributed to the mystical philosophy of Ibn al-'Arabi. While recent scholarship has tended to concentrate on his teachings and life, little attention has been paid to the influences on his thought. Each chapter is dedicated to one of Ibn al-'Arabi's predecessors, from both the early and later periods, such as al-Bistami, al-Hallaj, and al-Jilani, showing how he is discussed in the works of the “Greatest Master” and Ibn al-'Arabi's attitude towards him. This book brings into sharp relief the highly original nature of Ibn al-'Arabi's mystical theory, unprecedented in Islamic mysticism, and the unique way in which he interwove the ideas of others into his own thought.

The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5, Jews in the Medieval Islamic World

The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5, Jews in the Medieval Islamic World PDF

Author: Phillip I. Lieberman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-09-02

Total Pages: 1216

ISBN-13: 1009038591

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Volume 5 examines the history of Judaism in the Islamic World from the rise of Islam in the early sixth century to the expulsion of Jews from Spain at the end of the fifteenth. This period witnessed radical transformations both within the Jewish community itself and in the broader contexts in which the Jews found themselves. The rise of Islam had a decisive influence on Jews and Judaism as the conditions of daily life and elite culture shifted throughout the Islamicate world. Islamic conquest and expansion affected the shape of the Jewish community as the center of gravity shifted west to the North African communities, and long-distance trading opportunities led to the establishment of trading diasporas and flourishing communities as far east as India. By the end of our period, many of the communities on the 'other' side of the Mediterranean had come into their own—while many of the Jewish communities in the Islamicate world had retreated from their high-water mark.