Philosophical Sufism

<p>Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy this volume is a sweeping examination of the mystical philosophy of Muḥyī-l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 637/1240) one of the most influential and original thinkers of the Islamic world. This book systematically covers Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ontology theology epistemology teleology spiritual anthropology and eschatology.</p><p>While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274) ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350) but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385) the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492) the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire India China and East Asia via Central Asia.</p><p>Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope with careful treatments of the key authors <i>Philosophical Sufism </i>is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam philosophy religion and the Middle East.</p>