14262

WiSe 17/18: (Ü) Intellectual History A

Prof. Sara Sviri

Comments

Mystical Teachings, Esoteric Wisdom and the Philosophy of Illumination in Medieval Islam The course will be based on texts (mostly in Arabic) deriving primarily from the vast literature compiled by Muslim mystics, conventionally known as Sufis; from Shi’i esoteric literature; and from the ‘philosophy of illumination’ (hikmat al-ishraq). In Medieval Islam, there existed several mystical trends, Sufi and non-Sufi, but eventually Islamic mysticism has become known as Sufism (tasawwuf). Sufi teachings will be the main focus of the course. We shall attempt to outline the development and history of the various schools, centers and brotherhoods of mystical Islam; to familiarize ourselves with the psychological and ethical teachings of the mystics and their roots in the Islamic tradition (namely, Qur’an and Hadith); to examine the means whereby mystical knowledge is acquired – hikma, ma’rifa, ilham, ishraq, kashf – vis-à-vis more conventional means referred to as ta’lim; to explore the literary contribution of well-known authors and distinguished figures; to analyze the main themes of their mystical teachings; to study the special terminology by which Sufis articulated their teachings; to trace echoes of pre-Islamic traditions in early Sufi works; to observe the impact of Sufism on medieval mystical groups and individuals in Christianity and Judaism, as, for example, on Ramon Lull in Spain and on Jewish Pietists in medieval Andalus and Egypt. Among the topics explored will be the following: what does ‘Sufism’ mean to the Sufis themselves; the ‘Spiritual Hierarchy’ and the ‘Divine Man’ in Sufism and Shi’ism; the distinction between ‘mysticism’ (tasawwuf) and ‘asceticism’ (zuhd); the ‘heart’ (qalb) as the organ of mystical perception and its arch-enemy the ‘psyche’ (nafs); the map of spiritual transformation (maqamat wa-ahwal); esoteric Qur’an commentaries; mystical philosophy and its neo-platonic roots; the Sufi Brotherhoods (tariqa, pl. turuq). close