The Mystics of Islam

by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson

The Mystics of Islam, first published in 1914, has long been recognized as a classic and definitive introduction to the message of Sufism. In this short but comprehensive work, R.A. Nicholson—who was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the early 20th century—provides the general reader with an easy approach to the study of Islamic mysticism. He gives a broad outline of Sufism and describes the key principles, methods and characteristic features of the inner life as it has been lived by Muslims of every class and condition from the 8th century onwards. Many quotations are given, mainly in the author's own fine translations from the original Arabic and Persian.

"R.A. Nicholson's Mystics of Islam was the first book in the West to offer a lucid and sympathetic picture of Islamic mysticism, and I believe that many scholars and lay people have received their first introduction to the spiritual aspects of Islam as a result of having read this modest, yet precious book, which has not lost any of its importance to this day."

—Annnemarie Schimmel, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University and author of Mystical Dimensions of Islam.

Genres: Religion, Islam, Mysticism, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Spirituality

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, was the greatest Rumi scholar in the English language. He was a professor for many years at Cambridge Universtiy, in England. He dedicated his life to the study of Islamic mysticism and was able to study and translate major sufi texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish. That a Western scholar of "the first rank" dedicated much of his life to the study and translation of Rumi's poetry was very fortunate.

His monumental achievement was his work on Rumi's Masnavi (done in eight volumes, published between 1925-1940). He produced the first critical Persian edition of Rumi's Masnavi, the first full translation of it into English, and the first commentary on the entire work in English. This work has been highly influential in the field of Rumi studies, world-wide. His critical Persian text has been re-printed many times in Iran and his commentary has been so highly respected there, that it has been translated into Persian (by Hasan Lâhûtî, 1995).

Nicholson also produced two volumes which condensed his work on the Masnavi and which were aimed at the popular level: "Tales of Mystic Meaning" (1931) and "Rumi: Poet and Mystic" (1950).

His earliest translations of selected ghazals from Rumi's Divan ("Selected Poems from the Díváni Shamsi Tabríz," 1898) has been superceded by A. J. Arberry's translations ("Mystical Poems of Rumi," 1968; "Mystical Poems of Rumi: Second Selection," 1979), in that Arberry used a superior edition of the Divan (done by Foruzanfar). Arberry re-translated all of the ghazals previously translated Nicholson (his teacher and predecessor at Cambridge University) based on the superior edition, minus seven ghazals which were not in the earliest manuscripts of the Divan (and therefore are no longer considered by scholars to be authentic Rumi poems (Nicholson's numbers IV, VIII, XII, XVII, XXXI, XXXIII, and XLIV).

Reviews

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

المميز فى الكتاب ان اللى كاتبه مستشرق درس الصوفية جيدا
فيه أجزاء كتيرة واجهت صعوبة فى فهمها, بسبب صعوبة اللغة و ربما لأنى لست
متعمقة فى القراءة و المعرفة عن الصوفية
مثلا "موقف البحر" لم أفهمه تماما

أكثر ما أعجبنى: كلامه عن الموسيقى "من تشرب قلبه التفكير قى ربه .. لا تفسده سماع آلات الموسيقى" جميلة
و أعجبتنى المقدمة التى ربطت و وضحت تأثر الصوفية بالمسيحية
و البوذية و الغنوصية و الأفلاطونية.
الكتاب يعرض المراحل التى يجب أن يمر بها المتصوف (التجلى و الجذب , المعرفة , الحب الالهى , الاتحاد)

تبين أن الطرق الصوفية مختلفة عن بعضها تماما,فهناك طرق لم تشتهر و لكنها ترى أن شعائر الاسلام هراء
و منها طرق لا يشغلها شئ سوى التأمل والاتحاد مع الله

من الطرق الغريبة جدا بالنسبة لى (البكتاشية) التى أرى أنها لا تمت للاسلام بشئ
رغم ادعائهم, و كذلك (الاتحاديون) و أرى أن لقب "الدروايش الأثمون" المذكور ينطبق عليهم

أعجبتنى تفاسير جلال الدين الرومى و الأبيات الشعرية المذكورة فى الكتاب.

[Ahmed Oraby · Rating 1 out of 5]

لأ أكاد أصدق عينيّ بأن كاتب هذا السخف هو أستاذ ودكتور ومستشرق يعد من أكثر من خدموا الفلسفة الإسلامية بشكل عام والتصوف بشكل خاص. كاتب هذا الكلام هو بالقطع معتوه مجنون أحمق!
to be reviewed.

[ناديا · Rating 2 out of 5]

الحق انني لااعلم على اي مقياس اخترت ان اعطي الكتاب نجمتين فقط ، ربما لعدم استيعابي للامر جله !
الكتاب في مكتبة منزلي منذ عام بالتمام والكمال ، وقد عدت مؤخرا من زيارة جميلة لقونيا متأثرة بروحانيات المكان فصممت ان انهي الكتاب علني أفهم ، ولم أفهم ... او بالاحرى لم يعجبني مافهمت !
بالتاكيد الكتاب من اهم الكتاب عن الصوفيه ، فالمستشرقون عاده حياديون في نقلهم لما وجودوه أثناء بحثهم .. لكنه بنفس الوقت من الكتب القديمه .. عموما هو كتاب خفيف وقصير لاباس من الاطلاع عليه ، والحقيقة انني لم اجد الترجمة بالسوء الذي وجدوه قراء آخرون ..

لااقتباسات :)

[Abdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب بحثٌ وافر,فيهِ ستةُ فصول(الطريق,التجلي والجذب,المعرفة,الأولياء والكرامات,الحب الإلهي,حال الإتحاد)ترجمة جيدة,لكن هناك ما يخالف عقيدتنا,ونحنُ نستفيدُ مما يفيدنا ونتركُ ما لا يفيد ,هذا هو المعيار..

[Ahmed Ouf · Rating 3 out of 5]

فى العموم أجد متعةً خاصة فى قراءة كتب المستشرقين الغرب. هؤلاء الذين عاشوا بأجسادهم فى أوروبا حيث الحياة و سحرها و عقولهم تجول بيننا فى الشرق تدرس تاريخنا و تتعمق فى عقائدنا و تتأمل مذاهبنا فتفتح لنا أٌفُقاً فكرية جديدة و تُرينا ما لا نراه نحن أبناء الشرق.

لاحظت إعجاب نيكلسون الشديد بجلال الدين الرومى و يظهر ذلك جلياً فى الإسلوب حين يتحدث عنه أو ينقل شيئاً عن لسانه.

ترجمة الكتاب الذى قرأته ل نور الدين شريبة و هى ليست بسيئة, لكنها ليست جيدة أيضاً ..الترجمة مقبولة و غير منفرة .. أو ربما منفرة بعض الشى و لكنى قد تجاوزت التمحيص فى الألفاظ و أخذت أخوض فى عُمْق وصلب الأفكار وحدها..


إيمانى بضرورة رؤية الشئ من عيون خصمه و دراسة الشئ و نقيضه قبل الحُكم عليه يمنعنى من كتابة رأيي عن الصوفية فى الوقت الحالى .. الرأى الذى تكون لدى عن الصوفية لا بأس به لكن ينقصه النضوج. و أعتقد إنه ربما سيتحقق بعد بعض القراءة لفلسفة الميتافيزيقيا.

[daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally written in 1914. It seems dated in its understanding of Christianity and Gnosticism, but gave a good broad-brush understanding of the origins and 'doctrines' of Sufism. I think for most people, though, it would be sufficient to read Rumi or Hafiz directly (both of them were quoted extensively in the book).

[Sarah Al-Jishi · Rating 1 out of 5]

لغته صعبة جدا على الفهم ليس كمصطلحات فقط لكن ترتيب جمل وفقرات .. حاولت انهاءه لكن الأمر كان مجرد مضيعة للوقت

[Mostafa ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

انها عقده الخواجة , قلت مستشرق اذا يبقي الكلام حيادي بعيدا عن المدح المبتذل او النقد المنفر , لكن اكتشفت اني غلطان , القي الوم علي الترجمه ولا علي عدم فهمي ل اخر فصلين اللي فصلوني ؟ الله اعلم لكن عرفت منه حاجات جديده وفرق صوفيه مسمعتش عنها قبل كده قريبه للدين اللي اعرفه وفرق بعيده كل البعد عنه وروابط بين الصوفيه في بعض افكارها و البوذيه والمسيحية, ومعالم الطريق الصوفي نفسه وصفات السالك وبعض المعلومات الخفيفه عن التجلي والمجذوب , و الاتصال الروحي بين الصوفي في مراتبه المختلفه وربه , سطور الهجويري وذو النون وجلال الدين الرومي كانت فاكهه الكتاب وخلتني عايز اقرأ ليهم اكتر, في المجمل عرفت شيء جديد ولو بنسبه بسيطه .

[Mohamed Safwat · Rating 2 out of 5]

أظهر لي الكتاب كثيرا من بواطن الصوفية و اقتنعت أكثر بالرأي القائل "الصوفيون أغلبهم كفرة و أقلهم صالحون"
و كالعادة يظهر تأثير الفكر المصري جليا على تكوين و نشأة الحركة الصوفية.

كتاب شيق.

[Mohammed Fath'y · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب جيد لا شك .. تقييمه يقع بين 3 نجوم - 4 نجوم
بعض الصعوبة في الترجمة و بعض الجمود في تناول الكاتب لبعض الأفكار

[Mohamed Kanjaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب المستشرق نيكلسون عن الصوفية مميز، لأنه أولا لمستشرق
وثانيا لأنه حاول جهد إمكانه أن يعرف خبايا التصوف الاسلامي ويحكم بإنصاف

[MC Nugget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compré este libro para aprender sobre el Islam porque me parecen muy interesantes todas las religiones del mundo y porque desconozco el funcionamiento y sistema de esta religión (y en general, de todas porque en mi niñez recibí educación católica)
Así como el Cristianismo está subdividido en muchas religiones (entre ellas, el Catolicismo), así todas las grandes religiones: incluido el Islam.
Este libro habla sobre el Sufismo (la palabra Sufí significa "místico" o "pureza" en árabe, persa y turco), con un enfoque a los que se consideran MÍSTICOS o santos dentro de esta religión Musulmana. Esto es, quienes tienen como objetivo entrar en una especie de trance / sincronía / unidad con Allah (Dios). Aunque es mucho más complejo que un simple "trance" porque habla de todo el camino / proceso, una serie de pasos para lograr este objetivo final.

Una de las cosas más bonitas que leí en este libro es la siguiente creencia Sufí: 70 mil velos separan a Allah del mundo de la materia y los sentidos. Y toda alma, antes de su nacimiento, pasa a través de ellos. La mitad interior son velos de luz, y la mitad exterior son velos de oscuridad. Por cada uno de los velos de luz que atraviesa se desprende de una cualidad divina, y por cada velo de oscuridad adquiere una cualidad terrenal. Por eso los bebés nacen llorando, porque conocen su separación de Dios y conforme crecen lo van olvidando. Y el objetivo de los místicos sufíes es "recordar" / reconciliarse / unirse con lo divino nuevamente. Es una de las creencias más hermosas que he leído.

Es uno de los libros más interesantes que he leído, el primero que leo con temática religiosa y siento que aprendí muchísimo. Creo que todas las personas deberían aprender sobre las religiones del mundo y su historia para ser más tolerantes.

[SJ L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quotes
Mohammedan mystics are fond of calling themselves ahl al-haqq, “the followers of the Real.” 1
“O God, I never listen to the cry of animals or the quivering of trees or to the murmuring of water or to the warbling of birds or to the rustling wind or to the crashing thunder without feeling them to be an evidence of Thy unity and a proof that there is nothing like You.” 7
“O my God, I invoke Thee in public as lords are invoked, but in private as loved ones are invoked. Publically I say, ‘O my God!’ but privately I say, ‘O my Beloved!’” 8
These ideas –Light, Knowledge, and Love – form, as it were, the keynotes of the new Sufism…ultimately they rest upon a pantheistic faith which depose the One transcendent God of Islam and worshipped in His stead One Real Being who dwells and works everything, and whose throne is not less, but more, in the human heart than in the heaven of heavens. 8
“Jesus passed by three men. Their bodies were lean and their faces pale. He asked them, saying “What brought you to this place?” They answered, “Fear of the Fire.” Jesus said, “You fear a thing created, and it behooves God that He should save those who fear.” He left them and passed by three others, whose faces were paler and their bodies leaner, and asked them, saying “What brought you to this plight?” They answered, “Longing for Paradise.” He said, “You desire a thing created, and it behooves God that He should give you that which you hope for.” Then he went on and passed by three others of exceeding paleness and leanness, so that their faces were as mirrors of light, and he said, “What has brought you to this?” They answered, “Our love of God.” Jesus said, “You are the nearest to Him, you are the nearest to Him.” 11
The Buddhist moralizes himself, the Sufi becomes moral only through knowing and loving God. 17
When the Sufis say, “die before you die,” they do not mean to assert that the lower self can be essentially destroyed, but that it can and should be purged of its attributes, which are wholly evil. These attributes – ignorance, pride, envy, lack of charity – are extinguished, and replaced by the opposite qualities, when the will is surrendered to God and when the mind is concentrated on Him. Therefore, “dying to self,” is really “living in God.” 41
“There are really two kinds of contemplation. The former is the result of perfect faith, the latter of rapturous love, for in the rapture of love a man attains to such a degree that his whole being is absorbed in the thought of his Beloved and he sees nothing else…when the lover turns his eye away from created things, he will inevitably see the Creator with his heart.” 56 Kasf al-Mahjub of Hujwiri (one of the oldest texts on Sufism)
The whole of Sufism rests on the belief that when the individual self is lost, the Universal Self is found, or, in religious language, that ecstasy affords the only means by which the soul can be united with God. 59
Pythagoras and Plato are responsible for another theory, to which the Sufi poets frequently allude, that music awakens in the soul a memory of celestial harmonies heard in a state of pre-existence, before the soul was separated from God. 64
Normally the heart is ‘veiled’ blackened by sin, tarnished by sensual impression and images, pulled to and fro between reason and passion: a battlefield on which the armies of God and the Devil content for victory. Through one gate, the heart receives immediate knowledge of God; through another it lets in the illusions of sense. “Here is a world and there a world. I am seated on the threshold.” –Jaluddin Rumi. 69
How shall a man know God? Not by the senses, for He is immaterial; nor by the intellect, for He is unthinkable. Logic never gets beyond the finite; philosophy sees double; book-learning fosters self-conceit and obscures the idea of the Truth with clouds of empty words. 69
Niffari bids the gnostic perform only such acts of worship as are in accordance with his vision of God, though in so doing he will necessarily disobey the religious law which was made for the vulgar. His inward feeling must decide how far the external forms of religion are good for him. God is the One Real Being which underlies all phenomena. This principle is carried to its extreme consequences, as we shall see. If nothing except God exists, then the whole universe, including man, is essentially one with God, whether it is regarded as an emancipation which proceeds from Him, without impairing His unity, like sunbeams from the sun, or whether it is conceived as a mirror in which the divine attributes are reflected…“I was a hidden treasure and I desired to be known; therefore I created the creation in order that I might be known.” 80
Sufis have deepened and enriched the lives of millions by ruthlessely stripping off the husk of religion and insisting that its kernel must be sought, not in any formal act, but in cultivation of spiritual feelins and in purification of the inward man. 93
Love is the essence of all creeds. 105
“No religion is more sublime than a religion of love and longing for God.” –Ibn al-Arabi
“When God loves a man, He endows him with three qualities: a bounty like that of the sea, a sympathy like that of the sun, and a humility like that of the earth. No suffering can be too great, no devotion too high, for the piercing insight and burning faith of a true lover.” Bayazid 111
“Oh God! If I worship you in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell. If I worship you in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship you for your own sake, withhold not your everlasting beauty.” Rabi’a 115

[Aart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting material but very poorly written or from an age (1914) that does uses language that does not allow me to relate to the writing. I’m afraid of an overly white and western viewpoint seeping into the writing. In exploring Sufism, I wouldn’t start here. Even though I practically did. So let’s see where this takes me as it did give me some notions of interest and a couple of angles to look into Sufism.

Overall the book does convey a general feeling, ambiance or setting for Sufism.

Also: quite some poetic references that I enjoyed, lots of them by Rumi.

[Mohamed Elwany · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب جيد لا شك، لكنه ليس في جودة كتاب نيكلسون الأول :التصوف الإسلامي وتاريخه، ولا يقرأ هذا الكتاب إلا بعده، فالأول تأريخي تأسيسي، وهذا متقدم خطوة أخرى _ وإن لم تكن المعالجة والتحليل فيه على خير حال _ حيث يتعمق أكثر في الطريق الصوفي ويتحدث عن تفاصيل التجربة الروحية لدى القوم.

[Gavaevodata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nicholson is the greatest westerner Islamic Mysticism and Rumi scholar. As a British man he did a fantastic job learning about Islamic mysticism and being an expert in it. Although I believe learning Farsi and Arabic as a second language and being raised in a western culture had been obstacles for him to fully grasp the ideology of Sufism. This can be a good introductory book on Sufism for beginners (especially for westerners). Although it is not comprehensive nor detailed (to be fair it is not the purpose of the author to be). He has oversimplified the believes in Sufism. Being a westerner I do not believe he had a full understanding of all the aspects of Sufism.

[Shofieaa]

I want to ready about systhematic of tasawuf from this book

[Oğuz Tecimen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be deceived by the low ratings and negative reviews. Read and decide for yourself. Although written more than a century ago, it is still one of the best and insightful introductions to the mystical aspects of Islam and Sufism (still unsurpassed when judged against the plethora of introductory books for the subject).

The comparisons and contrasts with Christian mysticism and Buddhism are also useful (though Nicholson seems a little bit underinformed about BuddhismS and the variegated spectrum of what 'nirvana' really means when he compares and contrasts it with Sufi notion of 'fana' - but I forgive him for that because at the time the idea that Buddhism is a "cult of nothingness" was prevalent in the West - see Roger-Pol Droit's Cult of Nothingness).

Nicholson is an earnest scholar of Arabic and Persian, and for the most part -with few exceptions- he is immune from Orientalist prejudices.

I highly recommend it both as a mid to advanced introduction for the neophyte, and as a concise reminder for those already familiar.

[Muneera Salem-Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on Kindle. Before reading this book, I started doing internet readings on earlier Muslim philosophers, etc.: Mohammad; the khulafa’; shia; ,Ali, Hassan and Hussein; Ibn Sina; Ibn Rushd; Al-Ghazali; Al-Faaraabi, etc. I have very much enjoyed that and I will probably read more. I am not sure how I feel about Nicholson's book, however.

[Köksal KÖK]

İslam'ın Mistik Yüzü: Sufiler
Reynold A. Nicholson
Çeviren: Recep Yılmaz

İçindekiler:
Sunuş
I. Hıristiyanlık,
II Yeni Eflatunculuk,
III. Gnostisizm (İrfâniye)
IV. Budizm

I. Yol (Tarik)
II. Aydınlanma Ve Kendinden Geçme (İşrak Ve Vecd)
III. Gnosıs (Mârifet)
IV. İlahi Aşk
V. Evliyalar Ve Kerâmetler
VI. Vahdet Hâli

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is one of the classical introductions to Sufism. Nicholson spent his life in pursuit of understanding the Path of the Dervish. He presents the basic tenets of Sufism with both clarity and respect.

[بسمة العوفي · Rating 2 out of 5]

هو الكتاب مش قد كده، أفضل أجزاء منه هي اللي حطيتها في الاقتباسات، لكن غير كده حسيته بحث أو مجرد أجزاء مقطوعة مش لايقة على بعضها.
كمان نظرة الكاتب المستشرق على إن القرآن كلام الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام، واتهامه للصوفية بالكفر..

الكتاب فيه حاجات غريبة عموما !

[Ahmed Elsherbiny · Rating 1 out of 5]

An outlandish example of how Orientalist scholarship is able to take in a phenomenon as dynamic, colorful, and vigorous as Sufism, and reproduce it in the dullest and most brittle of schemes. This book reads like a corpse.

[Abdulmalik · Rating 4 out of 5]

أعتقد وأزعم أنه كتاب جيد ونافع لمن أراد فهم الصوفية كمذهب ومنشأها وتاريخها وأبرز المؤسسيين أو لنقل المعلمين الكبار
الكتاب ممتع وجيد إلى أن وصل إلى جزء المحاضرات حيث بدت الرتابة
وفي رأيي أرى أن معالجة جولدتسيهر للصوفية أعمق وأشمل من معالجة نيكولسون
أخيرا الكتاب يستحق القراءة إجمالا

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class on sufism, and found it really helpful. I didn't appreciate it quite as much as "conference of the birds" which had a lot more of the original texts worked in.

[Christopher Hurtado]

The Mystics of Islam (Arkana) by Reynold A. Nicholson (1990)

[آية مجدي · Rating 2 out of 5]

كدراسة لمستشرق ربما يجب عليّ منحه أربع نجمات
أما تقيمي الفعلي له هو إنه كان جيد يحمل بين طياته دراسة "مجتهدة" ولكنها لا تصل لمرتبة ما يعجبني

[محمد عبدالمحسن · Rating 3 out of 5]

كناب جميل في بعض أجزائه صعب الفهم في البعض الآخر ولكن لا أنكر انه يعد إضافة للكتب التي تتحدث عن الصوفية وإن كنت لا أنصح بقرائته كإختيار أول لمن يريد أن يعرف أكثر عن هذا المذهب

[Majd · Rating 3 out of 5]

يُفهمك الصوفية نظرياً بأسلوب بسيط وواضح
ولكن إن كنت تريد فهم الصوفية فعلاً فاليسير الذي تبقّى من كتب المتصوّفة وأشعارهم هي من تمنحك ذلك

[أحمد أبازيد Ahmad Abazeid · Rating 3 out of 5]

من الكتب المؤسسة لدراسات المستشرقين للتصوف , و يحمل السمات العامة التي طبعت أغلب هذه الدراسات فيما بعد , و أهمّها طبعاً البحث عن جذور غير إسلامية للتصوّف الإسلامي , مختصر و مفيد كمدخل للتعرّف .