Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur'an, Mi'raj, Poetic and Theological Writings

The Classics of Western Spirituality

by Michael A. Sells (Translator)

The first centuries of Islam saw the development of Sufism as one of the world's major mystical traditions. Although the later Sufi writings by mystics such as Rumi are known and available in translation, access to the crucial early period of Islamic mysticism has been far more limited.

This volume opens with an essay on the place of spirituality within the Islamic tradition. Immediately following are the foundation texts of the pre-Sufi spirituality: the Qur'an passages most important to the mystical tradition; the accounts of Muhammad's heavenly ascent (Mi'raj); and the crucial work of early poets in setting a poetic sensibility for speaking of union with the divine beloved.

The volume then presents the sayings attributed to the key early figures of Islamic spirituality: Ja'far as-Saddiq, the Sixth Imam of the Shi'ite Tradition; Rabi'a, the most famous woman saint of classical Islam; Muhasibi, the founder of Islamic moral psychology; Bistami, whose sayings on mystical union have generated fascination and controversy throughout the Islamic tradition; Tustari, a pioneer in the mystical interpretation of the Qur'an; Junayd, who helped place Sufi mysticism at the center of the Islamic tradition; Hallaj, famous for his ecstatic utterances and martyrdom; and Niffari, whose sayings are considered among the deepest mystical expressions within Islam.

The sayings of these pioneers are embedded in the later stratum of analytical and synoptic writings of later Sufi thinkers: Sarraj; Sulami; Qushayri; and 'Attar. Extensive portions of these writers are translated into English for the first time.

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

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Michael Sells studies and teaches in the areas of qur'anic studies; Sufism; Arabic and Islamic love poetry; mystical literature (Greek, Islamic, Christian, and Jewish); and religion and violence. The new and expanded edition of his book Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations appeared in 2007. He has published three volumes on Arabic poetry: Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes, which focuses upon the pre-Islamic period; Stations of Desire, which focuses upon the love poetry of Ibn al-'Arabi; and The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Al-Andalus, which he coedited and to which he contributed. His books on mysticism include Early Islamic Mysticism, translations and commentaries on influential mystical passages from the Qur'an, hadith, Arabic poetry, and early Sufi writings; and Mystical Languages of Unsaying, an examination of apophatic language, with special attention to Plotinus, John the Scot, Ibn al-'Arabi, Meister Eckhart, and Marguerite Porete. His work on religion and violence includes: The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia; and The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, which he coedited and to which he contributed. He teaches courses on the Qur'an, Islamic love poetry, comparative mystical literature, Arabic Sufi poetry, Arabic religious texts, and Ibn al-'Arabi.

(University of Chicago, Divinity School)

Reviews

[Matt Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely essential introductory text in Sufism, presenting some of the crucial thinkers in the development of the earliest strata of Sufi thought. A good companion piece would be John Renard's _Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism_ and/or Ahmet Karamustapha's Sufism: The Formative Period.

[J]

I love how all these Muslim mystics read like mid-century French intellectuals.

Ja'far: "Hellfire consists of ego-selves."

Quashayri: "Reality is a report from the disposition of the real."

Rabi'a: "You know the how. We know the no-how."

Muhasibi; "As for what will incite the godservant to remember the fearfully swift coming of death — it as (as I informed you) nothing other than the passing of moments which cannot ever be a source of security."

Sarraj: "And if the world weighed even the weight of a gnat's wing in God's estimation, no unbeliever in the world could take a single drink of it."

Junayd: "Fear grips me. Hope unfolds me. Reality draws me together. The real sets me apart. When he seizes me with fear, he annihilates me from myself through my existence, then preserves me from myself."

Niffari: "The world belongs to the person I have turned away from it,
and from whom I have turned away the world."

[Umar]

Sufism from the very early days was amazing...many of these masters were friends or revered by the early theologians and hadith masters of Islam (Imam Ahmad, Imam at-Tirmidhi). Good to read if you want to connect with the early history of islam.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful as an academic text. Not very accessible for the casual reader.

[Hagar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read most. Very technical