Major Sufi Theorists Probably the best-known establishment figure in classical Sufism was al-Ghazali (c. 1058–1111), who was a Sunni theologian at a prestigious Baghdad college, the Nizamiyya, and who, after going through a spiritual crisis that caused him to leave it all for fourteen years, converted to Sufism and became an ardent exponent of it […]

Each year the Society (The Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society)organizes Symposia in the UK and the USA on an aspect of Ibn ‘Arabi’s work. These international gatherings bring together people from many different fields and traditions, and include scholars, students, and anyone interested in what Ibn ‘Arabi has to say. These events provide a unique opportunity […]

Sufi Practice The zuhd literature that has come down to us consists of a large number of sayings (many of them very obviously Christian in origin, some citations even from the Bible) and accounts of early Muslim ascetics (Khalidi). The asceticism that they practiced focused upon forms of spiritual excess (staying the night in prayer, […]

Sufism is the major expression of mysticism in Islam. While Sufism developed out of the fusion of Qur’anic ascetic tendencies and the vast fund of Christian (and other) mystical sayings present throughout the classical world, by approximately the 10th century it had become a uniquely Islamic feature. Major writers such as al-Ghazali and Ibn al-ʿArabi […]

On the path Moses came upon a shepherd His prayers with his God he overheard. Where are you so your needs I can serve Mend your shoes, your hair comb, curl & curve. Wash your clothes, kill your lice, pick your nits Bring you milk, while your Majesty just sits. Kiss your lovely hands, and […]