Islam. ORB Main Page | Links to Other Medieval Sites | Medieval Studies Course [Halsall] Halsall Home | Ancient History Sourcebook | Modern History Sourcebook | Byzantine Studies Page Other History Sourcebooks: African | East Asian | Indian | Islamic | Jewish | LGBT | Women's | Global | Science WEB Bibliography for Medieval Islam [At Geocities] Ancient Accounts of Arabia Accounts from Herodotus, Strabo, Dio Cassius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Procopius. Pre-Islamic Arabia: The Hanged Poems , before 622 CE The Pre-Islamic poems of Imru-Ul-Quais, Antar, and Zuhair which Muhammad allowed to remain hanging in the Ka'aba.
Ibn Ishaq (d. c. 773 CE): Selections from the Life of Muhammad [Tierney 23] The Qu'ran: Surahs 1 and 47 . For full text, see full texts page . See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Koran and Catholic Encyclopedia: Islam (Concept) The Qu'ran: Al-Fatiha (The Opening) , text with RealAudio chanting. The Qur'an: The Women: From Surah's 2 and 4 , [At Internet Archive, from CCNY] The Tawasin of Mansur Al-Hallaj. Sufis in the Muslim World. One could read the Muslim Hadiths and conclude that Islam is primarily legalism that would make the Pharisees of Jesus’ feel at home. Sufiism is a large number of inter-related sects of Islam that is a reaction against this focus on rituals and practices. Orthodox Islam says little about the heart and desiring God; Sufiism says that true religion is inner truth, not outer practice. Christianity, by contrast, says both the internal and external matter.
We will discuss Sufi beliefs, Sufi leaders, Sufi "denominations" in general, and then focus comparing Sufiism with the Christianity. Some Sufi Beliefs Sufiism has always claimed to be Muslim, but it has had a troubled relationship with Sunni and Shi’ite Islam. Strict Islamic Law and the five pillars of Islam are like a "schoolmaster" that Sufis say is fine for others, but they have gone beyond the need for it. Al-Khidr/Khadir (the Green) is an immortal being whom Sufis believe can renew his youth. 1. 2. 3. Pain is an element of Sufism. 1. General Essay on Sufism. The term "Sufi" derives from the Arabic word "suf" (meaning "wool") and was applied to Muslim ascetics and mystics because they wore garments made out of wool. Sufism represents a dimension of Islamic religious life that has frequently been viewed by Muslim theologians and lawyers with suspicion.
The ecstatic state of the mystic can sometimes produce extreme behaviour or statements that on occasion appear to border on the blasphemous. The cause of this is that the Sufis can sometimes feel so close to God that they lose a sense of their own self identity and feel themselves to be completely absorbed into God. This in fact is the goal of the Sufi. Through following a series of devotional practices, which lead to higher levels of ecstatic state, Sufis aspire to realise a condition in which they are in direct communion with God.
Ultimately the individual human personality passes away and the Sufi feels his soul absorbed into God. Another Central Asian order is Chishtiyyah.