STUDIES IN ISLAMIC MYSTICISM
BY REYNOLD A. NICHOLSON
LECTURER IN PERSIAN IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
FORMERLY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE
FORMERLY SIR THOMAS ADAMS'S PROFESSOR OF ARABIC IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
[1921]
Scanned, proofed and formatted at sacred-texts.com by John Bruno Hare, July, 2008. This text is in the public domain in the US because it was published prior to 1922.
Bewilderment (hayra) when caused by letting the eye wander in different directions, is pernicious; but praiseworthy, when it is the result of gazing concentratedly on the beauty of the Beloved. The latter is characteristic of one who has lost himself in Divine contemplation. “O Lord, increase my bewilderment!” was a famous Sufi’s prayer.—p. 208
This is a study of three early Sufi figures: Abu Sa’id (b. 967, d. 1049), al-Jili (b. 1365-9, d. 1406-1417), and Ibnu 'l-Farid (b. 1182, d. 1235). The text includes historical and legendary narratives of these Sufi masters, and detailed discussion of their philosophy and theology. The book concludes with an extended critical translation of the Odes of Ibnu 'l-Farid.
Reynold Nicholson also wrote The Mystics of Islam, and translated Iqbal’s The Secrets of the Self. His translation of Rumi’s Masnavi between 1925 and 1940 (which for copyright reasons can’t be posted at this site) is considered his life’s masterpiece, and the basis of much of the contemporary interest in Rumi.
¶ Index
- Preface
- Chapter I. Abú Sa‘íd Ibn Abi ’l-Khayr
- Chapter II. The Perfect Man
- Appendices
- Chapter III. The Odes of Ibnu ’l-Fáriḍ
- Index