Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
ONE FOUNDATIONS: PROPHETIC REVELATION
TEXTS FROM THE QUR'AN
Surat ar-Rahman, The Merciful
Writing Sacred Text
SuratYusuf
Hadith: Prophetic and Sacred
Sacred Text and Architecture
VARIETIES OF QUR'AN INTERPRETATION
Three Commentaries on Surat al-Fatiha, The Opening
Ibn Taymiya: Treatise on the Principles of Tafsir
Sacred Text and the Mihrab
Al-Ghazali: The Canons of Ta 'Wil
EXPERIENCING QUR'AN
Nawawi: Etiquette in Recitation
TWO DEVOTION: RITUAL AND PERSONAL PRAYER
ON THE FIVE PILLARS
Sharaf ad-Din Maneri: On the Necessity of Proper Intention
Nurcholish Madjid: Worship as an Institution of Faith
Tabari: Hadith on the Five Daily Ritual Prayers
Ritual and Creed in Moses' Conversation with God
Hamka: Qur'an Commentary on Pilgrimage Ritual
DEVOTION BEYOND DUTY
Prayers of Holy Women
Rites of Passage and Popular Practice
Marthiya: Imam Husayn's Conversation with God
Madih: Three Contemporary Poems Honoring Imam Riza
Na't: Poem in Praise of Muhammad
Ginan: Isma'ili Petition of a Yearning Soul
Sermon for a Special Occasion
A Radio Mawlid Sermon
THREE INSPIRATION: EDIFICATION AND ETHICS
EXEMPLARY MODELS
The Prophet: From Devotion to Edification
Acrostic Poem in Praise of Muhammad
Na't in Praise of Muhammad
Taha Hussein: Interpreting Muhammad's Life in Modern
Times
Collections of Holy Lives
Asiya, an Exemplary Woman in Tha'labi's Stories
of the Prophets
Munawi's Life of Rabi'a al-'Adawiya
Three Women of Iberia
Holy Women of Morocco and Egypt
The Life of Sufi Badhni
Jabarti's Account of 'Ali al-Bayyumi
WISDOM LITERATURE
The Qur'anic Paradigm of Wisdom: Surat Luqman
Morals for the Masses
Aphorisms of 'Ali
Sayings Attributed to Mu'in ad-Din Chishti
ENCOUNTERING THE EXEMPLARY PERSONS
Storytelling as Entertainment
Telling Tales: A Miracle of Mulla Hadda
Edifying Anecdotes: Ziya' ad-Din Nakhshabi
FOUR AESTHETICS: FROM ALLEGORY TO ARABESQUE
LITERATURE AND SPIRITUALITY
Interpreting Religious Poetry
Mir 'Ali-Shir N~wa'i: A Poet's Intentions
Shams ad-Din Lahiji: Commentary on Shabistari's Garden of Mystery
Allegory
Yahya Suhrawardi Maqtul: Allegory of Beauty and Love
PRINCIPAL POETIC FORMS
Didactic Poetry
Sana'i of Ghazna: Two Teaching Parables
Mude Kala: Gayo Didactic Religious Poetry
Lyric Poetry
Ibn al-Farid: Ruba<iyat, Ghazal, Qasida
Munawi's Literary Hagiography of Ibn al-Farid
Jalal ad-Din Rumi: Ghazal
Muhammad Shirin Maghribi: Ghazal
Nuri and Shad: Na<ts
Bibi Hayati: Ghazal
FIVE COMMUNITY: SOCIETY, INSTITUTIONS, AND PATRONAGE
SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS
Religion, Society, and Culture
Shaykh Luqman: A Contemporary Life in a Traditional
Context
INSTITUTIONAL TEXTS
Public Support
Historical Epigraphy of Mamluk Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq
Two Waqf Documents: Sultan Barquq and Khwaja Ahrar
Mamluk Sultan Barquq's Waqf
A Central Asian Waqf of Naqshbandi Sufi Master Khwaja
Ahrar
Private Discipline
Shihab ad-Din 'Umar Suhrawardi: Treatises on Sufi Chivalry
PATRONAGE AND THE ARTS
Women as Patrons of Architecture
Sitt ash-Sham of Damascus
Works of Timurid and Ottoman Women
Building Community and Community Patronage
Architectural Past, Present, and Future in America
Chronicles of Royal Patronage
Ibn Marzuq: Sultan Abu 'L-Hasan 'Ali's Architectural Patronage
Khwandamir: The Rediscovery and Refurbishment of 'Ali's Tomb
Sultan-Husayn Mirza: Apologia
SIX PEDAGOGY: FANNING SPARK INTO FLAME
ADVANCED INTERPRETATION OF FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES
Teaching Islam in Medieval Iran: Ahmad Sam'ani's
Refreshment of Spirits
Teaching across Cultures
Islam in China: Wang Daiyu's Real Commentary on the True Teaching
From Arabic into Javanese: The Gift Addressed to the Spirit of the Prophet
FROM THE GREAT TEACHERS
Between Sermon and Seminar
Women as Scholars and Teachers
Teaching with Pictures: Three Paintings of Bawa
Muhaiyaddeen
Borrowed Notes
Muhammad Husayni Gesu Daraz on Love
Keeping in Touch
Shaykh Husayn: A Letter on the True Names of God
REQUIRED READING FOR MYSTICS
Advice for Inexperienced Travelers
Majd ad-Din Baghdadi: Treatise on Journeying
Mystical Geography
Vahidi: The Seven Invocations and the Seven Journeys
Languages of the Spirit
Sayyid Ja'far Sajjadi: Lexicon of Mystical Terms
SEVEN EXPERIENCE: TESTIMONY, PARADIGM, AND CRITIQUE
HEART SPEAKS TO HEART
Soul on Pilgrimage
The Diary of Ahmad Wahib
Muhammad as Mystical Model
Tabari: Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension
BEYOND STORYTELLING
Saying the Unsayable
Rabi'a' s Dream
Amir Khusraw of Delhi's Poetic Vision
Gesu Daraz's Vision of Jesus
Visionary Experiences of 'Ali al-Bayyumi
Ahmad Wahib's Dream
Explaining the Unexplainable
Tabari: The Correct Interpretation of the Mi'raj Narrative
Al-Ghazali: Treatise on the Intimate Knowledge of God
EVALUATING EXPERIENCE
The Science of Hearts
Sharaf ad-Din Maneri: A Letter on the Qualities
of Spiritual Guides
Sayyid Ahmad Khan: Treatise on Visualizing the Shaykh
Traveling Companions
Hasan Palasi's Encounter with Shaykh Kujuji
Appendix 1: Text Distribution
Appendix 2: Art Program Distribution
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
About the Contributors
Index of Quranic Citations
General Index
