Sufism, the name given to Islamic mysticism, has been the subject of many studies, but the orders through which the organizational aspect of the Sufi spirit was expressed has been neglected. The Sufi Orders in Islam is one of the earliest modern examinations of the historical development of Sufism and is considered a classic work in numerous sources of Islamic studies today. Here, author J. Spencer Trimingham offers a clear and detailed account of the formation and development of the Sufi schools and orders (tariqahs) from the second century of Islam until modern times. Trimingham focuses on the practical disciplines behind the mystical aspects of Sufism which initially attracted a Western audience. He shows how Sufism developed and changed, traces its relationship to the unfolding and spread of mystical ideas, and describes in sharp detail its rituals and ceremonial practices. Finally, he assesses the influence of these Sufi orders upon Islamic society in general. John O. Voll has added a new introduction to this classic text and provides readers with an updated list of further reading. The Sufi Orders in Islam will appeal not only to those already familiar with Triminghams groundbreaking research, but also to the growing reading public of Islamic studies and mysticism.

Arab history did not begin with the coming of the Prophet in the 7th century; the region had a strong Christian population before the rise of Islam, and it is the story of the first six centuries of Christian Arabia that this book addresses. professed their faith within the traditions of Syriac Christianity, which profoundly influenced culture and history in the ancient Near East. Beginning with a sketch of the Arabs prior to the rise of Christianity, the author goes on to examine the spread of Christianity in Mesopotamia and Babylon, among the nomadic tribes of Northern Arabia and down into central and southern Arabia. It examines the cults and martyrs, ascetics and early monastic movements of the age, weaving together a wide range of scholarship and sources to present this account of the history of the Arabs before the rise of Islam. Arabic Islamic studies feature topics on Arabic and Islamic studies. From a description of the Arabian incense trade, to a sociological study of Islam and its beliefs, this series aims to offer authoritative insights into the history, and contemporary situation, of Arabia.

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Originally published in 1952.This volume examines the impact of Islam upon the nomadic and settled North-East Africa, the reactions of the population to that impact and the existing state of Islam professed by those who have been won over to it. It pays particular attention to Ethiopia and the effect of Islam upon it and the centuries of conflict between Christianity and Islam.

Everyday practice of religion is complex in its nature, ambivalent and at times contradictory. The task of an anthropology of religious practice is therefore precisely to see how people navigate and make sense of that complexity, and what the significance of religious beliefs and practices in a given setting can be. Rather than putting everyday practice and normative doctrine on different analytical planes, the authors argue that the articulation of religious doctrine is also an everyday practice and must be understood as such.

The author examines from different perspectives (theological and philosophical as well as socio-political and historical) the significance of the concept of the individual in the ways of thinking of Iranians. This book establishes that the mystical dimension of Islamic thought, the divine nature of Islamic law and, the mode of relationship between ruler and the ruled, in combination, counteracted growth of concern for the individual self in Iranian thought.