Rubina Salikuddin, [email protected]
Tufts University Experimental College
(This syllabus is subject to change, you will receive the most current version on the first
day of class)
Sufism in Islam: A Survey of Mysticism, Ritual and Society
Course Description:
This interdisciplinary course will examine various aspects of religion and the religious
experience in Islam through the lens of Sufism. Using methods and approaches from
history, religious studies, anthropology and social studies, it will address questions such
as: How did mysticism and mystics influence medieval society and ritual in the Middle
East? What was Sufism’s relationship with what modern scholars have called “orthodox
Islam”? Are Sufis and their particular brand of piety indigenous to the Islamic tradition?
Why were Sufis so successful in spreading their traditions across the Muslim world? Is
Sufism still relevant to the modern Muslim? It will begin with the development of Sufi
thought in mid-ninth century Iraq through the widespread expansion of Sufi orders and a
Sufi approach to religious devotion throughout the Arab world, North Africa, and
especially Iran and Central Asia and finally into today’s modern religious climate. In
addition to covering general aspects of the development of the Sufi tradition, we will also
examine particular manifestations and interactions within specific contexts. We will
spend some time looking at important figures and thinkers of the tradition; however, the
focus of this course is on the social and cultural effects of Sufism across time.
Each week we will be discussing both primary and secondary works. It is important to
understand the academic debates that have surrounded the study of Sufism since the
nineteenth century. Primary sources, in various forms of media (books, paintings, videos,
newspaper articles, archival data, lectures) are the feature event of this course. Each
week, we will delve deep into the sources at hand to better understand themes of Sufism
and their role on society. Each week, a student (or group of students) will present the
primary sources and lead the class on this journey of understanding of the rich cultural
and religious legacy of Sufism.
Educational Goals:
This course is geared towards familiarizing students both with the academic debates
around Sufism and religion as well as with the major genres of primary sources historians
and scholars of religion use to study it. Students should gain an introductory
understanding of Sufism in its historical context, familiarity with its major thinkers,
groups, and practices. Most importantly, this course is designed to help students to think
critically and analytically about cultural and social categories that may be removed from
their own. Students will learn to read and analyze both secondary and primary sources
and present this analysis in an erudite and clear written manner. The subject matter of this
course lends itself to a special study of sources describing miracles, dreams, visions, and
extraordinary and supernatural events. Therefore, in addition to the important skills
mentioned above, students will also learn how to critically and empathetically make a
study of things that seem unreal and impossible.
Readings:
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 2
- All of the Readings for this course will be available either on the course website
or on Reserves at the Library.
If you would like an introductory work on Islam and Middle Eastern history, please see:
- Daniel W. Brown, A New Introduction to Islam, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
- Jonathan P. Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near
East, 600-1800, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Assignments:
Response Paper: You will choose a set of two or more readings from particular week
and “respond” to them in a 2-3 page essay. This assignment can be turned in anytime
during the first 8 weeks of class.
Source Analysis: You will be reading, listening and viewing a variety of primary sources
each week. From these sources, you are to select at least one source for further analysis
and write a short (2-3 pages) paper. Your papers should discuss the opportunities and
limitations presented by the source style and/or genre, the pitfalls and advantages of its
use for historical study, the biases of the author(s), and insightfully reflect on how the
piece speaks to broader themes of this course. You will present one of these papers to the
class and lead us in a discussion. We will be selecting these in class and you will turn in
your paper and do your presentation on the day your assigned text is scheduled.
Book Review: You will write a short book review (3-4 pages) analyzing and critiquing
the author’s arguments and presentation, and how the book fits into the greater academic
study of Sufism and Islam. You can either select a book from the syllabus or one of your
own choosing. If the book is not on the syllabus, please let me know what you are
choosing in advance. Your book review is due in class in Week 6.
Final Project: You will write a longer paper (10-12 pages) or do a project that appeals to
you (short film, website, artistic production etc.) on a topic of your choice stemming from
a question, theme or topic introduced in this course. This project/paper needs to critically
examine and evaluate the existing scholarship on your topic while presenting your own
ideas and perspectives. Early in the semester you will meet with me to discuss your
project/paper idea and then present a short proposal and bibliography to the class, which
will also be turned in to me. The final paper will be due during Exam Week.
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 3
Grading:
Participation- 25% [includes presentation of Source Analysis- 5%]
Response Paper- 10%
Source Analysis- 15%
Book Review- 15%
Final Project- 35% [proposal & bibliography- 5% final project- 30%]
*Late Assignments will be marked down one grade for each day past the deadline (e.g.
from an A to A-).
Schedule:
Section 1- The Origins of Sufism
Week 1: Introduction
We will go over the syllabus and course requirements. I will begin with a short
introduction to Islam and Sufism, some of the basic terminology necessary for this
course, the geography of the areas we will study, and issues of periodization. We will
also problematize ideas such as “Religion,” Mysticism,” “Spirituality.”
- Primary sources: We will read in class and discuss selections from “Sources of
Islamic Mysticism: The Quran,” and “Early Sufi Qur’an Interpretation: The
Quranic Commentary Attributed to Ja’far as-Sadiq,” in M. Sells (ed.), Early
Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur’an, Mi’raj and Theological Writings, Paulist Press,
1996, pp. 29-46 & pp. 75-89. (hereafter listed as Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism)
- Recommended reading: William Chittick, “Mysticism in Islam: A Lecture
delivered at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, Brigham
Young University,” 2003. (link on course website)
Week 2: Development of Sufism in the Medieval Period
We will look at the various ways historians and scholars of religion have studied early
Sufism (e.g. the search for its origins in other traditions, phenomenological approaches,
etc.) and discuss the problems and merits of such studies. We will look also look at new
formulations of Sufi beginnings, key individuals, early development in Iraq, competing
movements in Khurasan and the relations this nascent Sufism had with other emerging
intellectual and religious trends in the medieval period.
- Primary Sources: Junayd, “On the Affirmation of Unity & On Annihilation,”
Hallaj, “Iblis as Tragic Lover,” and “Qushayri: Interpreting Mystical Expressions
from the Treatise,” in Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, pp. 251-265, 266-277, 97121.
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 4
- Alexander Knysh, Islamic Mysticism: A Short History, Brill, 2000, pp. 43-88, 99131.
- E. Key Fowden, “The Lamp and the Wine Flask: Early Muslim Interest in
Christian Asceticism, in A. Akasoy, J.E. Montgomery & P.E. Pormann (eds.),
Islamic Crosspollinations: Interactions in the Medieval Middle East, E.J.W.
Memorial Trust, 2007, pp. 1-28.
- Jawid A. Mojaddedi, “Getting Drunk with Abū Yazīd or Staying Sober with
Junayd: The Creation of a Popular Typology of Sufism,” Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies 66.1 (2003), pp. 1-13.
Week 3: Tariqa Sufism into the Early Modern Period
The most lasting legacy of medieval Sufism is the development and spread of orders of
Sufi brothers bound to a particular leader and forms of worship. We will examine how
this model was constructed by historians and how particular orders developed and
interacted within their respective societies. We will compare orders and their respective
ritual practices across geographic boundaries to assess the possibility of an
“internationally” cohesive Sufism as a link for an umma without a (universally accepted
Sunni) caliph in the post-Mongol period.
- Primary Source: Menahem Milson, trans., A Sufi Rule for Novices: Kitāb Adāb alMurīdiīn of Abū al-Najīb al-Suhrawardī, Harvard University Press, 1975, pp. 3976.
- Knysh, Islamic Mysticism: A Short History, pp. 169-191, 239-244.
- Green, Sufism: A Global History, pp. 125-154.
- John Renard, Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and
Servanthood, pp. 165-186. (hereafter listed as Renard, Friends of God)
- Devin DeWeese, “Spiritual Practice and Corporate Identity in Medieval Sufi
Communities of Iran, Central Asia, and India: The Khalvatī/῾Ishqī/Shaṭṭārī
Continuum,” for Religion and Identity in South Asia and Beyond: Essays in
Honor of Patrick Olivelle, ed. Steven Lindquist, Anthem Press, 2010, pp 251-291.
Week 4: Sufism and Modernity
We will focus on how the huge forces of modernity, including Western Imperialism,
Enlightenment thinking new forms of communication and technology changed the place
of Sufism in the Muslim religious world. From internal calls to reform outdated traditions
to the outright rejection of Sufism by many modernists, this period was and remains
extremely dynamic and informative of the changing needs of ordinary Muslims.
- Primary Source: Muhammad Yaqoubi, “Refuting ISIS,” VIDEO
(http://livestream.com/zaytunalive/refutingisis/videos/99987517)
- Green, Sufism: A Global History, pp. 154-176, 187-228.
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 5
- Itzchak Weismann, “Modernity from Within: Islamic Fundamentalism and
Sufism,” Der Islam 86.1 (2011), pp. 142-170.
Section 2- Sufism in Practice
Week 5: Sainthood: Hagiography and Memory
We will discuss memory, its place in the construction of Sainthood and its importance in
creating the tradition and community. We will look at the various genres of
hagiographical writing and how they utilized and presented memory.
- Primary Sources: John Renard, “Abū Bakr in Tradition and Early Hagiography,”
and Jawad Mojaddedi, “Junayd in the ‘Hilyat al-awliyā’’ and the ‘Nafahāt aluns’,” in J. Renard (ed.), Tales of God’s Friends: Islamic Hagiography in
Translation, University of California Press, 2009, pp. 15-29, 79-91. (hereafter
listed as Renard, Tales of God’s Friends)
- Renard, Friends of God, pp. 1-9, 235-282.
- Devin DeWeese, “Sacred Places and Public Narratives: The Shrine of Ahmad
Yasavī in Hagiographical Traditions of the Yasavī Sufi Order, 16th-17th
Centuries,” The Muslim World 90 (Fall, 2000), pp. 353-376.
- Katherine P. Ewing, Arguing Sainthood: Modernity, Psychoanalysis and Islam,
Duke University Press, 1997, pp. 41-64, 128-162.
Week 6: Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage was one of the most public and widespread manifestations of religion and
piety in the Medieval period and continues to inspire Muslims across the world, from
Indonesia to India, from the Taklamakan Desert to the United States of America. We will
look at the changing performative qualities of this act, its social manifestations, and
literary heritage. We will also seek to understand the positions of those who reject this
practice, both in the past and in the present.
- Primary sources: Carl Ernst, “An Indo-Persian Guide to Sufi Shrine Visitation,”
in Renard, Tales of God’s Friends, pp. 269-285; Lisa Ross, “A Spiritual Quest
through the Taklamakan Desert” VIDEO (http://www.studiolisaross.com/RubinMuseum-Interactive/index.html#/introduction)
- Leor Halevi, Muhammad’s Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society,
Columbia University Press, 2007, pp. 165-196.
- Josef Meri, “Aspects of Baraka (Blessings) and Ritual Devotion among Medieval
Muslims and Jews,” in a special issue of Medieval Encounters: Jewish, Christian
and Muslim Culture in Confluence and Dialogue, vol. 5, pp. 46-69, 1999.
- Clip from Hindi film Maqbool, illustrating shrine visitation in modern India (will
be shown in class)
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 6
**Book Review Due In Class**
Week 7: Visions and Dreams
Medieval Sufi literature is replete with stories of dreams and visions leading Sufis and
common Muslims to great places, physically and spiritually. We will explore the various
uses of this central aspect of the Sufi experience and see if it still has relevance in our
modern world.
- Primary Source: Richard McGregor, “The Wafā’īya of Cairo,” in Renard, Tales of
God’s Friends, pp. 63-76.
- John Renard, Friends of God, Chapter 3, pp. 67-89.
- Mohammad J. Mahallati, “Dreams and Dream Interpretations in the Qur’an: Two
Sufi Commentaries on Sūrat Yūsuf,” in Louise Marlow (ed.), Dreaming Across
Boundaries: The Interpretation of Dreams in Islamic Lands, Harvard University
Press, 2008.
- Nile Green, “The religious and cultural role of dreams and visions in Islam,”
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland 13.3 (2003), pp.
287-313.
- Michael Gilsenan, “Signs of Truth: Enchantment, Modernity and the Dreams of
Peasant Women,” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 6.4 (Dec.,
2000), pp. 597-615.
Week 8: Popular Preaching, Dhikr and Performance
We have looked at the writings of many Sufis from the urban intelligentsia; we now turn
to how the traditions and knowledge of Sufism was and is now translated to a larger
audience.
- Primary Sources: Ziya’ ad-Din Nakhshabi, “Edifying Anecdotes,” in J. Renard
(ed.), Windows on the House of Islam: Muslim Sources on Spirituality and
Religious Life, Univeristy of California Press, 1998, pp. 162-166.; View Mevlevi
Sema Ceremony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_umJcGodNb0)
- Ahmet T. Karamustafa, God’s Unruly Friends: Dervish Groups in the Islamic
Middle Period 1200-1550, Oneworld Publications, 2006, pp. 25-63.
- Jonathan P. Berkey, “Storytelling, Preaching, and Power in Mamluk Cairo,”
Mamlūk Studies Review 4 (2000), pp. 53-73.
- **Last Day to Turn in Response Paper**
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 7
Section 3- Sufism and Society
Week 9: Conversion & Islamization
Different time periods and geographic locations lent themselves to various forms of
conversion processes. We will consider the role of different kinds of Sufis and their
institutions in conversion attempts-- from the early frontier ascetic-warriors to later
wandering dervishes- and how converted communities understood their new status.
- Primary Source: Nasreen M. Kabir, “Why I Converted: The Transformation of
Dilip Kumar into AR Rahman,” Dawn, Jan. 16, 2015.
(http://www.dawn.com/news/1157419)
- Richard W. Bulliet, “Conversion Stories in Early Islam,” in M. Gervers & R.J.
Bikhazi (eds.), Conversion and Continuity: Indigenous Christian Communities in
Islamic Lands, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1990, pp. 123-133.
- Devin DeWeese, Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde: Baba
Tukles and Conversion to Islam in Historical and Epic Tradition, The
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994, pp. 17-66.
- Maria Subtelny, “The Jews at the Edge of the World in a Timurid-Era
Mi‘rājnāma: The Islamic Ascension Narrative as Missionary Text,” in C. Gruber
& F. Colby (eds.), The Prophet’s Ascension: Cross-cultural Encounters with the
Islamic Mi‘rāj Tales, Indiana University Press, 2010, pp. 50-77.
**Paper Proposal & Bibliography Due In Class**
Week 10: The Many Hats of a Sufi Shaykh
Sufis played a larger role in society than merely providing religious and spiritual help
This week, we will explore the many different social roles of Sufis in their societies—as
landowners, employers, intercessors, advisers to rulers, part-time shaykhs etc.
- Primary Sources: Selections from The Letters of Khwāja ‘Ubayd Allāh Ahrār and
his Associates. Brill, 2002. and “Two Waqf Documents: Sultan Barquq and
Khwāja Ahrār,” in J. Renard (ed.), Windows on the House of Islam: Muslim
Sources on Spirituality and Religious Life, University of California Press, 1998,
pp. 226-235.
- John Renard, Friends of God, Chapter 6, pp. 143-163.
- JoAnn Gross, “The Economic Status of a Timurid Sufi Shaykh: A Matter of
Conflict or Perception?” Iranian Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1/2, Soviet and North
American Studies on Central Asia (1988), pp. 84-104.
- Qamar ul-Huda, “The Prince of Diplomacy: Shaykh ʿUmar al-Suhrawardî's
Revolution for Sufism, Futuwwa Groups, and Politics under Caliph al-Nāsir,”
Journal of the History of Sufism 3 (2002), pp. 257-278.
**Last Day to Turn in the Response Paper**
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 8
Week 11: Sacred Spaces- Shrine, Mosque, Lodge
We will examine the various kinds of religious architecture associated with Islam and the
influence of Sufism on architecture (and vice versa). An important part of this discussion
will be how the actual space makes possible certain forms of religious experience and
feeling. For a better understanding of modern worship spaces in the US, we will visit the
Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury.
- Primary Sources: Visit to ISBCC; Lisa Ross, “To Mark a Prayer,” VIDEO
(http://www.studiolisaross.com/projects/video-prayer.php)
- Renard, Friends of God, Chapter 8, pp. 187-212.
- Lisa Golombek, “The Resilience of the Friday Mosque: The Case of Herat,”
Muqarnas 1 (1983), pp. 95-102.
- Christopher S. Taylor, “Reevaluating the Shi’i Role in the Development of
Monumental Islamic Funerary Architecture: The Case of Egypt,” Muqarnas 9
(1992), pp. 1-10.
Week 12: Women and Sufism
We will look at the various roles women have played and continue to play as Sufis, poets,
patrons, scholars, feminists and worshippers throughout the medieval and modern
periods. We will also examine the problematic ways that they have been portrayed or not
portrayed.
- Primary Sources: “Rabi‘a: Her Words and Life in ‘Attar’s Memorial of the
Friends of God,” in Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, pp. 151-170. and Lady Nafisa,
“A Jewel of Knowledge,” in C. Helminski (ed.), Women of Sufism: A Hidden
Treasure: Writings and Stories of Mystic Poets, Scholars & Saints, Shambhala,
2003, p. 55.; Edina Lekovic, “Friday Sermon at The Women’s Mosque of
America,” VIDEO (http://womensmosque.com/videos/)
- Jamal Elias, “Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism,” The Muslim World
78.3-4 (1988), 209-224.
- Ethel S. Wolper, “Princess Safwat al-Dunyā wa al-Dīn and the Production of Sufi
Buildings and Hagiographies in Pre-Ottoman Anatolia,” in Women, Patronage
and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies, State University of New York Press,
2000, pp. 35-52.
Rubina Salikuddin Syllabus p. 9
Week 13: Poetry & Painting
Ecstatic poetry and brilliant paintings have long been vehicles of Sufi expression from
the early period to the present. We will look at some seminal Sufi poets and the themes
they presented in their poetry. In addition to viewing digital reproductions of important
paintings, including the Timurid Mi‘rājnāma, students will be encouraged to visit the
Boston MFA to see some original works. We will also examine the new forms of art that
modern Muslims are using to express themselves.
- Primary Sources: Selection of Poems- “Mir ‘Ali-Shir Nawa’i: A Poet’s
Intentions;” and “Jalal ad-Din Rumi: Ghazal,” in J. Renard (ed.), Windows on the
House of Islam: Muslim Sources on Spirituality and Religious Life, University of
California Press, 1998, pp. 170-172, 208-209.; We will also be studying images
of important paintings related to the Mi’raj, and poetry of Nizami, Sa’di and
Jami,; Sabri Brothers, “Bhar do jholi,” Qawwali Performance
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkFF7ubTT6Q)
- Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, University of North
Carolina Press [35th Anniversary Edition], 2011, pp. 287-343.
- Chad Kia, “Is the Bearded Man Drowning? Picturing the Figurative in a LateFifteenth Century Painting from Herat,” Muqarnas 23 (2006), pp. 85-105.