Notes

Islamic mysticism not well understood today
- seen as a seperate category called sufism
- orientalists understood it a positive light because Islam is seen as semetic and non-spiritual, so sufism is thought to have come from other religions like chrisitianity.
- sufism is an enemy to fundamentalism
"Spirituality, as Michael Sells points out, has been a basic aspect of Islamic religious practice, which does not stand in opposition to legal duties but provides them with meaning."
"Sells persuasively demonstrates the esthetic power of the odes, and he shows the deep continuities they share with early Arabic Sufi poetry."
"Scholars of Islamic studies who deal with mysticism have emphasized the importance of the Qur'an commentaries ofJa'far al-Sadiq and Tustari, the ingenious synthesis of mysticism and scriptural authority in Sarraj, and the acute psychological analysis of mystical states by Qushayri. Commentators have frequently drawn attention to the moral insights of Muhasibi, the powerful ecstatic sayings of Bistami, and the bold poetic declarations ofHallaj. Surprisingly, hardly any of these works is available in a complete and reliable English version."
Sells attempts to, as accurately as possible, translate the arabic texts into english (page 6-9)
---Poem Notes---
Spirituality and Embodiment in Islam
- Muhammad is seen as column of light
- "the spiritual element in Islamic ritual practice is not an explicit object of commentary, but is instead assumed by authors as the common world of their audience."
- the five pillars of islam are understood through the lens of sufi spirituality
-


The dance of the dervishes is one of the most impressive features of the mystical life in Islam, and the music accompanying it is of exquisite beauty. In the symbolism of the Sema ritual, the semazen's camel's hair hat (sikke) represents the tombstone of the ego.
His wide, white skirt (tennure) represents the ego's shroud.