The Way of Abu Madyan: The Works of Abu Madyan Shuayb (Islamic Texts Society) (English and Arabic Edition) Review

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The Way of Abu Madyan: The Works of Abu Madyan Shuayb (Islamic Texts Society) (English and Arabic Edition) ReviewThe growing interest in the historical and doctrinal aspects of Sufism in the scholarly world continues to yield fruits that make one hopeful of the advent of a new scholarly tradition. The paradigmatic remainings of the classical Orientalist categories are now being put aside and a new emphasis is being placed on the meaning what of a tradition is and what kind of perspectives and methodological tools one should have to understand that tradition. The new trend in question turns its face to more authentic, deeper and vertical aspects of Islamic civilization - a breakthrough that marks off the newly rejuvenated current from the established scholarship. Since it is the intellectual and spiritual schools of Islamic thought that have suffered the most from the reductionist and historicist approaches of modern academia, it is a pleasant coincidence that this newly emerging set of perspectives makes its first appearance in the field of Sufism. Vincent J. Cornell's recent work on the leading North African Sufi Abu Madyan deserves to be placed under this new scholarship. Cornell's successful attempt to bring to daylight one of most prominent figures of North African Sufism is a significant step in mapping out a comprehensive picture of Western Sufism.
Cornell's work begins with a lucid account of Abu Madya's life. Based on original sources and the accounts of Abu Madyan himself, the biographical sketch of Abu Madyan presents a vivid description of how a simple and illiterate countryman sat out a journey that was destined to culminate in a fresh flourishing of Sufism in Muslim Spain. Abu Madyan's travel to different parts of Spain and North Africa, and his final settlement in Bijaya carries the common characteristics of North African Sufism. Throughout the socio-political difficulties that Abu Madyan faced because of his outward reaction against the issues of social and political injustice, the Shaykh pursues a life that combines both the ascetic and metaphysical aspects of Sufism. Abu Madyan stands out as the `yardstick' of spiritual as well as social affairs of his time.
In the second part of his introduction, the author provides a comprehensive account of Abu Madyan's spiritual lineage. This part is valuable not only for the crucial aspects of Abu Madyan's life but also for the spiritual map of North Africa until the time of Abu Madyan. In this part, one also finds a concise analysis of the ideas of the `Junayd of the West' on such cardinal issues as fana' and baqa', futuwwah and ithar, being a faqir, and the manifestation of the Divine names Jamal and Jalal. Abu Madyan's way of life provides some clues about the nature of his `thought' or mashrab, to be more precise: His is more pietistic and less metaphysical. This aspect of his path can easily be seen in his insistence on taking al-Ghazzali's Ihya' as the central work of his training. The ever present hadith component of North African Sufism makes itself abundantly felt in Abu Madyan's short treatises.
The translation part contains the main extant and so far available works of Abu Madyan. These are the Supplication for Forgiveness (al-Istighfar), the Blessed Creed (al-`Aqida al-Mubaraka), Basic Principles of the Sufi Path (Bidayat al-Murid), the Intimacy of the Recluse and Pastime of the Seeker (Uns al-Wahid wa Nuzhat al-Murid) and the eight qasidas. The three prose works of Abu Madyan edited and translated in the book reveals his mashrab: They explain, in a concise and direct language, the divine unity and the manners of behavior that the spiritual seeker has to follow to grasp deeper meanings of this unity. `Speculative thoughts', if any, are allowed only if they do any good to the perfection of the soul. Abu Madyan's Uns al-Wahid wa Nuzhat al-Murid, on the other hand, continues the marvelous hikmah tradition of the Sufis. His work is by no means less moving and insightful than Ata'ullah al-Iskandari's Hikam-i Ata'iyyah. Abu Madyan's poetic works included in Cornell's edition presents a salient example of the poetico-mystcical language. Some of the seminal ideas that could not fit in the strait-jacket of the formal language of philosophy or theology are expressed in these verses with an elegant use of language. The symbols, metaphors and allegories bring about a higher world of meaning with the aim of elevating the soul to the higher levels of reality.
The last part of the book contains two a ppendixes: The first one is al-Qasida al-Nuniyya by `Ali ibn Isma'il b. Hirzihim, and the second one is Risala fi al-Tasawwuf by Abu Ya'za Yalannur ibn Maymun ad-Dukali. These two short treatises are important for any study on Abu Madyan because both of the treatises belong to Abu Madyan's spiritual masters. Besides his comprehensive analysis on Abu Madyan and West African Sufism, Cornell also stands out as a highly successful translator. His lucid English rendering does not betray the original Arabic. Cornell's knowledge of Sufi terms and concepts which are, to say the least, elusive to the outsider is certainly an important reason for his successful translation. The full texts of the original works published with a beautiful Arabic style and side by side translation are probably the best gift for all students of Sufism. The Way of Abu Madyan deserves a warm congratulation as a lucid as well as rigorous scholarly work. Our hope is that new works of this kind will follow.The Way of Abu Madyan: The Works of Abu Madyan Shuayb (Islamic Texts Society) (English and Arabic Edition) OverviewThis is the first English translation of works attributed to Abu Madyan, a seminal figure of Sufism in Muslim Spain and North Africa. The Arabic text accompanying the English translation also represents the first scholarly edition of these works in the original language. The variety of Abu Madyan's oeuvre, which includes doctrinal treatises, aphorisms, and poetical works in the ode, 'qasida', style, provides a unique opportunity for students of Arabic and Sufism, as well as the interested layman, to experience several of the most important genres of religious writing in the Islamic Middle Period. The Arabic texts have been extensively vocalised in order to aid the student. The work as a whole is well-suited for use as a reader for advanced level classes in the Arabic language. In addition, notes have been provided in the English translation. The Arabic parallel text, set by DecoType, Amsterdam, marks the debut of a new form of calligraphic typesetting in the classical Nashk style, combining state-of-the-art computer technology with unique faithfulness to the great calligraphic tradition of the Islamic world.

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