The Mystics of al-Andalus
Ibn Barraj?n and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century

A study of the writings of Ibn Barraj?n, an influential pioneer of intellectual mysticism in the Muslim West.

Yousef Casewit (Author)

9781316636022, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 May 2019

372 pages
23 x 15.3 x 2.3 cm, 0.56 kg

'Yousef Casewit's study does justice to one of the greatest figures of Muslim spirituality and thought in medieval al-Andalus, Abu al-Hakam Barrajan (d. 536/1141). For the first time, Ibn Barrajan's work, with its focus on commentaries on the divine names and the Qur?an, is placed in its context and approached as a whole. Situated between Ibn Massara and Ibn ?Arabi, this work illustrates a path based on a spiritual reading of the Qur?an and rooted in i?tibar, the passage from outward meaning towards inward significance, from this world to the next. Yousef Casewit emphasizes the originality of this author, who undertakes a synthesis of traditional Islamic knowledge and Neo-Platonist philosophy, as inspired by the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-safa). Beyond Sufism and philosophy, The Mystics of al-Andalus represents the quest for universal wisdom in the Divine mystery concealed within revelation and the world.' Denis Gril, Professor Emeritus, Aix Marseille Université

The twelfth century CE was a watershed moment for mysticism in the Muslim West. In al-Andalus, the pioneers of this mystical tradition, the Mu'tabirun or 'Contemplators', championed a synthesis between Muslim scriptural sources and Neoplatonic cosmology. Ibn Barraj?n of Seville was most responsible for shaping this new intellectual approach, and is the focus of Yousef Casewit's book. Ibn Barraj?n's extensive commentaries on the divine names and the Qur'?n stress the significance of God's signs in nature, the Arabic bible as a means of interpreting the Qur'?n, and the mystical crossing from the visible to the unseen. With an examination of the understudied writings of both Ibn Barraj?n and his contemporaries, Ibn al-'Arif and Ibn Qasi, as well as the wider socio-political and scholarly context in al-Andalus, this book will appeal to researchers of the medieval Islamic world and the history of mysticism and Sufism in the Muslim West.

1. The beginnings of a mystical discourse in al-Andalus: Ibn Masarra, M?likism, and the politics of an epistemological debate
2. The rise of the Andalus? Mu?tabir?n: the influence of Ghaz?l?, markers of the Mu?tabir?n tradition, and the onset of institutional Sufism
3. The life of a contemplative: Ibn Barraj?n's educational formation, spiritual practices, political views, and decease
4. The works of Ibn Barraj?n: chronological sequence, manuscript tradition, and central themes
5. The divine descent: bridging the chasm between God and creation
6. The hermeneutics of certainty: harmony, hierarchy, and hegemony of the Qur??n
7. A Muslim scholar of the Bible: biblical proof-texts for Qur??nic teachings in the exegetical works of Ibn Barraj?n
8. The human ascent: I?tib?r, cycles of time, and future predictions.

Subject Areas: Sufism & Islamic mysticism [HRHX], Islam [HRH], Medieval history [HBLC1], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], European history [HBJD], Regional & national history [HBJ]