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Margaret Smith (author)
Margaret Smith (1884–1970) was a British orientalist writing on early Christian and Muslim mysticism, presenting a view from an open-minded Christian perspective. Biography Smith was the first westerner to chronicle the life of the Sufi mystic Rábi'a of Basra, and compiled brief histories of other Sufi teachers and their doctrines, translating Arabic and Persian texts into English. Smith counted among her mentors Thomas Walker Arnold, Alfred Guillaume, R. A. Nicholson, and Louis Massignon. Works In the 1970s four of Smith's works — by then hard to come by — were reprinted in Amsterdam, by the Philo Press in arrangement with The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London. *''An Early Mystic of Baghdad: Al-Muhasibi, ca 781-875 A.D. Master of primitive Islamic mysticism and precursor of the great Muslim Mystics'', 1935 *''An Introduction to the History of Mysticism'', 1930 *''Rabi'a the Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam. Being the life and teachings of Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Mysticism
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" or Divine ''love''. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term ''contemplatio'', c.q. ''theoria'', from '' contemplatio'' (Latin; Greek θεωρία, ''theoria''), "looking at", "gazing at", "being aware of" God or the Divine.William Johnson, ''The Inner Eye of Love: Mysticism and Religion'' (HarperCollins 1997 ), p. 24 Christianity took up the use of both the Greek (''theoria'') and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is the oldest Anglican mission organisation in the world, though it is now more ecumenical in outlook and publishes books for a wide range of Christian denominations. It is currently the leading publisher of Christian books in the United Kingdom and the third oldest independent publisher in the UK. Mission The SPCK has a vision of a world in which everyone is transformed by Christian knowledge. Its mission is to lead the way in creating books and resources that help everyone to make sense of faith. Education has always been a core part of SPCK's mission. History Foundation On 8 March 1698, Rev. Thomas Bray met a small group of friends, including Sir Humphrey Mackworth, Colonel Maynard Colchester, Lord Guilford and John Hooke at Lincoln ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1884 Births
Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate his dead baby son, Iesu Grist, in Wales. Later tried and acquitted on the grounds that cremation is not contrary to English law, he is thus able to carry out the ceremony (the first in the United Kingdom in modern times) on March 14, setting a legal precedent. * February 1 – ''A New English Dictionary on historical principles, part 1'' (edited by James A. H. Murray), the first fascicle of what will become ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', is published in England. * February 5 – Derby County Football Club is founded in England. * March 13 – The siege of Khartoum, Sudan, begins (ends on January 26, 1885). * March 28 – Prince Leopold, the youngest son and the eighth child of Queen Victoria and Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Scholars Of Islam
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufi Studies
Sufi studies is a particular branch of comparative studies that uses the technical lexicon of the Islamic mystics, the Sufis, to exemplify the nature of its ideas; hence the frequent reference to Sufi Orders. It may be divided into two main branches, the orientalist/academic and the spiritual. Early Sufi studies in France The earliest Europeans to study Sufism were French, associated (rightly or wrongly) with the Quietist movement. They were Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville (1625–1695), a professor at the Collège de France who worked from texts available in Europe, François Bernier (1625–1688), the physician of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who spent 1655-69 in the Islamic world (mostly with Aurangzeb), and François Pétis de la Croix (1653–1713), a diplomat who spent 1674-1676 in Isfahan, where he studied Rumi's '' Masnavi-ye Manavi'' and visited the Bektashi order. D'Herbelot's great work, the ''Bibliothèque orientale'' (published posthumously in 1697), incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω ''múō'', meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism referred to the biblical, liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity. During the early modern period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind." In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women In Islam
The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree and gives them a common identity that may serve to bridge the wide cultural, social, and economic differences between them. Many women are mentioned in the Quran, but only one is named: Mary, who appears more times in the Quran than in the Bible. According to the Quran, divine grace surrounded Mary from birth, and, as a young woman, she received a message from God through the archangel Gabriel that God had chosen her, purified her and preferred her above all "the women of the worlds".Stowasser, Barbara Freyer, "Mary", in: ''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān'', General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Among the influences which have played an important role in defining the social, legal, spiritual, and cosm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya
Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya ( ar, رابعة العدوية القيسية) (714/717/718 — 801 CE) was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic and carried her life out as an influential religious figure. She is known in some parts of the world as Hazrat Rabia Basri, Rabia Al Basri or simply Rabia Basri. She set an example respected by Muslims throughout history and is a small piece in the complicated founding of Islam. Biography Rābiʻa is said to have been born between 714 and 718 CE (95 and 98 Hijri) in Basra, Iraq, of the Qays tribe. Farid ud-Din Attar, a later Sufi saint and poet, recounted much of her early life. She was the fourth daughter of her family and so named Rābiʻa, meaning "fourth". According to Fariduddin Attar, whose account is more myth than a narrative of a historical Rābiʿa: when Rābiʻa was born, her parents were so poor that there was no oil in the house to light a lamp, nor even a cloth to wrap her with. Her mother asked her husband ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Muhasibi
Al-Muḥāsibī () (781–857 CE) was a Muslim Arab, theologian, philosopher and ascetic. He is considered to be the founder of the Baghdad School of Islamic philosophy which combined Kalam and Sufism, and a teacher of the Sufi masters Junayd al-Baghdadi and Sirri Saqti. His full name is Abu Abdullah Harith bin Asad bin Abdullah al-Anizi al-Basri, and he hailed from the Arab Anazzah tribe. He was born in Basra in about 781. ''Muhasibi'' means self-inspection or audit. He was a founder of what later became the mainstream Sufi doctrine, and influenced many subsequent theologians, such as al-Ghazali. The author of approximately 200 works, he wrote about theology and ''Tasawwuf'' (Sufism), among them ''Kitab al-Khalwa'' and ''Kitab al-Ri`aya li-huquq Allah'' ("Obeying God's Permits"). Life His parents left Basra for Baghdad shortly after his birth, perhaps inclined to the economic opportunities in the new capital. His father became wealthy, though al-Muhasibi refused it due to hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the City Region of Amsterdam, urban area and 2,480,394 in the Amsterdam metropolitan area, metropolitan area. Located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originally a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam is th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muslim Mysticism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism",Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p.15 "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice". Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as (pl. ) – congregations formed around a grand who would be the last in a chain of successive teachers linking back to Muham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon (25 July 1883 – 31 October 1962) was a Catholic scholar of Islam and a pioneer of Catholic-Muslim mutual understanding. He was an influential figure in the twentieth century with regard to the Catholic church's relationship with Islam. He focused increasingly on the work of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he considered a saint. He also played a role in Islam being accepted as an Abrahamic Faith among Catholics. Some scholars maintain that his research, esteem for Islam and Muslims, and cultivation of key students in Islamic studies largely prepared the way for the positive vision of Islam articulated in the Lumen gentium and the Nostra aetate at the Second Vatican Council. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards Islam as it was documented in the pastoral Vatican II declarati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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