Martin Lings (24 January 1909 – 12 May 2005), also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon and an authority on the work of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, he is best known as the author of '' Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources'', first published in 1983 and still in print.

Early life and education

Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester, in 1909 to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States because of his father's employment. Lings attended

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a BA in English Language and Literature. At Magdalen, he was a student and then a close friend of C. S. Lewis. After graduating from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Lings went to

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

. For Lings himself, however, the most important event whilst at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...

, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert, and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938, Lings went to Basel to make Schuon's acquaintance. This prompted his embracing Islam to embrace the branch of the Alawiyya tariqa led by Schuon. Thereafter, Lings remained Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.

Career

In 1939, Lings went to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, to visit a friend who was an assistant of René Guénon. Soon after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English language teacher at the

University of Cairo Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

and produced

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances. Lings1

On returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi. After completing his doctorate in 1959, Lings worked at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and later the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970–73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal '' Studies in Comparative Religion''. A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well regarded, his most famous work was a

biography of Muhammad This is a chronological listing of biographies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, ranging from the earliest traditional writers to modern times. Earliest biographers The following is a list of the earliest known Hadith collectors who specialized ...

, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

. He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He died on 12 May 2005. Lings and a

Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

scholar named Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi had a public debate about some accounts of Lings' ''

Biography of Muhammad This is a chronological listing of biographies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, ranging from the earliest traditional writers to modern times. Earliest biographers The following is a list of the earliest known Hadith collectors who specialized ...

.'' The exchange was published by ''

Saudi Gazette Saudi Gazette is an English-language daily newspaper launched in 1976 and published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only available online, as the print version was discontinued in 2019. It is the second English-language daily newspaper in Saud ...

''. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a foreword by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film ''Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings''.

Books

*''The Underlying Religion'' (

World Wisdom World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Bu ...

, 2007) *''Splendors of Qur'an Calligraphy And Illumination'' (2005), Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, Thames & Hudson, *''A Return to the Spirit : Questions and Answers'' (2005), Fons Vitae, *''Sufi Poems : A Mediaeval Anthology'' (2005),

Islamic Texts Society The Islamic Texts Society (ITS) is a peer-reviewed, British publishing house which concentrates on academic and general titles on Islam. It is registered as an educational charity in the UK. History The Islamic Texts Society was founded in Cam ...

, *''Mecca: From Before Genesis Until Now'' (2004),

Archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...

, *''The Eleventh Hour: the Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy'' (2002), Archetype, * ''Collected Poems, revised and expanded'' (2002), Archetype, *''Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions'' (2001), Archetype, * ''What is Sufism'' (

, 1999) *''The Secret of Shakespeare : His Greatest Plays seen in the Light of Sacred Art'' (1998), Quinta Essentia, distributed by Archetype, (hb), *''Sacred Art of Shakespeare : To Take Upon Us the Mystery of Things'' (

Inner Traditions Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

, 1998) 0892817178 *''A Sufi saint of the twentieth century: Shaikh Ahmad al-°Alawi, his spiritual heritage and legacy'' (

, 1993) *''Symbol & Archetype : A Study of the Meaning of Existence'' (1991, 2006), Fons Vitae Quinta Essentia series, *
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
' (

, 1983) (World-UK edn) / (US edn) *''The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination'' ( World of Islam Festival Trust, 1976) *''The Heralds, and other Poems'' 1970 *''The Elements, and Other Poems'' (1967), Perennial Books * ''The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis'' signed as Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din. Cambridge,

, 1992 (1st ed. 1952).

References

External links

Obituary from the Guardian (May 27, 2005)Author page at the Matheson Trustfor Matmedia Productions film Circling the House of God featuring Martin Lings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lings, Martin 1909 births 2005 deaths 20th-century English philosophers Alumni of SOAS University of London Converts to Islam from atheism or agnosticism Writers from Manchester English Sufis English spiritual writers English spiritual teachers People educated at Clifton College People from Burnage Shakespearean scholars Traditionalist School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Vytautas Magnus University faculty Muslim historians of Islam British scholars of Islam

Early life and education

Career

Books

See also

References

External links