The repose of the spirits : a sufi commentary on the divine names / Aḥmad Samʻānī ; translated and with an introduction by William C. Chittick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Samʻānī, Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr, 1094-1140, author.

Contributor:

Chittick, William C., translator, writer of foreword.

Series:

SUNY series in Islam.

Suny series in islam

Language:

English

Persian

Subjects (All):

Sufism--Early works to 1800.

Sufism.

God (Islam)--Name--Early works to 1800.

God (Islam).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (710 pages).

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : Suny Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English and Persian.

Summary:

The Repose of the Spirits is a translation of one of the earliest and most comprehensive treatises on Sufism in the Persian language. Written by Aḥmad Sam'ānī, an expert in Islamic law from a famous Central Asian scholarly family in about the year 1135, it is one of the handful of early Sufi texts available in English and is by far the most accessible. It also may well be the longest and the most accurately translated. Ostensibly a commentary on the divine names, it avoids the abstract discourse of theological nitpicking and explains the human significance of the names with a delightful mix of Quranic verses and sayings of the Prophet and various past teachers, interspersed with original interpretations of the received wisdom. Unlike the usual books on the divine names (such as that of al-Ghazali), The Repose of the Spirits reminds the reader of the later poetical tradition, especially the work of Rumi. The prose is richly embroidered with imagery and interspersed with a great variety of Arabic and Persian poetry. What is especially remarkable is the manner in which the author speaks to his readers about their own personal situations, explaining why they are driven by a love affair with God, a God who is full of compassion and good humor, whether they know it or not. William C. Chittick's masterful new translation brings this work to an English-language audience for the first time.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Repose of the Spirits

Works Cited

Index of Quranic Verses

Index of Hadiths and Arabic Sayings

Index and Glossary of Terms

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438473352

1438473354