Description
Book SynopsisWith academic courses either encouraging commercialism, or cultivating zealots, Chittick states that it is impossible to understand classical Islamic texts without the years of contemplative study that are anathema to the modern education system. Insisting upon a return to the ways of the ancient wisdom tradition, which saw the quest for knowledge of the soul, the world, and God as a unifying spiritual discipline, Chittick maintains that the study of Islamic texts cannot be treated separately from self-understanding. Fascinating, radical, and a true challenge to modern trends in academic study, this book opens a new debate in Islamic thought.
Trade Review"The fruit of a lifetime of reflection on the sources and central traditions of Islamic thought. One of the most original and thought-provoking contributions to genuinely Islamic thought in the past half-century." James Morris - Professor and Chair of Islamic Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter "Has the power of a complete re-evaluation of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Highly recommended." Ravi Ravindra - author of Science and the Sacred and Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada "William Chittick is the most exciting writer on Sufism today, combining as he does a genuine passion for the subject with a scholarly objectivity that is truly impressive." Oliver Leaman - Professor of Philosophy and Zantker Professor of Judaic Studies, University of Kentucky
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. A Vanishing Heritage
2. Intellectual Understanding
3. The Rehabilitation of Thought
4. Beyond Ideology
5. The Unseen Men
6. The Anthropocosmic Vision
7. The Search for Meaning
