Studies in Islamic Mysticism, by Reynold A. Nicholson, [1921]
Abú Sa‘íd ibn Abi ’l-Khayr, 1-76; authorities for his biography, 1-3; his birth and early education, 3-5; his theological studies, 6; his conversion to Ṣúfisim, 6-9; his lineage as a Ṣúfí, 10; his austerities, 11-16; he buries his books of theology, 20; the tree planted by him at Mayhana, 20; his mystical illumination, attained at the age of forty, 24-25; his journey to Níshápúr, 26, 27; his telepathic powers, 27, 28-36, 38-41, 68; charges brought against him by the Sunnis, Shí‘ites, and Mu‘tazilites, 28, 29; his relations with Qushayrí, 33-36; his luxury and extravagance, 35-37 anecdotes showing how he maintained himself and his disciples, 38-41; his vengeance on an Amír who refused to pay his debts, 42; his reported meeting with Avicenna, 42; his visit to Abú ’l-Ḥasan Kharaqání, 42-44; his refusal to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, 44, 61; his death, 45; his epitaph, 45; description of his personal appearance, 45; regulations which he made for the inmates of his convent, 46, 76; his barber and tailor, 47; his desire to observe the Sunna of the Prophet, 47; the quatrains attributed to him, 1, 4, 48; the character of his mysticism, 48 foll., 70, 76; sayings on self-negation, 50 foll.; he called himself Nobody the son of Nobody, 53; his ideal of charity and brotherhood, 55, 56; his pantheism, 57, 64; his attitude towards Islam, 57 foll.; his innovations in Ṣúfistic practice, 58; his miracles, 65 foll.; veneration paid to his relics, 73-75
Actions, Divine, the illumination of the, 126; human, logically self-determined, 151
Adam, created in the image of God, 79, 80, 106, 111, 113; the microcosm, 149, 154 foll.; the world-spirit, 121; the vicegerent of God, 113, 130, 156. See Angels; Man, the Perfect; Man, the Primal; Spirit, the created
Allah, the orthodox and mystical conceptions of, 7g; the name Allah, knowledge of God reached by means of, 93, 107; the revelation of the name, 93, 126-7; the name repeated in dhikr, 7-9; analysed by Jílí, 96. See God; Divinity; Essence, the Divine; al-Ḥaqq
Angels, 122 foll., 205, 233; the worship of God by, 15; commanded to worship Adam, 112, 120, 242; jealous of Adam, 205; created from the faculties of the Perfect Man, 106, 108, 115 foll.; created from the Spirit (Logos), 111-113; faculties of the cosmos, 155; the Sublime, 112, 120. See Cherubim
Anthropomorphism, 140
Antinomianism, 7, 33, 37, 57, 60 foll., 141, 184, 196
Asceticism, Ṣúfí, 11-16, 24, 25, 46, 62, 63, 119, 208, 215-217, 224, 251
Atomists, the Ash‘arite, 154
Attributes, the Divine, 83 foll., 90-93, 97 foll., 249 foll.; constitute the universe, 83, 100, 150; not ultimately distinguishable from the Essence, 83, 90, 150, 232, 242; classified, 85, 100, 207; the seven principal, 101; the illumination of the Attributes, 85, 128-9
Beauty, Absolute, 85, 90, 143, 174, 196, 199, 207
Beauty, material, 174, 196, 199. See ḥusn
Beauty, the Divine attributes of, 85, too, 103, 120, 131. See jamál
Begging, 14
Being, Absolute, 83; identical with Thought, 83; its three stages of manifestation, 84, 94 foll. See Essence
Being, contingent or phenomenal, 83, 104, 153, 186, 187, 189, 190, 199, 209, 221, 222-223, 232, 242, 251. See Phenomena
Being, the unity of, 82, 152-154, 214, 234. See ittiḥád.
Bells, the ringing of, heard in ecstasy, 129
Blame, welcome to the lover, 179-180
Blamer, the, in Arabic love-poetry, 178-179; in mystical poetry, 179, 180, 204, 205, 215, 232, 233, 234
Body, the faculties of the, necessary for the attainment of spiritual perfection, 119
Body, the spiritual, 134
Body, the universal, 110
Books, useless to the Ṣúfí, 20, 21
Change, the meaning of, 100
Charity, the best means of attaining to God, 55
Cherubim, the, 106, 110, 111, 117
Children, the heavenly influence of, 161
Christianity, traces of, in Ṣúfisim, 79, 87, 138; Jílí's apology for, 139 foll.; associated with wine-drinking, 187. See Gospel
Christians, the, 132, 133, 138, 139, 140, 187, 263
Composition, automatic, 167
Contemplation, of God, 62, 63, 130, 208, 210, 212, 215, 222, 226, 241, 255
Cosmology, 121 foll.
Creation, the, 80, 90, 103, 115, 121, 122, 151, 154, 208, 229, 255
Dancing, 237. See Music
Determinism, 54, 102, 115, 120, 126, 157, 158, 198, 199, 265
Devil, the, 179, 205, 223, 233. See Iblís; Satan
Directions, the six, 213
Director, a spiritual, indispensable to the Ṣúfí, to, 22, 23. See pír
Divinity, the highest manifestation of the Essence, 84, 97; invisible, 97
Dreams, 90, 91, 92, 105, 112, 118, 258, 259, 265
Ecstasy, 4, 9, 25, 27, 34, 35, 36, 43, 56, 60, 61, 65, 78, 79, 167, 185, 188, 199 foll., 218, 221, 234 foll., 243. See Illumination; Intoxication; faná
Emanation, 153, 155, 193, 233, 261
Eschatology, 133 foll.
Essence, definition of, 82; may be regarded as with or without attributes, 97, 150, 243
Essence, the Divine, 83 foll., 89, 90, 97, 150; unknowable per se, 83, 115, 150; described by contraries, 83, 156; unites all opposites, 152; perceived immediately, 92, 98; veiled by phenomena, 173; self-diremption of the, 94, 96; threefold nature of the, 86, 103, 104; the illumination of the Essence, 85, 129-130. See God
Euphuism, 177
Evil, 53; only relative, 85, 100; not permanent, 136; a necessary consequence of the self-manifestation of the Absolute, 85, 93, 131, 264-265. See Sin
Faculties of the Perfect Man, the, 108 foll.
Fall, the, due to Man's divine nature, 119
Fate, 157. See Determinism Forgiveness, the dearest of all things to God, 54
Freethinkers, Moslem, 62
Freewill, 54, 10I, 102, 103, 120, 134
Frock, the patched, worn by Ṣúfís, 14; investiture performed by the spiritual director (Pír), 22; meaning of this ceremony, 22, 23; it is allowable to receive the frock from two Pírs, 23; frocks torn to pieces and distributed, 43, 57, 58, 73. See khirqa
Fruit, the forbidden, 119, 223
God, the nature of, 97 foll., 103, 104, 149 foll.; the substance of the universe, 99, 152; the essence of all religious beliefs, 130 foll., 159, 264; the only real agent, 16, 51, 52, 54, 126, 161, 262, 264; the ways to, innumerable, 50; the way to, a single step, 50; the finite God of religion, 159, 160. See Essence, the Divine; Attributes, the Divine; Names, the Divine; Allah
Gospel, the, opening words of, according to Jílí, 139; typifies the second stage in the mystical
ascent of the soul, 138; the true doctrine of, 140
Ḥadíth. See Traditions of the Prophet
Hearing, the Divine attribute of, 101, 129
Heart, the, 113-115, 159, 236, 239; comprehends God, 115, 238; is reflected by the universe, 115; compared to the Ka‘ba, 238. See qalb
Hell, 125, 135, 206, 245, 265; defined as selfhood, 64; the mirror of Divine Majesty, 100, 136; created from the Form of Mohammed, 135; will not exist actually until after the Resurrection, 135; a temporary state, 136; the seven limbos of, 136; dislike of Koranic texts describing the torments of Hell, 56; the pleasures of Hell, 132, 137, 160
Iblís. See Index I
Illumination, mystical, 24, 25, 164, 174, 200; three (or four) phases of, 85, 125 foll. See tajallí
Incarnation, the Mohammedan doctrine of, 79. See ḥulúl
Indians, the, distinguished by a monistic tendency, 163
Intelligence, the First, 112, 113, 116, 123, 184, 233; the Second, 233
Intoxication, mystical term, 184, 195, 197, 199, 200, 218, 220, 221, 224, 228, 243, 248
Jealousy, a sign of duality, 213
Jews, the, 132, 133, 138, 141, 263. See Pentateuch
Judgment, the Day of, 120
Knowledge, defined as a relation depending on the object known, 151, 157
Knowledge of God, is self-knowledge, 50, 215; unattainable by the intellect, 50, 116; an illumination, 152; a recognition, 249. See ma‘rifa
Knowledge, the Divine attribute of, 101, 102, 103, 128, 151
Knowledge, three kinds of, imparted to Mohammed, 139
Koran, recitation of the, 13, 15, 16, 75, 79; immutable, 159; not the final and absolute standard of truth, 59-60; interpreted allegorically, 82, 149; typifies the third and last stage in the mystical ascent of the soul, 138
Law, the Mohammedan religious, 16, 20, 33, 34, 54, 57, 60, 184, 196, 261
Letters of the Arabic alphabet, used symbolically, 209
Life, definition of, 134
Life, the Divine attribute of, 85, 101
Life, the future, 134 foll.
Life, the mystic, three stages of, 221
Logic, the use of, by Jílí, 82, 88, 94 foll., 127
Logos doctrine, the, in. Jílí and Ibnu ’l-‘Arabí, 87, 104 foll., 154 foll.; in Ghazálí, 111; in Philo, 138, 142. See Mohammed; Man, the Perfect; Spirit, the created
Logos, union of the saints with the, 254
Lordship, the Divine attribute of, 98, 99, 119, 120, 137, 139
Love, disinterested, 4, 5, 18, 208, 212, 215, 238
Love, Divine, 3, 4, 5, 18, 52, 80, 103, 168, 174, 184, 185, 186, 199, 208, 212, 214, 224, 251, 252, 262
Love, the essence of God's essence, 80, 102; the highest form in which God is worshipped, 161
Love, the monistic doctrine of, 80. 251, 252
Love-poetry, Arabian, 163, 178
Magic, high, 139
Mahdí, the, 135
Majesty, the Divine attributes of, 85, 100, 120, 131, 265. See jalál
Man, the earthly, 82; the heavenly, 82, 103 foll.
Man, the Great, 155. See Macrocosm Man, the nature and function of, 154 foll.
Man, the Perfect, 77 foll., 184; unites the One and the Many, 78, 84; created in the image of God, 79, 80, 86, 106, 107; the microcosm, 82, 84, 106; the Quṭb and preserver of the universe, 86, 105, 130; the vicegerent of God, 113, 130, 156; his threefold nature, 86. 103, 104; identified with Adam, 154 foll.; identified with Mohammed,
[paragraph continues] 86, 88, 104 foll.; the Logos, 104 foll.; not absolutely identical with God, 108, 118, 142; the Spirit whence all things have their origin, 108; his faculties, 115 foll. See Adam; Mohammed; al-insánu ’l-kámil
Man, the Primal, 86
Mercy, Divine, 98, 99, 131, 160, 208, 245, 256
Microcosm, the. See Adam; Man, the Perfect
Miracles, of the prophets, 198, 252 foll.; of the saints, 14, 27-41, 65 foll., 198, 252 foll.
Mohammed, imitation of, by Ṣúfís, 15; the Paraclete, 104; the absolutely perfect Man, 86, 88, 104 foll.; the Quṭb, 87, 113, 195; the Logos, 87, 88, 104 foll., 157, 168, 187, 194, 226; pre-existence of, 87, 157, 187, 223, 240, 255; appears in the forms of saints, 105-106; the real author of all miracles, 198, 253-254; the Form of, 119, 135; the Idea of, 109 (see al-ḥaqíqatu ’l-Muḥammadiyya); the Light of, 87, 115, 172, 188; the Spirit of, 110-112, 113, 123, 188, 195, 198
Moonlighters, the, 175
Music, singing and dancing, in Ṣúfisim, 3, 4, 25, 34, 58, 188, 197, 234 foll. See samá‘
Mysticism, Christian, 51, 128, 139
Mysticism in Persian poetry, 162, 180, 184; in Arabic poetry, 162, 163
Name, definition of, 93
Name, the, reveals the object named, 93
Names, the Divine, 85, 89, 93, 249 foll.; their effects in the world, 93, 131, 198, 250, 251, 265; the three cardinal, 138; the illumination of the Names, 85, 126-127
Nagshbandí order of dervishes, the, 20I
Nature, correlated with Spirit, 120; identified with the Essence, 153
Neoplatonism, 150
Pantheism, 57, 64, 136, 141, 193, 194
Paraclete, the, 104
Paradise, 206, 215, 265; defined as selflessness, 64; the mirror of Divine Beauty, 100; created from the Form of Mohammed, 135; will not actually exist until after the Resurrection, 135
Paradises, the eight, 135, 136
Paradox, the love of mystics for, 178-180
Path, the mystic, 24, 58. See ṭaríqa
Pen, the Divine. See al-qalam
Pentateuch, the, the nine tables of, 139; typifies the first stage in the mystical ascent of the soul, 138
Perfection, the Divine attributes of, 85, 100. See kamál
Persians, the, apt to seek an ultimate principle of unity, 163; the sacred Fire of, 264
Phantasy, 91. See khayál
Phenomena, the outward expression of reality, 82, 83, 222-223; an illusion created by the soul, 226, 258; compared to the puppets of the shadow-play, 189 foll., 260-261; a bridge to reality, 251, 260. See Being, contingent or phenomenal
Philosophy, speculative, a deadly science, 118
Pilgrimage, to Mecca, the, 179, 222, 238, 239; interpreted allegorically, 61; regarded with contempt, 61-62. See ḥajj
Pilgrimage, the lesser, 179. See ‘umra
Pilgrimage, to the tombs of saints, 18, 24; equivalent to making the pilgrimage to Mecca, 25, 44, 62
Plagiarism, 49
Planes, the five, in which God reveals Himself, 91
Plurality, the nature of, 151-153
Poetry, Islamic mystical, the double character of, 163, 168; the interpretation of, 169, 184
Poetry, pre-Islamic, 6, 166, 182
Polytheism, the one unpardonable sin, 52; the mystical meaning of, 220
Poverty, spiritual, 209. 215, 216
Power, the Divine attribute of, 101, 103, 129
Prayer, the essence of, 61; justification of, 158; canonical, 239; ecstatic, 61, 79, 213, 214; supererogatory, 5, 21
Prophecy, 130 foll.
Prophet, the. See Mohammed
Prophets, the, 7, 78, 123, 131, 133, 137 foll.; superior to the saints, 141; types of Divine attributes, 149
Punishment, future, 132, 136, 137, 160
Qádirite order of dervishes, the, 81
Quṭb, the, 79, 105, 110, 111, 113, 130, 194, 195, 197, 229, 246
Railer, the, 179. See Blamer
Reality, the timeless nature of, 187, 245, 253, 256
Reason, the faculty of, 115-116 Reason, universal, 115, 116, 187
Recollection, the mystical practice of, 7, 8, 13. See dhikr
Religion. See Law, the religious; Worship
Religion, Jílí's philosophy of, 130 foll.
Religions, revealed, contain the fullest measure of truth, 131
Religious sects, the ten principal, 131 foll.
Resurrection, the, 101, 134, 135, 245
Revelation, the prophetic, unity of, 137; contrasted with the mystical, 59, 60, 138
Saint, the true, definition of, 55, 67
Saints, the Moslem, 18, 19, 65; the hidden and unrecognised, 67; divine powers attributed to, 38; identified with God, 44, 73; intercession of the, 64, 65, 78; visits to their tombs, 18, 24, 25, 44, 62; veneration of their relics, 73-75; their functions, 78-79; hierarchy of the, 78, 79, 194, 195; the forty on whom the order of the world depends, 70; regarded as vicegerents of the Prophet, 106, 111, 130, 141; essentially one with the Prophet, 106; question whether the prophets are superior to the saints, 141. See Miracles
Saintship, Mohammedan, founded on ecstasy, 56, 78; the essence of prophecy, 141
Salvation, future, ultimately gained by all souls, 133, 159, t60
Satan, 108, 131, 223. See Devil; Iblís
Seas, the seven, 125
Sects, the ten principal religious, 131-133
Self-abandonment, 16, 49 foll. See Ecstasy; faná
Self-conceit, 16, 52, 209, 262
Self-mortification, 62, 63, 222. See mujáhada; Asceticism
Sense-perception, the value of, 119, 235, 259, 260
Shadow-play, the, 189 foll., 198, 260-261
Sight, the Divine attribute of, 101
Sin, prevents God's mercy from being wasted, 54; not essentially evil, 101; determined by the Divine will and nature, 54, 120, 126, 131, 158. See Evil
Siráṭ, the bridge of, 215
Slanderer, the, in Arabic love-poetry, 178; in mystical poetry, 205, 215, 232, 233, 234
Sobriety, mystical term, 195, 197, 199, 200, 218, 220, 221, 228, 243. See ṣaḥw
Soul, nature of the, 119-121; five phases of the, 121; pre-existence of the, 56, 184, 193, 204, 206, 214, 236, 240, 249, 258, 259, 265. See nafs
Soul, universal, 116, 197, 233, 240, 259
Speech, the Divine attribute of, tot, 129
Spirit, the created, 109 foll.; a mode of the Divine Spirit, 109, 110, 146; described as an angel, 109, 110; identified with the Logos, 109, 110; with Adam, 186. See al-rúḥ
Spirit, the Holy, 82, 108 foll., 138, 186; the inbreathing of, 139, 140, 155; union with, 109, 110, 128. See rúḥu ’l-quds
Spirit, universal, 197, 233, 240, 245, 253, 255, 259
Stone, the Black, 239
Substitution, the mystical doctrine of, 128
Ṣúfís, the, profess to interpret the esoteric teaching of Mohammed, 11, 59, 82, 225, 227; spiritual affinity of, 56
Ṣúfisim, the basis of, 4, 5; not founded on authority and tradition, 11; definitions of, 49, 50
Symbolism, the only means of imparting mystical truth, 193, 232, 257
Synteresis, 51
Tablet, the Guarded, 59, 102, 106, 111, 112, 116, 203. See al-Lawḥu ’l-maḥfúẓ
Telepathy, instances of, 27, 28-36, 38-41, 68
Thoughts, the power of materialising them, 102, 136
Throne of God, the. See al-‘arsh
Time, spiritual, 223, 245; unreal, 242, 245
Toleration, religious, 55-57, 159-161, 194
Traditions of the Prophet, 5, 6, 15, 50, 59, 64, 79, 91, 94, 97, 106, 112, 121, 122, 136, 139, 159, 204, 206, 209, 215, 223, 226, 238, 245, 248, 255, 261, 262, 265
Tribe, the, meaning the Ṣúfís, 185, 202, 266
Trinity, the Christian, 57, 138, 139
Union, mystical, 50 foll., 125 foll., 186, 213 foll.; does not exclude personality, 80; not dependent on any secondary cause, 262; four stages of, 126 foll.; three stages of, 230, 231; the highest stage of, 55, 218, 221, 227, 228 foll. See Ecstasy; Illumination; wiṣál; jam‘; ittiḥád
Universals, 150
Universe, the, compared to a dream, 90-92; not unreal, 92, 153; substantially divine, 99; created in the image of Man, 121; the form of the Logos, 255; description of, 122 foll.
Vedânta, the, 97
Vine, the, signifies phenomenal being, 184, 186
Vision, the beatific, 200, 226, 229
Watcher, the, in Arabic love-poetry, 178. See raqíb and muráqib
Will, the Divine attribute of, 101, 102, 158
Wine, symbolism drawn from, 183 foll., 199, 263; signifies Absolute Being or Divine Love, 186. See Intoxication; Sobriety
World of command, the, 214
World of similitudes, the, 105, 122
World, the sensible, a dream, 91; created from the Light of Mohammed, 115
Worship, Divine, the end for which all things are created, 131; different forms of, corresponding to the variety of the Divine names and attributes, 131 foll.
Wrath, Divine, 103, 131, 136, 208, 245, 256. See Majesty
Zoroastrianism, 163
Zoroastrians, the, 198, 263. See Magians