Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ahmad Sam'ānī ,  William C. Chittick ,  William C. Chittick
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.227kg
ISBN:  

9781438473345

ISBN 10:   1438473346
Pages:   708
Publication Date:   02 July 2020
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction The Sam‛ānīs Sufism in Aḥmad's Khorasan The Keys to the Unseen The Text and Translation Notes The Repose of the Spirits: Explaining the Names of the All- Opening King 1. Hū: He 2. Allāh: God 3. Alladhī Lā Ilāha Illā Hū: There is no god but He 4–5. al-Raḥmān,al-Raḥīm:the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful 6. al-Malik: the King 7. al-Quddūs: the Holy 8. al-Salām: the Peace 9. al-Mu'min: the Faithful 10. al-Muhaymin: the Overseer 11. al-‛Azīz: the Exalted 12. al-Jabbār: the All- Compelling 13. al-Mutakabbir: the Proud 14. al-Khāliq: the Creator 15. al-Bāri': the Maker 16. al-Muṣawwir: the Form-Giver 17. al-Ghaffār: the All- Forgiving 18. al-Qahhār: the Severe 19. al-Wahhāb: the Bestower 20. al-Razzāq: the Provider 21. al-Fattāḥ: the All-Opening 22. al-‛Alīm: the Knowing 23-24. al-Qābiḍ al-Bāsiṭ: the Contractor, the Expander 25-26. al-Khāfiḍ al-Rāfi‛: the Downletter, the Uplifter 27-28. al-Mu‛izz al-Mudhill: the Exalter, the Abaser 29-30. al-Samī‛ al-Baṣīr: the Hearing, the Seeing 31-32: al-Ḥakam al-‛Adl: the Ruler, the Just 33. al-Laṭīf: the Gentle 34. al-Khabīr: the Aware 35. al-Ḥalīm: the Forbearing 36. al-‛Aẓīm: the Tremendous 37-38. al-Ghafūr al-Shakūr: the Forgiving, the Grateful 39-40. al-‛Alī al-Kabīr: the High, the Great 41. al-Ḥafīẓ: the Guardian 42. al-Muqīt: the Nourisher 43. al-Ḥasīb: the Reckoner/the Sufficer 44-45. al-Jalīl al-Jamīl: the Majestic, the Beautiful 46. al-Karīm: the Generous 47. al-Raqīb: the Watcher 48. al-Mujīb: the Responder 49. al-Wāsi‛: the Embracing 50. al-Ḥakīm: the Wise 51. al-Wadūd: the Loving/the Beloved 52. al-Majīd: the Splendorous 53. al-Bā‛ith: the Upraiser 54. al-Shahīd: the Witness 55-56. al-Ḥaqq al-Mubīn: the Real, the Clarifier 57. al-Wakīl: the Trustee 58-59. al-Qawī al-Matīn: the Strong, the Firm 60. al-Walī: the Friend 61. al-Ḥamīd: the Praiser/the Praised 62. al-Muḥṣī: the Enumerator 63-64. al-Mubdi' al-Mu‛īd: the Originator, the Returner 65-66. al-Muḥyī al-Mumīt: the Life-Giver, the Death-Giver 67-68. al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm: the Living, the Self-Standing 69. al-Wājid: the Finder 70-71. al-Wāḥid al-Aḥad: the One, the Unique 72. al-Ṣamad: the Self-Sufficient 73-74. al-Qādir al-Muqtadir: the Powerful, the Potent 75-76. al-Muqaddim al-Mu'akhkhir: the Forward-setter, the Behind-keeper 77-80. al-Awwal al-Ākhir al–Ẓāhir al-Bāṭin: the First, the Last, the Outward, the Inward 81. al-Barr: the Kind 82. al-Tawwāb: the Ever- Turning 83. al-Muntaqim: the Avenger 84. al-‛Afū: the Pardoner 85-89. al-Ra'ūf, Mālik al-Mulk, Dhu'l-Jalāl wa'l-Ikrām, al-Wālī, al-Muta‛ālī: the Clement, the Owner of the Kingdom, the Possessor of Majesty and Generous Giving, the Protector, the Transcendent 90-91. al-Muqsiṭ al-Jāmi‛: the Impartial, the Gathering 92-93. al-Ghanī al-Mughnī: the Unneedy, the Need-Lifter 94-95. al-Ḍārr al-Nāfi‛: the Harmer, the Benefiter 96. al-Nūr: the Light 97. al-Hādī: the Guide 98. al-Badī‛: the Innovating 99-100. al-Bāqī al-Wārith: the Subsistent, the Inheritor 101. al-Rashīd: the Road-Shower 102. al-Ṣabūr: the Patient Notes Works Cited Index of Quranic Verses Index of Hadiths and Arabic Sayings Index and Glossary of Terms

Reviews

Chittick's translation is beautifully and masterfully done, and a model of how to translate Sufi classics ... This work is highly recommended for all students of Islamic studies, spiritual seekers, and those who wish to be taken inside the sanctity of the Divine Names. - Religious Studies Review This book is a welcome and much needed contribution to Islamic Studies, and it is particularly beneficial for both graduate and undergraduate courses on Sufism, Islamic spirituality, and Islamic civilizations. - Journal of Sufi Studies This is a wonderful introduction to the particular style, imagery, terminology, and worldview of Sufism, as well as to the ways in which the Persian cultural milieu added important elements to the Arabic intellectual and spiritual tradition in Islam. - Maria Massi Dakake, author of The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam

This book is a welcome and much needed contribution to Islamic Studies, and it is particularly beneficial for both graduate and undergraduate courses on Sufism, Islamic spirituality, and Islamic civilizations. - Journal of Sufi Studies This is a wonderful introduction to the particular style, imagery, terminology, and worldview of Sufism, as well as to the ways in which the Persian cultural milieu added important elements to the Arabic intellectual and spiritual tradition in Islam. - Maria Massi Dakake, author of The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam

This is a wonderful introduction to the particular style, imagery, terminology, and worldview of Sufism, as well as to the ways in which the Persian cultural milieu added important elements to the Arabic intellectual and spiritual tradition in Islam. - Maria Massi Dakake, author of The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam

Author Information

William C. Chittick is SUNY Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. He is the author of several books, including Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts and The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-'Arabī's Cosmology, both also published by SUNY Press.

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