I teach mainly in the field classical Islamic thought, with primary research in Sufism and secondary interests in Islamic philosophy and theology; Islamic virtue theory and ethics; medieval Jewish-Muslim relations; and more recently, mysticism and the Near Death Experience. At present I am writing a monograph tentatively entitled The Nectar of Divine Remembrance: Dhikr from the Quran to Ibn 'Arabi. . Phone: (403) 332-4585 Address: Dept. of Religious Studies 4401 University Dr. University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4
By drawing on the literature of Sufism, with special attention to the writings of al-Sarraj, al-K... more By drawing on the literature of Sufism, with special attention to the writings of al-Sarraj, al-Khargushi, al-Hujwiri, al-Qushayri, and al-Sirjani, the article thematically outlines (1) the value placed on fasting in early tradition, (2) the dangers believed to lie in the practice, and finally, (3) the need to transcend, in the final scheme of things, any attachment one may form with it, through a 'detachment from detachment'. In the process, the article aims not only to decipher and make sense of the various aphorisms and stories that make up the early literature of tasawwuf, but also to resolve their apparent contradictions.
With special reference to chapters 119 and 558 of the Meccan Revelations, the article draws out I... more With special reference to chapters 119 and 558 of the Meccan Revelations, the article draws out Ibn ʿ Arabī's (d. 638/1240) understanding of the divine Name al-Wakīl ("The Trustee") and the nature of trusteeship (wakāla). In the process, it demonstrates how for our mystic trusteeship forms a circle that begins with the human being entrusting his affairs to God, and returns to its point of origin with God entrusting him to be His vicegerent (khalīfa). Trusteeship, which finds its archetypical perfection in the divine Wakīl, descends through various degrees of perfection, to all levels and strata of human society. The capacity to embody and manifest the Name al-Wakīl is, for Ibn ʿ Arabī, itself made possible by the theomorphic nature of the human being, a child of the primordial Adam fashioned in the image of God.
By drawing on the literature of Sufism, with special attention to the writings of al-Sarraj, al-K... more By drawing on the literature of Sufism, with special attention to the writings of al-Sarraj, al-Khargushi, al-Hujwiri, al-Qushayri, and al-Sirjani, the article thematically outlines (1) the value placed on fasting in early tradition, (2) the dangers believed to lie in the practice, and finally, (3) the need to transcend, in the final scheme of things, any attachment one may form with it, through a 'detachment from detachment'. In the process, the article aims not only to decipher and make sense of the various aphorisms and stories that make up the early literature of tasawwuf, but also to resolve their apparent contradictions.
With special reference to chapters 119 and 558 of the Meccan Revelations, the article draws out I... more With special reference to chapters 119 and 558 of the Meccan Revelations, the article draws out Ibn ʿ Arabī's (d. 638/1240) understanding of the divine Name al-Wakīl ("The Trustee") and the nature of trusteeship (wakāla). In the process, it demonstrates how for our mystic trusteeship forms a circle that begins with the human being entrusting his affairs to God, and returns to its point of origin with God entrusting him to be His vicegerent (khalīfa). Trusteeship, which finds its archetypical perfection in the divine Wakīl, descends through various degrees of perfection, to all levels and strata of human society. The capacity to embody and manifest the Name al-Wakīl is, for Ibn ʿ Arabī, itself made possible by the theomorphic nature of the human being, a child of the primordial Adam fashioned in the image of God.
In the early Sufi tradition tawba was conceived not simply as repentance, or returning to God fro... more In the early Sufi tradition tawba was conceived not simply as repentance, or returning to God from a particular sin, but as a broader and much more encompassing process of " interior conversion " in which a nominal allegiance to the religion of one's birth was replaced by a complete and unwavering commitment to the spiritual life. Ibrāhīm b. Adham's (d. 161/778–9) tawba remains perhaps the most well-known of such accounts. Found in virtually all the major biographical and hagiographical sources which deal with the formative period of Sufism, it contains elements both uncannily similar to that of Buddha's own conversion intertwined with distinctively Islamic motifs, whether they involve a scrupulous concern for lawful sustenance, hearing a Qur'anic admonishment through the words of an invisible caller (hātif), an overriding concern for final Judgement and the welfare of the soul after death, or an encounter with Khiḍr through whom certain mysteries of the Way are disclosed.
'Attar's Conference of the Birds is one of the world's most enduring and beloved spiritual classi... more 'Attar's Conference of the Birds is one of the world's most enduring and beloved spiritual classics. Much of its fame and popularity is due to the interactive nature of the text—it requires us to identify with the characters of its many stories, and in doing so, pulls us along with the eponymous birds on their journey of self-discovery. This interactive lecture will explore the participatory nature of this epic poem, the particular lessons uncovered through this process of participation, and how this process can help us approach other non-Western and pre-modern classics.
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