Peace, one and all…
Subhan Allah! The summer is now but a memory (hang on a minute – the UK summer didn’t really appear) and the new academic year has just begun. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Our new students have arrived – eager and nervous all at the same time. The 2nd and 3rd year students have also returned. The department is buzzing with all the activity of academic life. I enjoy this time of year. I enjoy the enthusiasm of our students and I enjoy all the challenges that Higher Education brings. Al hamdu lillahi ala kulli hal. Praise be to God in every condition and state!
My new Sufism class began this morning. After looking at ‘housekeeping matters’ (such as assessment and library provision), we turned to a discussion of spirituality and mysticism: what are they? Do they exist independently of religious, social and historical contexts; and to what extent can we make comparisons across traditions? The group was lively and the discussion well-informed and itneresting. Allah!
I’ve been reading a number of interesting books in the run up to this morning’s session. Here are some of the most interesting:
- H. Read (ed., 1959), The Collected Works of CG Jung Vol. 9 Part 2
- I. Clarke (ed., 2001), Psychosis and Spirituality: Exploring the New Frontier
- R. W. Hood Jr. (ed., 1995), Handbook of Religious Experience
- R. Otto (1923), The Idea of the Holy
- R. Otto (1932), Mysticism East and West
- F. C. Happold (1963), Mysticism
- F. D. Lewis (2000), Rumi: Past and Present, East and West
I’ve really enjoyed reading these works – though I have more questions than answers as yet! I haven’t even started on the large haul of articles I collected from SOAS in the summer! Allah!
At any rate, praise be to God for the ability to read, learn and insha Allah, one day to understand.
Wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman
