Sufism, the mystical or aesthetic doctrine in Islam, has occupied a very specific place in the Islamic tradition, with its own history, literature and devotional practices. Its development began in the seventh century and spread throughout the Islamic world. The Cambridge Companion to Sufism traces its evolution from the formative period to the present, addressing specific themes along the way within the context of the times. In a section discussing the early period, the devotional practices of the earliest Sufis are considered. The section on the medieval period, when Sufism was at its height, examines Sufi doctrines, different forms of mysticism and the antinomian expressions of Sufism. The section on the modern period explains the controversies that surrounded Sufism, the changes that took place in the colonial period and how Sufism transformed into a transnational movement in the twentieth century. This inimitable volume sheds light on a multifaceted and alternative aspect of Islamic history and religion.

Offers a chronological development of Sufism
Stresses the diversity of Sufism by revealing the significant geographical range of the tradition
Many neglected topics are investigated, including Sufism and gender, Sufism and ethics, and Sufism in the contemporary age

Table of Contents

Part I. The Early Period:
1. Origins and early Sufism C. Melchert
2. Pious Sufi women L. Silvers
3. Sufi rituals E. Ohlander
4. Morality in early Sufi literature S. Yazaki
Part II. Medieval Sufism:
5. Sufism and mysticism L. Ridgeon
6. Sufism`s religion of love, from Rābi`a to Ibn `Arabī L. Lewisohn
7. Antinomian Sufism A. Karamustafa
Part III. Sufism in the Modern Age:
8. Nana Asma`u: nineteenth-century West African Sufi B. B. Mack
9. Sufism and colonialism V. Knut
9. Nana Asma`u: nineteenth-century West African Sufi B. B. Mack
10. Sufism in the West R. Geaves
11. Sufism in the age of globalisation I. Weismann
12. Transnationalism and regional cults P. Werbner.

Editor

Lloyd Ridgeon, University of Glasgow
Lloyd Ridgeon is Reader in Islamic Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. His previous publications include Javanmardi: A Sufi Code of Honour (2011) and Morals and Mysticism in Persian Sufism (2010).

Contributors

Christopher Melchert, Laury Silvers, Erik Ohlander, Saeko Yazaki, Lloyd Ridgeon, Leonard Lewisohn, Ahmed Karamustafa, Vikor Knut, Beverly B. Mack, Ron Geaves, Itzchak Weismann, Pnina Werbner