Religion and Mysticism in Early Islam: Theology and Sufism in Yemen

“”Religion and Mysticism in Early Islam is unprecedented and novel and offers a great deal of original factual material about Yemeni Sufism that is not available in any Western language. The book’s broad chronological and thematic scope renders it an essential introduction to the vicissitudes of Sufism in Yemen from its inception up to the present day. In furnishing such a broad and detailed panorama of intellectual, political and religious life of his native country, Dr Aziz has laid a solid factual and textual ground for the future study of Islam and Sufism in that part of Arabia.”” — Alexander Knysh, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Michigan

“”Muhammad Aziz’s new book will be a significant contribution to the library on Sufism in Yemen. His central achievement in ‘Religion and Mysticism in Early Islam’ is to closely examine a prominent thirteenth century Yemeni Sufi named Ibn ‘Alwân, whose legacy remains vibrant in Yemen down to the present day. The core of Aziz’s study is his careful presentation of the major texts and themes in Ibn ‘Alwân’s theological thought and his mystical poetry, elements of which he also translates. Equally significant is Aziz’s depiction of Ibn ‘Alwân’s life and his role as a Muslim ‘saint’… Around this core Aziz has built a rich contextual discussion that locates Ibn ‘Alwân with respect both to the emergence and later development of Sufism in Yemen and to his personal and intellectual relations with other Sufis in Yemen and elsewhere in the Muslim world. The wider context that Aziz provides also addresses the complicated historical contours of other Islamic phenomena in Yemen, situating Ibn ‘Alwân and other Sufis in their detailed dialogues with a series of other Muslim religious trends, notably the indigenous school of Sunnis and two locally active strands of Shi’is, the Isma’ilis and the Zaydis.”” — Brinkley Messick, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University and author of The Calligraphic State: Textual Domination and History in a Muslim Society (1993)