Mysticism and Ethics in Islam ed. by Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom (review)

This volume of twenty-five essays surveys the historical and conceptual intersections between mysticism and ethics in Islam across four periods: early, classical, late premodern, and modern. The editors argue that ethics and ihsan (doing what is beautiful) are closely linked, as seen in the Hadith of Gabriel, and that early Sufis prioritized ethical transformation and virtue acquisition—such as sabr (forbearance, patience)—over mystical states or supernatural powers. Essays explore themes like love and annihilation in ʿAyn al-Qudat, riyada in Fakhr al-Din Razi, and the role of spiritual combat (mujahada) in the mystical life. The collection includes authors writing in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Russian, and Chinese, moving beyond Greek philosophical influences.

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Reviewed by: Mysticism and Ethics in Islam ed. by Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom Armando Montoya Jordán (bio) Mysticism and Ethics in Islam Eds. Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom Beirut: American University of Beirut Press, 2022. 476 Pages. Is the science of ethics entirely separate from mysticism, or might mysticism be the foundation of ethics? Or, conversely, might mysticism be the fruit of a higher ethics? These and other such questions come to the fore in a variety of ways in this important volume, a commendable attempt to produce a historical and conceptual survey of the intersections between mysticism and ethics in Islam. The book addresses the parameters of ethics within the Muslim tradition through the analyses of a variety of authors who wrote in languages as diverse as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Russian, and Chinese. Many of them, we learn, were not necessarily bound to the postulates of Greek philosophy, even though the latter did exert a tremendous influence on the development of ethics in Islam by defining some of the key problems in the discipline. The twenty-five essays included in this relatively exhaustive volume fall into sections neatly divided into four historical periods: "early," "classical," "late premodern," and "modern." Since constraints of space prevent this reviewer from critically examining each of the contributions, only a few shall be singled out for some cursory observations. The editorial introduction sets the stage for the book by laying out the close relation between ethics and ihsan ("doing what is beautiful" or "excellence") as found in the famous Hadith of Gabriel, before turning to a short summary of early Sufism and the central place that the states and stations occupied in the mystical consciousness of early Islam. The ahwal and maqamat, as they were respectively known in Arabic, came to provide the building blocks for [End Page 95] the systematization of ethics in the later tradition. To quote from the editors' introduction: While their order, number, and precise features varied from one master to another, their acquisition entailed not only a divestment of their corresponding vices, but also a general process of self-transcendence where one peeled away baser qualities of the self, stripping away the thick layers of the ego in order to encounter the divine presence that resides in the heart (p. 13). This theme is further developed in Atif Khalil's essay on sabr ("forbearance," "steadfastness," "patience," and "self-restraint"), which opens with some observations about the significant place that tabdil al-akhlaq or the "refinement of character" held in Sufism. The early figures appeared to have been far more interested in ethical transformation and the acquisition of the virtues than in reaching higher states of mystical consciousness or obtaining miraculous, supernatural powers. Their primary goal was to obtain proximity with God and ethical considerations that played an invaluable role in this quest. Among the most important of the akhlaq or character traits they sought to internalize was sabr, a quality about which the Prophet Muhammad said, "it is a treasury from among the treasuries of Paradise." Sabr was so closely tied to the notion of mujahada or "spiritual combat" that it animated and made possible the mystical life itself, implying first and foremost control of the will. Mohammed Rustom's essay focusses on ʿAyn al-Qudat's teachings on love and annihilation, offering a careful presentation of how love represents the culmination of the spiritual life in Islam. ʿAyn al-Qudat argues that love reveals the beauty of the Beloved to the lover, gently displaying the Beloved's myriad forms to his ravished heart. From another perspective, this great Persian sage sees love as a divine fire that burns away at the substance of the lover's selfhood until nothing remains but the fire of love itself. Nora Jacobsen Ben Hammed explores the notion of riyada in the thought of Fakhr al-Din Razi in a thoughtful and well-researched contribution that helps us move beyond the often-over-simplified dichotomy of theology and mysticism, or philosophy and mysticism. Even though the representatives of these sub-traditions conceived of tahqiq or "realization" differently, there were key moments of intersection. Ahmed El Shamsy...