Michael Ebstein
Biographic Data
| ID | 1439958 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Ebstein |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Ebstein |
| SIGNATURE | EBSTEIN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Intellectualist Mysticism in al-Andalus
The aim of this essay is to shed light on the possible background against which Ba@hya Ibn Paqūda wrote his famous Book of Guidance to the Commandments of the Hearts (Kitāb al-hidāya ilā farā'i@d al-qulūb; Heb.: Sefer torat @hovot ha-levavot), by highlighting the similarities between this work and the much less-known Al-gharīb al-muntaqā min kalām ahl al-tuqā (Selected extraordinary sayings of the God-fearing ones), by Abū 'Abd Allāh Mu@hammad Ib…
God-Perfecting Man
The following article aims at highlighting the theurgical tendencies in the teachings of the great Andalusī Muslim mystic Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (560/1165-638/1240). By "theurgy" is meant the influence of man on Divinity in its manifest external dimension, that is to say, the dimension of God that creates beings and is involved with their lives and fortunes, as opposed to His hidden essence. The category "theurgy/theurgical" is adopted from th…
Intellectualism and Anti-Intellectualism in al-Andalus
Sufism and the Perfect Human
Reviewed by: Sufism and the Perfect Human: From Ibn ʿArabī to al-Jīlī by Fitzroy Morrissey Michael Ebstein (bio) Sufism and the Perfect Human: From Ibn ʿArabī to al-Jīlī Fitzroy Morrissey Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 2020. 170 Pages. This well-written book is a most important and welcome contribution to the history of ideas in Islam, and it will be of interest not only to those who study Islamic mysticism, but also to scholars of political thou…
Organs of God
This article focuses on ḥadīth al-nawāfil ("the tradition concerning supererogatory works"), which is one of the most quoted traditions in Islamic mystical literature. The tradition describes how the believer may draw close to God and gain His love by performing supererogatory works, to such an extent that her organs become divine. The article discusses the significance of the nawāfil tradition in various mystical writings composed in the formati…
Mystics of al-Andalus
The Mystics of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century. By Yousef Casewit. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Pp. xvi + 353. $100, £95
The Human Intellect
The article discusses various attitudes towards the human intellect ( ʿaql ) in classical Islamic mysticism, as reflected in key mystical writings composed from the third/ninth century to the rise of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the sixth/twelfth. It begins by presenting the basic challenge that the concept of ʿaql posed for the mystics of Islam and then proceeds to analyze diverse approaches to the intellect in works that were written in both the east ( mas…
Classifications of Knowledge in Classical Islamic Mysticism
The following article aims at analyzing various classifications of knowledge that are found in the literature of classical Islamic mysticism. The discussion focuses on two main corpora: Sufi writings, composed in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic world, and works by the Andalusī mystics or theosophists Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931), Ibn Barraǧān (d. 536/1141), Ibn Qasī (d. 546/1151), and Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). The article …
Was Ibn Qasī a Ṣūfī
A Drama in Heaven
Ḏū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī and Early Islamic Mysticism
The article analyzes some of the main teachings that are attributed to Ḏū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī (died ca 245/859-860), a prominent figure in the formative period of the Sufi tradition. These teachings are reflected in the many sayings that are ascribed to Ḏū l-Nūn in Sufi literature, in non-Sufi biographical dictionaries, and in several other medieval Islamic sources, all dating from the 4th/10th century onwards. The article demonstrates the historical …
Ausente pero siempre presente
Este artículo analiza el ḥadīṯ que se encuentra tanto en las fuentes šī‛íes como sunníes que retrata al creyente ideal como un hombre escondido que elige practicar su religión apartado de los ojos de los otros. Según el autor, esta tradición tiene su origen en las luchas político-religiosas (fintas) del siglo II/VIII, que propiciaron una actitud piadosa de retiro de la sociedad y no participación en tiempos de lucha civil. En las versiones šī‛íes…
Los jefes de la Šurta de Basora durante el período omeya
El artículo describe algunas de las funciones y características de la šurta durante la época omeya, por medio de un análisis de los hombres que sirvieron como jefes de la misma en Basora durante este período. La šurta, tal y como se explica en el artículo, era una institución importante que ayudaba al régimen omeya y sus gobernadores regionales en Iraq y Basora, en su tarea de consolidar el sistema gubernamental omeya. La šurta ofrecía protección…
Classifications of Knowledge in Classical Islamic Mysticism
The following article aims at analyzing various classifications of knowledge that are found in the literature of classical Islamic mysticism. The discussion focuses on two main corpora: Sufi writings, composed in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic world, and works by the Andalusī mystics or theosophists Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931), Ibn Barraǧān (d. 536/1141), Ibn Qasī (d. 546/1151), and Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). The article …
Was Ibn Qasī a Ṣūfī
Organs of God
This article focuses on ḥadīth al-nawāfil ("the tradition concerning supererogatory works"), which is one of the most quoted traditions in Islamic mystical literature. The tradition describes how the believer may draw close to God and gain His love by performing supererogatory works, to such an extent that her organs become divine. The article discusses the significance of the nawāfil tradition in various mystical writings composed in the formati…
A Drama in Heaven
Los jefes de la Šurta de Basora durante el período omeya
El artículo describe algunas de las funciones y características de la šurta durante la época omeya, por medio de un análisis de los hombres que sirvieron como jefes de la misma en Basora durante este período. La šurta, tal y como se explica en el artículo, era una institución importante que ayudaba al régimen omeya y sus gobernadores regionales en Iraq y Basora, en su tarea de consolidar el sistema gubernamental omeya. La šurta ofrecía protección…
Ausente pero siempre presente
Este artículo analiza el ḥadīṯ que se encuentra tanto en las fuentes šī‛íes como sunníes que retrata al creyente ideal como un hombre escondido que elige practicar su religión apartado de los ojos de los otros. Según el autor, esta tradición tiene su origen en las luchas político-religiosas (fintas) del siglo II/VIII, que propiciaron una actitud piadosa de retiro de la sociedad y no participación en tiempos de lucha civil. En las versiones šī‛íes…
Ḏū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī and Early Islamic Mysticism
The article analyzes some of the main teachings that are attributed to Ḏū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī (died ca 245/859-860), a prominent figure in the formative period of the Sufi tradition. These teachings are reflected in the many sayings that are ascribed to Ḏū l-Nūn in Sufi literature, in non-Sufi biographical dictionaries, and in several other medieval Islamic sources, all dating from the 4th/10th century onwards. The article demonstrates the historical …
Was Ibn Qasī a Ṣūfī
A Drama in Heaven
The Human Intellect
The article discusses various attitudes towards the human intellect ( ʿaql ) in classical Islamic mysticism, as reflected in key mystical writings composed from the third/ninth century to the rise of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the sixth/twelfth. It begins by presenting the basic challenge that the concept of ʿaql posed for the mystics of Islam and then proceeds to analyze diverse approaches to the intellect in works that were written in both the east ( mas…
Classifications of Knowledge in Classical Islamic Mysticism
The following article aims at analyzing various classifications of knowledge that are found in the literature of classical Islamic mysticism. The discussion focuses on two main corpora: Sufi writings, composed in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic world, and works by the Andalusī mystics or theosophists Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931), Ibn Barraǧān (d. 536/1141), Ibn Qasī (d. 546/1151), and Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). The article …
Organs of God
This article focuses on ḥadīth al-nawāfil ("the tradition concerning supererogatory works"), which is one of the most quoted traditions in Islamic mystical literature. The tradition describes how the believer may draw close to God and gain His love by performing supererogatory works, to such an extent that her organs become divine. The article discusses the significance of the nawāfil tradition in various mystical writings composed in the formati…
Mystics of al-Andalus
The Mystics of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century. By Yousef Casewit. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Pp. xvi + 353. $100, £95
Sufism and the Perfect Human
Reviewed by: Sufism and the Perfect Human: From Ibn ʿArabī to al-Jīlī by Fitzroy Morrissey Michael Ebstein (bio) Sufism and the Perfect Human: From Ibn ʿArabī to al-Jīlī Fitzroy Morrissey Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 2020. 170 Pages. This well-written book is a most important and welcome contribution to the history of ideas in Islam, and it will be of interest not only to those who study Islamic mysticism, but also to scholars of political thou…
Intellectualism and Anti-Intellectualism in al-Andalus
Intellectualist Mysticism in al-Andalus
The aim of this essay is to shed light on the possible background against which Ba@hya Ibn Paqūda wrote his famous Book of Guidance to the Commandments of the Hearts (Kitāb al-hidāya ilā farā'i@d al-qulūb; Heb.: Sefer torat @hovot ha-levavot), by highlighting the similarities between this work and the much less-known Al-gharīb al-muntaqā min kalām ahl al-tuqā (Selected extraordinary sayings of the God-fearing ones), by Abū 'Abd Allāh Mu@hammad Ib…
God-Perfecting Man
The following article aims at highlighting the theurgical tendencies in the teachings of the great Andalusī Muslim mystic Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (560/1165-638/1240). By "theurgy" is meant the influence of man on Divinity in its manifest external dimension, that is to say, the dimension of God that creates beings and is involved with their lives and fortunes, as opposed to His hidden essence. The category "theurgy/theurgical" is adopted from th…
Islamic Studies and History (12 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Theology (11 works) · Mysticism (10 works) · Medieval and Classical Philosophy (9 works) · Islam (8 works) · Historical and Linguistic Studies (7 works) · Art (6 works) · History (6 works) · Literature (6 works)