Nathan Hofer
Biographic Data
| ID | 5581344 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nathan Hofer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Hofer |
| SIGNATURE | HOFER N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Missouri |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
On the Material and Social Conditions of Khalwa in Medieval Sufism
Ubiquitous across the medieval Islamic world, khalwa is the practice of self-isolation, typically in a small cell, in order to focus on pious devotions. This article offers one possible approach to theorizing the heterogenous elements of khalwa coherently by insisting that we take the material and the social as seriously as we do the human and the spiritual
The Cambridge Companion to Sufism, written by Lloyd Ridgeon
Sufism in Fatimid Egypt and The Problem of Historiographical Inertia
Modern historians typically narrate a seamless history of Sufism in Egypt that begins with Dhū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī (d. 245/859), continues through the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, and extends up to the present day. However, that smooth narrative arc obscures a glaring lacuna in the medieval and contemporary historiography: Sufism during the 200 years of Shiʿi Fatimid rule (358–567/969–1171). In this article I address that lacuna from two directi…
The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325
A social, political and religious history of Sufism in Medieval Egypt After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organised Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centres of Cairo and Alexandr…
The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325
After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organized Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria; and even Jews took up the doctrines and practices of the Sufis. By…
The Origins and Development of the Office of the “Chief Sufi” in Egypt, 1173–1325
In 969/1173, Saladin endowed a khānqāh in Cairo for the use of foreign Sufis arriving in that city. This khānqāh , known as the Saʿīd al-Suʿadāʾ, also included a stipendiary position for a “Chief Sufi” ( shaykh al-shuyūkh ), who would direct the day-to-day operations of the khānqāh and guide the Sufis who lived there. However, virtually nothing is known about the origins and development of this elite position. In this article I reconstruct the ro…
Scriptural Substitutions and Anonymous Citations
In this article, I take the theme of other people’s scriptures in a slightly different direction by highlighting a case in which an instance of scriptural engagement is characterized by a notable absence rather than explicit presence. I examine the work of David ben Joshua Maimonides, a medieval Jewish author who engaged with and quoted from Muslim Sufi texts. However, in the process of writing David systematically removed references to the Qurʾā…
Abraham Abulafijia’s “Mystical” Reading of the Guide for the Perplexed
The Spanish kabbalist Abraham Abulafia (d. 1291) wrote three Hebrew commentaries on the Guide for the Perplexed of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204). Abulafia’s third and final commentary, Sitrey Torah (The Mysteries of the Torah), is an uncovering and extended treatment of 36 “secrets” that he believed to be hidden within the text of the Guide . In this article I investigate the specificities of Abulafia’s mystical hermeneutic as he applies it to the G…
Sufism in Fatimid Egypt and The Problem of Historiographical Inertia
Modern historians typically narrate a seamless history of Sufism in Egypt that begins with Dhū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī (d. 245/859), continues through the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, and extends up to the present day. However, that smooth narrative arc obscures a glaring lacuna in the medieval and contemporary historiography: Sufism during the 200 years of Shiʿi Fatimid rule (358–567/969–1171). In this article I address that lacuna from two directi…
Abraham Abulafijia’s “Mystical” Reading of the Guide for the Perplexed
The Spanish kabbalist Abraham Abulafia (d. 1291) wrote three Hebrew commentaries on the Guide for the Perplexed of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204). Abulafia’s third and final commentary, Sitrey Torah (The Mysteries of the Torah), is an uncovering and extended treatment of 36 “secrets” that he believed to be hidden within the text of the Guide . In this article I investigate the specificities of Abulafia’s mystical hermeneutic as he applies it to the G…
The Origins and Development of the Office of the “Chief Sufi” in Egypt, 1173–1325
In 969/1173, Saladin endowed a khānqāh in Cairo for the use of foreign Sufis arriving in that city. This khānqāh , known as the Saʿīd al-Suʿadāʾ, also included a stipendiary position for a “Chief Sufi” ( shaykh al-shuyūkh ), who would direct the day-to-day operations of the khānqāh and guide the Sufis who lived there. However, virtually nothing is known about the origins and development of this elite position. In this article I reconstruct the ro…
Scriptural Substitutions and Anonymous Citations
In this article, I take the theme of other people’s scriptures in a slightly different direction by highlighting a case in which an instance of scriptural engagement is characterized by a notable absence rather than explicit presence. I examine the work of David ben Joshua Maimonides, a medieval Jewish author who engaged with and quoted from Muslim Sufi texts. However, in the process of writing David systematically removed references to the Qurʾā…
The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325
A social, political and religious history of Sufism in Medieval Egypt After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organised Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centres of Cairo and Alexandr…
The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325
After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organized Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria; and even Jews took up the doctrines and practices of the Sufis. By…
The Cambridge Companion to Sufism, written by Lloyd Ridgeon
Sufism in Fatimid Egypt and The Problem of Historiographical Inertia
Modern historians typically narrate a seamless history of Sufism in Egypt that begins with Dhū l-Nūn al-Miṣrī (d. 245/859), continues through the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, and extends up to the present day. However, that smooth narrative arc obscures a glaring lacuna in the medieval and contemporary historiography: Sufism during the 200 years of Shiʿi Fatimid rule (358–567/969–1171). In this article I address that lacuna from two directi…
On the Material and Social Conditions of Khalwa in Medieval Sufism
Ubiquitous across the medieval Islamic world, khalwa is the practice of self-isolation, typically in a small cell, in order to focus on pious devotions. This article offers one possible approach to theorizing the heterogenous elements of khalwa coherently by insisting that we take the material and the social as seriously as we do the human and the spiritual
Islamic Studies and History (7 works) · Islam (6 works) · Sufism (6 works) · Ancient history (5 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · History (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Art (4 works) · Education and Islamic Studies (4 works) · Mamluk (4 works)