The Divine Names: A Mystical Theology of the Names of God in the Qurʾan
Wissam Iman Nuwayhid
American Journal of Islam and Society March 27, 2026 DOI: 10.35632/ajis.v43i1-2.3952 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Nexus standard Islamic philosophy Predestination Sufism Epistemology Philosophical theology Literature |
| Key points | Argues that al-Tilimsānī's treatise represents one of the most philosophically nuanced treatments of the divine names in the intellectual tradition of Ibn al-ʿArabī. |
Abstract
The publication of The Divine Names: A Mystical Theology of the Names ofGod in the Qurʾan marks a noteworthy addition to the growing body ofliterature on Islamic metaphysics, Qurʾanic hermeneutics, and Sufi theology.Composed by the understudied yet intellectually formidable NorthAfrican Sufi ʿAfīf alDīn alTilimsānī, this work represents one of themost philosophically nuanced treatments of the divine names (alasmāʾalḥusnā) in the intellectual tradition left by Ibn al-ʿArabī. AlTilimsānīis directly linked to Ibn al-ʿArabī through his master Muʾayyad al-Dīnal-Jandī (d. 690/1291) and his master’s master Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī(d. 673/1274), Ibn al-ʿArabī’s direct disciple/stepson. Casewit’s prefacedetails alTilimsānī’s multi-lingual cosmopolitan training and travels fromZayyanid-ruled Tlemcen to Seljuk/Mongol-ruled Konya to Mamluk-ruledCairo and Damascus. These cities, we are informed, form a pan-IslamicSunni Sufi nexus threaded across a cluster of Sunni dynasties of the time.Contextualized, edited from multiple manuscripts, translated, explicated,and intertextually grounded by Yousef Casewit, this bilingual volumebrings to light a major source that has hitherto remained inaccessible tonon-Arabic-speaking audiences.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |