Dreams and Visions as Diagnosis in Medieval Sufism

Dreams and visions in Islamic societies were long dismissed as irrelevant to history or society, but recent scholarship has overturned that view. This article argues that understanding the development of Kubrawī oneirology—the theory of dreams—offers important insights into Islamic thought and society. Focusing on the first generation of Kubrawī Sufi thinkers in the sixth/twelfth and seventh/thirteenth centuries, it shows how diagnostic oneirology emerged through two steps: first, the systematization of oneiric theory in early Kubrawī thought; second, the crafting of a close relation between Sufi theory and communal and institutional bonds, enabling the Sufi community to adapt to changing socio-political circumstances.

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Abstract

Abstract In recent scholarship the notion that dreams and visions in Islamic societies are phenomena with no relevance to historic events or societal concerns has been challenged and overturned. However, the theoretical underpinnings of Sufi oneirology in the medieval period have yet to receive a full exposition. Furthermore, the relevance of such seemingly abstract texts to Sufi organisational and institutional structures has not been realised. This article argues that understanding the development of Kubrawī oneirology offers important insights into Islamic thought and society. Focusing on the first generation of Kubrawī Sufi thinkers, this article accounts for the emergence of diagnostic oneirology in the sixth/twelfth and seventh/thirteenth centuries in two steps. Firstly, by detailing the systematisation of oneiric theory which occurs in early Kubrawī thought. And secondly, by demonstrating that this systematisation crafted a close relation between Sufi theory and the communal and institutional bonds that allowed the Sufi community to adapt to changing socio-political circumstances.