Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Walter Stace, and Extrovertive Mysticism
Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.2979/jims.00064 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Nursi's Qur'ānic-based view of mysticism innovatively combines introvertive and extrovertive components, counterbalancing divine transcendence with immanence, and that a balanced scholarly approach to mystical experience is important. |
Abstract
Abstract: The vast majority of modern Western scholars agree that, despite differences across cultures and religious traditions, "mystical experience" can be described in light of two important categories, namely "extrovertive" and "introvertive" mystical experiences. The former emphasizes the sense of ineffability and transcendence, and the latter accentuates the role of immanent sensory elements. While the pioneering Western philosopher of mysticism Walter T. Stace (d. 1967) deemed introvertive mystical experience to be ontologically and epistemologically superior, his contemporary, the late Ottoman/Turkish Islamic intellectual and spiritual leader Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (d. 1960), based on his "trans-empirical" ( shuhūdī ) reading of the Qur'ān, proposed a different view of mysticism that innovatively combines both introvertive and extrovertive components. For him, the Qur'ānic philosophy of God's "superb names and attributes" ( al-asmā' w'al ṣifāt al-ḥusnā ), coupled with the stress on human existential indigence ( 'ajz-i faqr ) vis-à-vis the divine ground of all being, is an effective hermeneutical toolkit to counterbalance the utter transcendence of the divine essence with the immanence of its innumerable manifestations in the sensory world. The article compares the ideas of these two influential thinkers and argues for the importance of a balanced scholarly approach to the phenomenon of mystical experience.