Organs of God
Journal of the American Oriental Society August 17, 2018 DOI: 10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.2.0271 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Argues that hadith al-nawafil is a central and widely quoted tradition in Islamic mystical literature, and that understanding its interpretations in Sunni mysticism, especially in the writings of Ibn al-'Arabi, benefits from attention to certain Shii conceptions. |
Abstract
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 formative and classical periods of Islamic mysticism (third–seventh/ninth–thirteenth centuries), with special attention given to the writings of the influential mystic Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240). The article likewise attempts to demonstrate the relevance of certain Shii conceptions to the understanding of ḥadīth al-nawāfil and its interpretations in Sunni mysticism.