The Cambridge companion to Sufism / edited by Lloyd Ridgeon, University of Glasgow.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Origins and early Sufism / Christopher Melchert -- 2. Early Pious, Mystic Sufi Women / Laury Silvers -- 3. Early Sufi Rituals, Beliefs, and Hermeneutics / Erik S. Ohlander -- 4. Morality in Early Sufi Literature / Saeko Yazaki -- 5. Antinomian Sufis / Ahmet T. Karamustafa -- 6. Mysticism in Medieval Sufism / Lloyd Ridgeon -- 7. Sufism's Religion of Love, from Rābi'a to Ibn 'Arabī / Leonard Lewisohn -- 8. Nana Asma'u: Nineteenth-Century West African Sufi / Beverly Mack -- 9. Sufism and Colonialism / Knut S. Vikør -- 10. Sufism in the West / Ron Geaves -- 11. Sufism in the Age of Globalization / Itzchak Weismann -- 12. Transnationalism and Regional Cults / Pnina Werbner.

Sufism, the mystical or aesthetic doctrine in Islam, has occupied a very specific place in the Islamic tradition, with its own history, literature and devotional practices. Its development began in the seventh century, almost immediately after the early conquests, and spread throughout the Islamic world. The Cambridge Companion to Sufism traces its evolution from the formative period to the present, addressing specific themes along the way within the context of the times. In section discussing the early period, the devotional practices of the earliest Sufis are considered. The section on the medieval period, when Sufism was at its height, examines Sufi doctrines, different forms of mysticism and the antinomian expressions of Sufism. The section on the modern period explains the controversies that surrounded Sufism, the changes that took place in the colonial period and how Sufism transformed into a transnational movement in the twentieth century. This inimitable volume sheds light on a multifaceted and alternative aspect of Islamic history and religion. -- Provided by publisher.