'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi: Islam and the Enlightenment

by Samer Akkach

Overview

In this unique look at a key figure in the ‘Islamic enlightenment’, Samer Akkach examines the life and works of ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (1641-1731). Often characterized solely as a Sufi saint, his thought and teachings were of a much wider remit, and symptomatic of a growing rationalism among Islamic scholars during his lifetime. Through a fresh reading of his large body of mostly unpublished works, Akkach argues that ‘Abd al-Ghani helped to herald the beginning of modernity in the Arab world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780742038
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	06/01/2014
Series:	Makers of the Muslim World
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Samer Akkach is Senior Lecturer in Architecture, History, and Theory, and Founding Director of the Centre for Asian and Middle Eastern Architecture (CAMEA) at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Unresolved Dilemma

Approach

PART I HIS LIFE: A VIEW FROM WITHIN

Saintly Predictions

A Family with One Saint

Calculated Performance

Spiritual Call

On the Sufi Path

Journeys

PART II HIS THOUGHT: A VIEW FROM WITHOUT

Heavenly Inspirations, Rational Insights

Faith and Reason

Enlightenment and the Primacy of Reason

Islam and the Continuity of Tradition

God in a Mechanical Universe

The Human Reality

Religion and Otherness

The Emergence of the Public



PART III HIS LEGACY: A VIEW FROM A DISTANCE

Departing Damascus

An Advocate of Truth



Biographical Sources

Selected Bibliography

Index