Seeing God in Sufi Qur'an Commentaries: Crossings between This World and the Otherworld

by Pieter Coppens

Overview

This history of Sufi conceptions of the hereafter – often imagined as a place of corporeal reward (Paradise) or punishment (Hell) – is built upon the study of five medieval Sufi Qur’an commentaries. Pieter Coppens shows that boundary crossing from this world to the otherworld, and vice versa, revolves around the idea of meeting with and the vision of God; a vision which for some Sufis is not limited to the hereafter. The Qur’anic texts selected for study – all key verses on seeing God – are placed in their broader religious and social context and are shown to provide a useful and varied source for the reconstruction of a history of Sufi eschatology and the vision of God.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474435062
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	12/03/2019
Series:	Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Apocalypticism and Eschatology
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Pieter Coppens is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology of VU University, Amsterdam. Besides Islamic eschatology, his research focuses on the history of Qur’anic Exegesis and the history of Sufism.

Table of Contents

List of abbreviations 1. Introduction2. Sufi commentaries from the 4th/10th to the 7th/13th centuries: the rise of a genre 3. The ultimate boundary crossing: Paradise and Hell in the commentaries 4. The first boundary crossing: Adam descending 5. Excursus: embodying the vision of God in theology and Sufism 6. Arinī: declined at the boundary? 7. A vision at the utmost boundary 8. Conclusion Bibliography Manuscripts Unpublished sources Primary Sources Secondary sources

Editorial Reviews

In both conception and execution, Seeing God in Sufi Qur’an Commentaries is an exemplary work of scholarship. [...] He presents his findings in a lucid, admirably accessible, style, with ample and clear signposting; his attention to technical issues such as citation, translation, and transliteration is impeccable[.]

Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 83, No. 2 - Ahmet T. Karamustafa

[...] a well-written monograph which informs us on a body of literature that is not accessible to all.

Ilahiyat Studies, Volume 12 Number 2 - Livnat Holtzman