Where the two seas meet : the Qur'ānic story of al-Khiḍr and Moses in Sufi commentaries as a model of spiritual guidance

by Hugh Talat Halman

Paperback, 2013

Publication

Imprint: Louisville, KY : Fons Vitae, 2013. Responsibility: Hugh Talat Halman. OCLC Number: 851347216. Physical: Text : 1 volume : xv, 319 pages ; 23 cm. Features: Includes bibliography, index.

Call number

Commentary / Halma

Barcode

BK-08282

ISBN

9781891785900

Collections

Your library, Adult Materials, Religious Studies

CSS Library Notes

Description: Sufi teachers often refer to al-Khidr, the immortal Green Man, the guide of Moses in the Qur’an (18:60-82), to whom Sufi saints or spiritual masters are connected, to validate spiritual authority, teaching or practice. Here, three medieval Sufi Qur’an commentators — al-Qushayri, Ruzbihan Baqli, and al-Qashani — explain this story in their Qur’an commentaries to describe the master-disciple relationship and aspects of the Sufi path. -- from publisher

Table of Contents: The Qur'anic narrative of Moses and al-Khidr
Introduction: Al-Khidr--mediator, interpreter, and mentor
Interpreting the master-disciple relationship : Al-Khidr the mentor of Moses
Al-Khidr in the Qur'an, Hadith and sufi Tafsirs
Three medieval sufi Tafsirs on the story of al-Khidr and Moses
Intertetuality among sufi Tafsirs : companionship, training, and knowledge
Al-Khidr in the lives of Sufi Saints : mirror and model of the master in sufi hagiography and iterature
Alexander's quest for the water of eternal life : Al-Khidr, Alexander the Great, and Saint George in Muslim tradition
Adab and suhba--God is found through I-and-Thou
For the journey one needs a companion

FY2020 /

Physical description

xv, 319 p.; 23 cm

Description

Examining how three medieval Sufi Qur’an commentators explained the story of Moses’ journey with al-Khidr, this volume conveys various teachings about the path of Sufism and the nature of spiritual authority. These commentaries, translated for the first time, discuss essential themes of Sufism as written by practicing Sufi masters. As the text reflects on both the social and psychological dimensions of the master–disciple relationship in Sufism and distinguish between the instructing master (shaykh al-ta’lim) and the mentoring master (shaykh al-suhba), a comparison is also made between the Sufi interpretation of death, immortality, compassion, and inner knowledge and Ernest Becker’s theory of the denial of death and the aspiration for both physical and symbolic immortality.… (more)