Sufism, mystics, and saints in modern Egypt
By: Valerie J. Hoffman.
Series: Studies in comparative religion; Studies in comparative religion (Columbia, S.C.)
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Columbia, S.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 461
Subjects: Sufism -- Egypt.
Description: For centuries Sufism - Islamic mysticism - held a major place in Islamic spirituality, intellectual life, and popular religion. While many twentieth-century observers have commented on Sufism's decline, and modernists and fundamentalists alike have criticized the movement, few scholars have analyzed present-day Egyptian Sufism as a system in its own right rather than as a degradation of the classical ideal.

Drawing on detailed fieldwork and on textual analysis of a variety of little-known recent and medieval sources, Valerie J. Hoffman presents Sufism as it exists in Egypt today, in the vivid experiences of its adherents, from humble housewives to famous mystics and saints. With an array of conclusions that overturn widely held beliefs about modern Sufis, Hoffman argues that the apparent assimilation of Egyptian Sufism masks a thriving movement hidden from the Western world.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 433-439) and index.
Table of contents: title: Sufism in an age of change; title: Among the Sufis: experiences, methods, and approach; title: The prophet Muhammad and his family in Egyptian Sufism; title: The saints: bearers of the prophetic light; title: The Sufi orders; title: Foundations of the Sufi path; title: Mystical concepts and practices in Egyptian Sufism; title: Women and sexuality in Sufi life and thought; title: Models of sainthood; title: The life and influence of Shaykh Muhammad Authman Al-burhani; title: Coptic Christianity and popular Islam in Egypt, elements of a common spirituality; title: Conclusion: Sufism in modern Egypt.