The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought

Sachiko Murata

SUNY Press, Jan 1, 1992 - Religion - 397 pages

The Tao of Islam is a rich and diverse anthology of Islamic teachings on the nature of the relationships between God and the world, the world and the human being, and the human being and God. Focusing on gender symbolism, Sachiko Murata shows that Muslim authors frequently analyze the divine reality and its connections with the cosmic and human domains with a view toward a complementarity or polarity of principles that is analogous to the Chinese idea of yin/yang.

Murata believes that the unity of Islamic thought is found, not so much in the ideas discussed, as in the types of relationships that are set up among realities. She pays particular attention to the views of various figures commonly known as "Sufis" and "philosophers," since they approach these topics with a flexibility and subtlety not found in other schools of thought. She translates several hundred pages, most for the first time, from more than thirty important Muslims including the Ikhwan al-Safa', Avicenna, and Ibn al-'Arabi.

Contents

• The Three Realities: 23
• Qualitative Correspondence: 27
• Qualitative Levels: 31
• Human AllComprehensiveness: 33
• Children of the Elements: 37
• The Myth of Adams Creation: 39
• Human Becoming: 43
• The Cosmic and Human Books: 45
• Divine Duality: 49
• Incomparability and Similarity: 51
• Complementary Names: 55
• God and His Vassal: 57
• The One and the Two: 58
• The Creation of the Many: 61
• The Differentiation of the Undifferentiated: 62
• Being and Knowledge: 66
• Majesty and Beauty: 69
• Awe and Intimacy: 74
• Social Implications of Divine Duality: 76
• The Two Hands of God: 81
• Right and Left: 82
• The Views of Koran Commentators: 84
• Fingers and Feet: 85
• The Two Hands in the Futuhat almakkiyya: 88
• The Fusus alhikam: 91
• Muayyid alDm Jandi: 92
• Abd alRazzaq Kashani: 96
• Ddwud Qaysari: 99
• Sadr alDin Qunawi: 101
• Said alDln Farghanl: 105
• Farghani on the Two Handfuls: 109
• Heaven and Earth: 117
• The Tao of Heaven and Earth: 121
• Heaven and Earth as Correlative Terms: 123
• Similitudes: 127
• Shifting Relationships: 130
• The Seven Heavens: 133
• The Four Elements: 135
• The Virtues of the Earth: 139
• Macrocosmic Marriage: 143
• Fathers and Mothers: 144
• Universal Marriage: 147
• Triplicity: 151
• The Pen and the Tablet: 153
• The Intellect and the Soul: 155
• Natural Children: 158
• Changing Relationships: 161
• The Faces of the Intellect: 164
• The Two Wings of Gabriel: 168
• Human Marriage: 171
• Mans Degree over Woman I: 173
• Mans Degree over Woman II: 177
• Mutual Love: 181
• Women Made Lovable: 183
• The Fusus alhikam: 188
• Mutual Longing: 190
• Witnessing God in Women: 191
• Marriage and Creation: 193
• Perfect Sexual Union: 195
• The Symbolism of Grammatical Gender: 196
• Spiritual Counsel: 199
• The Womb: 203
• The Mercy of Existence: 206
• Nature as Wife and Mother: 209
• Love for Parents: 212
• The Womb as Microcosm: 215
• The Womb as Nature: 218
• STATIC HIERARCHY: 225
• Names of the Unseen: 229
• Spirit: 232
• Soul: 236
• Intellect: 238
• The Spirits Kingdom: 242
• Heaven and Earth: 243
• Dynamics of the Soul: 249
• The Souls Evil: 254
• Conflicting Character Traits: 257
• The Souls Receptivity: 260
• Manliness and Chivalry: 266
• Negative Masculinity: 269
• Adam Eve and Iblis: 273
• The Souls Animals: 277
• Purifying the Soul: 283
• The Heart: 289
• Between Spirit and Soul: 292
• The Heart in the School of Ibn alArabl: 299
• The Birth of the Heart: 304
• The Hearts Birth According to Izz alDm Kashanl: 306
• The Hearts Birth According to Ibn alArabt s School: 311
• The Soul as Virgin Mother: 313
• The Perfected Heart: 314
• True Men and True Women: 316
• Postscript: 321
• Chronological List of Authors Cited: 327
• Notes on Authors Cited: 329
• Notes: 333
• Bibliography: 357
• Index of Koranic Verses: 363
• Index of Hadiths and Sayings: 379
• General Index: 385

Popular passages

Page 10 - The separateness implicit in dualistic explanations of relationships conduces to an essentialistic interpretation of the world, a world of "things" characterized by discreteness, finality, closedness, determinateness, independence, a world in which one thing is related to the "other

About the author

Sachiko Murata is Professor of Religious Studies at the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series
• Author: Sachiko Murata
• Contributors: Annemarie Schimmel, Former Professor Emerita Indo-Muslim Culture Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Annemarie Schimmel
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: SUNY Press, 1992
• ISBN: 0791409139, 9780791409138
• Length: 397 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Islam / General