I lære som Allahs ven: Selvets renselse på et islamisk universitet i Yemen

Authors

  • Kasper Mathiesen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/tifo.v7i2.25318

Keywords:

sufisme, Yemen, Dar al-Mustafa, islamisk uddannelse

Abstract

Islamic education and existential learning is directed at purifying the self (nafs) and the cultivation of certitude (yaqîn). A central aspiration in the learning process is to become an intimate friend of Allah (a walî), who embodies the prophetic presence (istihdâr al-nûr almuhammadiyya) and who by that presence directs other people to Islam. This article uncovers life and learning in a leading Islamic institution of learning and analyzes the processes of selftransformation and education that constitute the foundation for the rise of a walî. It is based on my work on the Bâ´Alawî tradition, one of the most influential Islamic traditions of learning and self-cultivation in the present age, since 2006 and in particular on my visit to the Islamic university Dar al-Mustafa in Yemen during the summer and the fall of 2011. The paradoxical tension between Sufism’s ideal of ascetic seclusion on one hand, and the extremely hectic and much courted social lifestyle of leading Sufis on the other, is discussed. It is suggested that the cultivation of a prophetic will to direct others to Islam is the key to understanding this tension.

Author Biography

Kasper Mathiesen

Kasper Mathiesen er ph.d.-stipendiat ved Aarhus Universitet og er med sin forskning i Bâ´Alawî traditionen en del af forskningsprojektet SATS (Sufism And Transnational Spirituality). Seneste udgivelser indbefatter artiklen ’Anglo-American ‘Traditional Islam’ and Its Discourse of Orthodoxy’ (Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 13 (2013): 191-219) om forholdet mellem salafisme og traditionel islam og om traditionel islams metastruktur, og artiklen ’Selvets teknologier, e-læring og neo-traditionel islamisk selvudvikling’ (Tidsskrift30 for Islamforskning – Muslimer i transnationalitet, nr. 1 – 2012), der bl.a. omfatter transmissionen af islam via internettet og islam i vesten.

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Published

2017-02-05

How to Cite

Mathiesen, K. (2017). I lære som Allahs ven: Selvets renselse på et islamisk universitet i Yemen. Scandinavian Journal of Islamic Studies, 7(2), 39–80. https://doi.org/10.7146/tifo.v7i2.25318

Issue

Section

Articles: Thematic section