Sachiko Murata 
The Tao of Islam [PDF ebook] 
A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought

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.

Cuprins

Foreword




by Annemarie Schimmel




A Note on Dates and Citations from the Koran




Introduction




The Intellectual Tradition in Islam




The Feminist Critique of Islam




The Background of the Present Book




Chinese and Islamic Thought




Theological Polarity




Signs of God




Cosmic Correspondences




Human Equilibrium




The Plan of the Book




Part 1




1

The Three Realities



Signs in the Horizons and the Souls



Qualitative Correspondence



Qualitative Levels



Human All-Comprehensiveness



Children of the Elements



The Myth of Adam’s Creation



Human Becoming



The Cosmic and Human Books




Part 2: Theology




2

Divine Duality



God and the Essence



Incomparability and Similarity



Complementary Names



God and His Vassal



The One and the Two



The Creation of the Many



The Differentiation of the Undifferentiated



Being and Knowledge



Majesty and Beauty



Awe and Intimacy



Social Implications of Divine Duality




3

The Two Hands of God



Right and Left



The Views of Koran Commentators



Fingers and Feet



The Two Hands in the Futuhat al-makkiyya



The Fusus al-hikam



Mu’ayyid al-Din Jandi



‘Abd al-Razzaq Kashani



Dawud Qaysari



Sadr al-Din Qunawi



Sa’id al-Din Farghani



Farghani on the Two Handfuls




Part 3: Cosmology




4

Heaven and Earth



The Creation of the Cosmos



The Tao of Heaven and Earth



Heaven and Earth as Correlative Terms



Similitudes



Shifting Relationships



The Seven Heavens



The Four Elements



The Virtues of the Earth




5

Macrocosmic Marriage



Fathers and Mothers



Universal Marriage



Triplicity



The Pen and the Tablet



The Intellect and the Soul



Natural Children



Changing Relationships



The Faces of the Intellect



The Two Wings of Gabriel




6

Human Marriage



Marriage in Society



Man’s Degree over Woman (I)



Man’s Degree over Woman (II)



Mutual Love



Women Made Lovable



The Fusus al-hikam



Mutual Longing



Witnessing God in Women



Marriage and Creation



Perfect Sexual Union



The Symbolism of Grammatical Gender



Spiritual Counsel




7

The Womb



Universal Worship



The Mercy of Existence



Nature as Wife and Mother



Love for Parents



The Womb as Microcosm



The Womb as Nature




Part 4: Spiritual Psychology




8

Static Hierarchy



Principles of Ta’wil



Names of the Unseen



Signs of the Microcosm



Spirit



Soul



Intellect



The Spirit’s Kingdom



Heaven and Earth




9

Dynamics of the Soul



Struggle on the Path to God



The Soul’s Evil



Conflicting Character Traits



The Soul’s Receptivity



Manliness and Chivalry



Negative Masculinity



Adam, Eve, and Iblis



The Soul’s Animals



Purifying the Soul




10

The Heart



In the Koran and the Hadith



Between Spirit and Soul



The Heart in the School of Ibn al-‘Arabi



The Birth of the Heart



The Heart’s Birth According to ‘Izz al-Din Kashani



The Heart’s Birth According to Ibn al-‘Arabi’s School



The Soul as Virgin Mother



The Perfected Heart



True Men and True Women




Postscript




Appendix I

Chronological List of Authors Cited




Appendix II

Notes on Authors Cited




Notes




Bibliography




Index of Koranic Verses




Index of Hadiths and Sayings




General Index

Despre autor

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