Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Transliteration of Persian and Arabic

Introduction

Part I. Ecstatic Expression in Sufism
A. The Literature and Theory of Ecstatic Expressions
1. Classical Sufism up to Ruzbihan
2. Later Developments
B. Topics and Forms of Expression
1. Selfhood
2. Transcendence of the Created
3. Knowledge and Unknowing
4. Madness, Audacity, and Boasting
5. Testimony
C. Conclusions

Part II. Ecstatic Expressions on Faith and Infidelity
A. Faith and Infidelity in Early Islam, and the Sufi Concept of Faith
B. Hallaj
C. `Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani
D. Ruzbihan Baqli

Part III. The Spirit and the Letter
A. Three Sufi Trials
1. Nuri
2. Hallaj
3. `Ayn al-Qudat
B. Sufism, the Law, and the Question of Heresy
1. Libertinism and Incarnationism in Heresiography
2. Ecstatic Expressions and the Law
3. Sufi Responses: Martyrdom, Crime, Persecution
Conclusion: Comparisons and Interpretations

Notes
Appendix: Ruzbihan's Account of Bayazid's Vision
Selected Bibliography
Indexes

About the Author

Carl W. Ernst is Assistant Professor of Religion at Pomona College.

Reviews

"An excellent survey of ecstatic sayings in Islamic mysticism." — James E. Royster, Cleveland State University, in The Muslim World

"A serious and thoughtful study of one of the most fascinating dimensions of Sufi literature and mystical thought." — William Chittick, State University of New York at Stony Brook, in Middle East Studies Association Bulletin

"A volume rooted in sound, careful scholarship which deserves a place not only on the bookshelf of every student of Sufism, but on the shelves of scholars of world religions generally." — Ian Netton, University of Essex, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

"A significant contribution to the study of Islam and mysticism." — Th. Emil Homerin, Rochester University, in The Journal of Religion