al-Muḥāsibī summary

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al-Muḥāsibī, (born c. 781, Al-Baṣrah—died 857, Baghdad), Sufi theologian. He was reared in Baghdad in a prosperous family. He evolved a rationalist theology, advancing his ideas in didactic conversations with his pupils and in books written in the form of dialogues. His principal work minimized asceticism and acts of outward piety in favour of inward self-examination. Near the end of his life, he was persecuted as a heretic, but he was later seen as having anticipated the doctrines of Muslim orthodoxy.

asceticism Summary

Asceticism, (from Greek askeō: “to exercise,” or “to train”), the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Hardly any religion has been without at least traces or some features of asceticism. The origins of asceticism lie in man’s

Islam Summary

Islam, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century ce. The Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of islām) accepts surrender to the will of

theology Summary

Theology, philosophically oriented discipline of religious speculation and apologetics that is traditionally restricted, because of its origins and format, to Christianity but that may also encompass, because of its themes, other religions, including especially Islam and Judaism. The themes of

Sufism Summary

Sufism, mystical Islamic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of humanity and of God and to facilitate the experience