Description
In this unique look at a key figure in the ?Islamic enlightenment?, Samer Akkach examines the life and works of ?Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (1641-1731). Often characterized solely as a Sufi saint, his thought and teachings were of a much wider remit, and symptomatic of a growing rationalism among Islamic scholars during his lifetime. Through a fresh reading of his large body of mostly unpublished works, Akkach argues that ?Abd al-Ghani helped to herald the beginning of modernity in the Arab world.Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION Unresolved Dilemma Approach PART I HIS LIFE: A VIEW FROM WITHIN Saintly Predictions A Family with One Saint Calculated Performance Spiritual Call On the Sufi Path Journeys PART II HIS THOUGHT: A VIEW FROM WITHOUT Heavenly Inspirations, Rational Insights Faith and Reason Enlightenment and the Primacy of Reason Islam and the Continuity of Tradition God in a Mechanical Universe The Human Reality Religion and Otherness The Emergence of the Public PART III HIS LEGACY: A VIEW FROM A DISTANCE Departing Damascus An Advocate of Truth Biographical Sources Selected Bibliography Index
