Sufi Path of Love

William C. Chittick is Professor of Comparative Studies at State University of New York, Stony Brook. He has published numerous books, among them, Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity; Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth-Century Sufi Texts; The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination; The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi; and A Shi'ite Anthology, all published by SUNY Press.

• List of AbbreviationsIntroduction The LifeThe WorksThe TeachingsThree Dimensions of SufismThe Plan of the BookThe TranslationsPart I. THEORYA. Seeing Things As They Are1. Form and Meaning2. Existence and Nonexistence3. The Illusion of Dichotomy4. "The Science of Religions"B. Spirit, Heart, and Intellect1. The Spirit2. The Levels of the Spirit3. The Ego and the Intellect4. The Universal Intellect and the Partial Intellect5. The Heart6. InterrelationshipsC. God and the World1. The Essence, Attributes, and Acts2. Gentleness and Severity3. The Reason for Creation4. Opposites5. Good and Evil6. Heedlessness and the Existence of the WorldD. Man1. The Trust2. The Goal of Creation and the Intellect3. The Covenant of Alast4. The Descent and Reascent of the Spirit5. Adam and Iblis6. Man's Place among the Creatures7. Angel vs. Satan: Intellect vs. Ego8. The Return to God9. Congeneity10. The Touchstones11. Death and ResurrectionPart II. PRACTICEA. Doubters and Deniers1. The Blindness of the Deniers2. Fatalism and Free ChoiceB. The Prophets and Saints1. The Need for a Guide2. Imitative Knowledge and Realized Knowledge3. The Role of the Saints4. The Shaykh5. The Mirror of God6. Rejecting the Prophets and Saints7. Fales MastersC. The Discipline of the Way1. Spiritual Warfare2. Remembrance of God3. Man's Effort and God's Grace4. Men and WomenPart III. ATTAINMENT TO GODA. Naughting the Self1. Selfhood and Selflessness2. Existence and Nonexistence3. Annihilation and Subsistence4. Affirmation and Negation: The Shahadah5. Death and Rebirth6. Poverty, Sufism, and Dervishhood7. I am God"B. Love1. God As Love and Beyond Love2. The World As Created by Love3. The World As Maintained by Love4. Love and Beauty: True and Derivative5. Need and Aspiration6. The Religion of Love7. Love and the Intellect8. Bewilderment and MadnessC. Separation and Union1. Separation and Suffering2. Union and JoyD. Imagination and Thought1. Imagination and the Created Order2. Escaping Imagination3. The Image Is All4. Beyond the ImageE. Poesy and Imagery1. Creation and Speech2. The Worth of Poetry3. Understanding Poetry and Speech4. Interpretation of ImageryF. The Garden of SpringG. The Heart-Ravishing Beloved1. The Witness2. Vision of the Facea. Visionb. The Facec. The Tressesd. The Kiss3. Jealousya. Smashing Idolsb. Maintaining VeilsH. Winedrinking and Revelry1. Winea. The Cupb. The Sakic. The Ruinsd. The Drinking Companionse. The Dregs2. Intoxication and Sobriety3. Winesickness4. The Sama'5. The Revelry of the SpiritI. The Beloved's Beloved1. Love's Call2. Love's MessengerNotesAppendix: Notes on the TranslationsSelected BibliographyIndex of SourcesGeneral IndexIndex of Koranic Quotations and Prophetic Sayings

"I consider this work to be of great importance in the field of Islamics in particular and of the humanities in general. It is superbly conceived and guides the reader through the theory, practice, and mystical realization of Rumi's thinking...I can think of no better way for a Westerner, and nowadays for a Westernized Muslim, to get to know the deeper aspects of the Islamic faith than through a work such as this. As far as I am aware of, it is the first work of its kind, providing the reader with a complete exposition of Rumi's fundamental notions through Rumi's own words. No one else has done this with the thoroughness and meticulousness shown by Chittick." — Victor Danner, Indiana University