Deciphering the Signs of God: Phenomenological Approach to Islam - Hardcover

Schimmel, Annemarie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074860460X ISBN 13: 9780748604609

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 1994

Synopsis

The Qur'an constantly exhorts people to "look at the signs of god", signs that are hidden "in the horizons and in themselves". In this book, Professor Schimmel attempts to understand the mysteries of Islam using a phenomenological method, developed by Friedrich Heiler to draw closer to the true centre of Islamic belief. Beginning with the simplest "signs of god", such as stones, plants and animals (and their survival in the religious and symbolic language), she moves on to less obvious signs, such as sacred time and space, ritual actions, forms of worship, the sacred individual, the order of the community, and finally to the human being's response to the mystery of the Divine. Based on sources in the original languages (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu and Sindhi) and the author's personal experience, this book is a survey of Islamic customs and beliefs, as well as an attempt to show the place of the Islamic religion in the religious universe.

About this title

Review

This is one of Schimmel s most important books. It sums up a lifetime of scholarship on Islam and, more importantly, it puts her understanding of Islam into a phenomenological framework that will readily be appreciated by scholars and students of other religious traditions. It will be looked back upon as a landmark in bringing Islamic Studies into the mainstream of religious studies. William C. Chittick"

"This is one of Schimmel's most important books. It sums up a lifetime of scholarship on Islam and, more importantly, it puts her understanding of Islam into a phenomenological framework that will readily be appreciated by scholars and students of other religious traditions. It will be looked back upon as a landmark in bringing Islamic Studies into the mainstream of religious studies."-- William C. Chittick

About the Author

Annemarie Schimmel was for many years Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture at Harvard University. She is author of numerous works, including Islam: An Introduction; and The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, both published by SUNY Press; and the editor of the SUNY Press series, Muslim Spirituality in South Asia. Among the more unusual honors that have been awarded to her are the naming of a boulevard in Lahore, Pakistan, after her and the Levi Della Vida Medal for outstanding contributions to Islamic studies presented by the University of California.

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 074860460X
• ISBN 13: 9780748604609
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296