About The Book
Aisha al-Ba'uniyya (c.1456-1517) was one of the greatest women mystics in Islamic history. A Sufi master and an Arab poet, her religious writings were extensive by any standard and extraordinary for her time. In medieval Islam a number of women were respected scholars and teachers, but they rarely composed works of their own. Aisha al-Ba'uniyya, however, was prolific. She composed over twenty works, and likely wrote more Arabic prose and poetry than any other Muslim woman prior to the twentieth century.
The first full-scale biography of al-Ba'uniyya in the English language, this volume provides a rare glimpse into the life and writings of a medieval Muslim woman in her own words. Homerin presents her work in the wider context of late-medieval Islamic spirituality, examining the influence of figures such as Ibn al-‘Arabi, al-Busiri and Ibn al-Farid, and emphasising the role of the person of the Prophet Muhammad in her spirituality. Aisha al-Ba'uniyya is a fascinating introduction to a figure described by a sixteenth-century biographer as ‘one of the marvels of her age'.
Contents:
Maps
Preface
1. GOD'S BLESSINGS
- Origins
- Slave Soldiers
- Mamluk Sultanate
- Secretaries and Scholars
- Education
- Damascus
- Mosques and Libraries
- Gabriel's Questions
- Obedient Servant
- Dress and Decorum
- Saints and Shrines
- Inner Sanctum
- Intercession or Idolatry
- Forgiveness and Favor
2. AISHA AL-BA'UNIYYA AND THE BELOVED PROPHET
- Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah
- That Sacred Place
- Syrian Caravan
- Damascus to Medina
- Medina to Mecca
- Before the Black Stone
- Hajj
- Dreams
- What is a Woman to Do?
- Poems of Praise
- Mantle Ode
- Blessings
- Holy Prophet
- Most Wholesome Source
- Virtuous Life
- Return to Heaven
- Precious Pearl
3. O MY LOVE AND HAPPINESS
- Marriage and Family
- Sufi Way
- Venerable Masters
- Recalling the Lord
- Noble Invocations
- Taste and See
- Hymn/Him
- Emanation of Grace
- Poetry of Recollection
- He's My Destiny
- Old Loves for New
- Ibn al-Farid
- Odes in T
- Covenant
- Wine of Love
- Moses of the Heart
- Seat of Truth
4. TREE OF MYSTICAL LIFE
- Principles of Sufism
- Repentance
- Sincerity
- Recollection
- Love
- Amazing Stories
- Wondrous Secret
- Ocean Without a Shore
5. GATHERING UNION
- New Challenges
- To Egypt
- Cairo
- Victorious
- Pomp and Princess
- Among the Elite
- Five-Fold Good Word
- Clear Inspiration
- Shadows of War
- Time of Change
- Legacy
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
About The Author
Th. Emil Homerin is Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester, where he teaches courses on Islam, classical Arabic literature and mysticism. He is the author of six books on Islamic mysticism and Arabic poetry. He lives in Pekin, Illinois.
