Early Muslim Period
The Early Muslim Period At the beginning of the 7th century CE, a miracle happened to the Arab tribes of the desert: God chose them as the chosen people and…
Dome of the Rock Night Journey
The Night Journey Al-Isrāʾ wal-Miʿrāj (The Horizontal Journey Leading to the Vertical Journey) is a concept in Sufi Islam that refers to the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad to…
Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty
Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty Following Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, who are considered to be the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad dynasty rose…
Early Sufis and Jerusalem
Early Sufis and Jerusalem Towards the end of the 8th century CE, holy individuals began to appear throughout the Middle East, claiming to possess mystical knowledge passed down to them…
Abbasids and Jerusalem
Abbasid Dynasty and Jerusalem In the year 750 CE, the Abbasid dynasty ascended to power over the vast Muslim Empire, moving the capital from Damascus to Iraq and establishing Baghdad.…
Second Generation Sufism
Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī – Annihilation in God (Fanāʾ) Sufism during the Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad developed along two main currents: one was the sober, “calm” path of…
Fatimid Shi’ite Spirituality
Ismailism In 969, the Fatimid forces conquered Jerusalem and ruled it for over a century, until 1073—and for an additional year in 1098, just before the arrival of the Crusaders.…
Saladin – rise of Sufism
The Golden Age of Sufism Saladin conquered Jerusalem in 1187, and the city was ruled by his descendants for a short period, until 1229. Following this, we have a short…
Mamluk and Sufi Traditions
The Mamluks and the Sufi Tradition The Mamluks were a military caste from Egypt that ruled Jerusalem following the time of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn (Saladin) and the Ayyubids (late 12th century)…