The Mystics of al-Andalits: Ibn Barrajan and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century.

• Author: Ebstein, Michael
• Position: Book review

The Mystics of al-Andalits: Ibn Barrajan and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century. By YOUSEF CASEWIT. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 2017. Pp. xvi + 353. $100, [pounds sterling]95.

This long-awaited book is a most significant and welcome contribution to the study of medieval Islamic mysticism, particularly as it developed in al-Andalus. It will likewise be of interest to specialists in the field of Quranic Studies as well as to historians of Muslim Spain.

Abu 1-Hakam 'Abd al-Salam Ibn Barrajan of Seville (born ca. 450/1058, d. 536/1141) was a renowned mystic and eminent religious scholar in al-Andalus who mastered diverse disciplines, ranging from Quranic exegesis and variant readings (qira'at) to Arabic grammar and poetry. He was a revered teacher who attracted many students; his writings played an important role in the development of Islamic mystical thought, Quran exegesis, and the science of hadith. Previous studies on Ibn Barrajan have typically presented a very partial picture at best of his life and thought, and often produced a distorted account of his place in the history of Islamic mysticism. This unfortunate fact stems from an over-reliance on biographical dictionaries and an incomplete reading of Ibn Barrajan's writings, which have remained until recent years in manuscript (pp. 1, 8-9). Misconceptions regarding the nature of Andalusi mysticism and its relation to Eastern Sufism have also hindered scholars from properly understanding and accurately contextualizing Ibn Barrajan's teachings. Yousef Casewit's book successfully corrects this situation: it is the first comprehensive study of Ibn Barrajan's life and thought, based on a close reading of all his works (in manuscript and print alike) and on an impressive array of other primary and secondary sources.

The book is voluminous, comprising eight chapters, not including the introduction and conclusion. These chapters can be neatly divided into two: the first four deal with Ibn Barrajan's life and works and their historical background, while the remaining four provide in-depth analyses of his teachings. More specifically, pp. 14-21 in the introduction and chapters one and two discuss the political, social, cultural, and religious history of al-Andalus that is relevant for understanding Ibn Barrajan's biography and intellectual-spiritual project. This discussion includes a wide range of topics, such as, inter alia, the "rise and demise" of the Almoravid regime, the history of renunciants and mystics in Muslim Spain, and their relations with rulers and state-sponsored scholars or jurists, which more often than not were quite tense. Much attention is naturally given to Ibn Barrajan's predecessor Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931) and to Ibn Barrajan's contemporaries Ibn al-Arif (d. 536/1141) and Ibn Qasi (d. 546/1151)--all of whom were Andalusi mystics--as well as to the influence of the renowned al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) on their teachings and on the Andalusi intellectual scene in general. Chapter two ends with two additional discussions: one on the applicability of the label "Sufi" to the aforementioned Andalusi mystics, and the other on the development of "institutional Sufism" in the Maghrib, beginning with...