"A survey of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian debates and mystical discussions about Muhammad's heavenly journey that took place in early medieval Spain"--
This book demonstrates how Muhammad's heavenly journey, as discussed throughout the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the western Mediterranean, was the site both of polemical religious debates and of a rich and varied tradition of mystical commentary. Out of these fertile contexts sprang two very influential sets of ascension discourses: First, the growth of the "Perfect and Complete" version of the Islamic ascension tale that spread throughout the Muslim world; second, the complex and multidimensional mystical interpretations of Muhammad's journey by one of the most famous Sufis of all time, the "Grand Master" Muhyi al-Din Ibn Arabi (d. 1240 CE). This work surveys key sources of this Andalusi contemplative tradition and also includes a complete translation of one of its very earliest written texts, preserved in a unique fragmentary Arabic manuscript, making this important historical document accessible to scholars, students, and general audiences alike for the very first time.
A survey of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian debates and mystical discussions about Muhammads heavenly journey that took place in early medieval Spain.