Islamic mysticism

the long version

"In Islamic Mysticism, Rawandi examines the traditional Muslim story of the origin of Islam in detail, taking full account of the work of contemporary Western scholars, revealing the unreliable nature of Muslim sources, and undermining the conventional picture of the life of Muhammad and the origin of the Koran. The collapse of these classical accounts takes with it the conventional story of the origin of Sufism.". "Rawandi's detailed study of the philosophy of religion - especially the work of traditionalists such as Rene Guenon and Frithjof Schuon - helps him to develop a critical analysis of Islam from the inside out. Particular attention is given to the great Islamic mystic Ibn Arabi, a representative of Sufism in its highest development. Also included is an examination of a little-known controversy in the Islamic world surrounding the occurrence of the number nineteen in the Koran, shedding new light on that document.". "In tandem chapters in each of the book's four parts, Rawandi presents first the traditional Islamic interpretation, drawn from original sources and sympathetic contemporary interpreters; next he presents a critical view of the same material from a secular perspective. In the end, Rawandi's critical examination of Sufism leads to the conclusion that mystical experience is not a trustworthy validation of religion."--BOOK JACKET.