Margaret Smith (author)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Smith was a scholar writing on early Christian and Muslim mysticism
, presenting a view from an open-minded Christian perspective. Smith was the first westerner to chronicle the lives of the Sufi mystic Rábi'a
of Basra, and compiled brief histories of other Sufi teachers and their doctrines, translating Arabic and Persian texts into English.
Smith counted among her mentors Thomas Walker Arnold
, Alfred Guillaume
, R. A. Nicholson, and Louis Massignon
.
, by the Philo Press in arrangement with The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, presenting a view from an open-minded Christian perspective. Smith was the first westerner to chronicle the lives of the Sufi mystic Rábi'a
Rabia
Rabia may refer to* The Rabi`ah, an Arab tribe* An Arabic female name meaning "Springtime"* An Arabic female name meaning "Fourth Female". It may refer to:** Rabia al-Adawiyya, the first female Sufi saint** Rabia Kazan, Turkish journalist...
of Basra, and compiled brief histories of other Sufi teachers and their doctrines, translating Arabic and Persian texts into English.
Smith counted among her mentors Thomas Walker Arnold
Thomas Walker Arnold
Sir Thomas Walker Arnold was an eminent British orientalist and historian of Islamic art who taught at MAO College, Aligarh Muslim University, then Aligarh College, and Government College University, Lahore. He was a friend of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and wrote his famous book "The preaching of Islam"...
, Alfred Guillaume
Alfred Guillaume
Alfred Guillaume was an Arabist and Islamic scholar.-Career:Guillaume took up Arabic after studying Theology and Oriental Languages at the University of Oxford. In the First World War he served in France and then in the Arab Bureau in Cairo...
, R. A. Nicholson, and Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon was a French scholar of Islam and its history. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards...
.
Works
In the 1970s four of Smith's works — by then hard to come by — were reprinted in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, by the Philo Press in arrangement with The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London.
- An Early Mystic of Baghdad: Al-Muhasibi, ca 781-875 A.D. Master of primitive Islamic mysticism and precursor of the great Muslim Mystics, 1935
- An Introduction to the History of Mysticism , 1930
- Rabi'a the Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam. Being the life and teachings of Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya of Basra, Sufi saint, ca A.H. 99-185, A.D.717-801. Together with an account of the place of the women in Islam and with a survey of sources, references, a concise bibliography and indexes, 1928
- Studies in Early Mysticism in the Near and Middle East. Being an account of the rise and development of Christian mysticism up to the seventh century, of the subsequent development in Islam, known as Sufism, and of the relationship between Christian and Islamic mysticism. With references, a bibliography and two indexes, 1931
See also
- Sufi studiesSufi studiesSufi studies: a particular branch of comparative studies that uses a.o.the technical lexicon of the Islamic mystics, the Sufis, to exemplify the nature of its ideas; hence the frequent reference to Sufi Orders...