Sufis and Sharīʿa The Forgotten School of Mercy

Establishes the existence of an important school of Sufi thought developed by Ibn ʿArabī

Gives the first detailed analysis of the legal thought of Ibn ʿArabī, one of the most influential Muslims in general, and Sufis in particular
Shows that Ibn ʿArabī had created his own madhhab (legal methodology) with a focus on mercy and ease for Muslims
Explores the influence of Ibn ʿArabī, al-Tirmidhī and al-Shaʿrānī on legal thought
Includes some of al-Shaʿrānī’s eight illustrations, his work being the only work of Islamic legal theory that includes drawings

This book is not about Sufism. It is about the nature of the Sharīʿa. In the first three centuries of Islam, many scholars believed that juristic differences were rooted in the Sharīʿa’s inherent flexibility. As this pluralistic attitude began to disappear, a number of Sufis defended and developed this idea through the centuries. They aimed to preserve the leniency and simplicity of the Sharīʿa against the complications and restrictions created by many jurists.

This book focuses on four major Sufi figures whose contributions to legal theory were strongly shaped by their mystical thought: Ibn ʿArabī, al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī, al-Shaʿrānī and Aḥmad ibn Idrīs. It gives a detailed analysis of their legal thought, revealing that they belonged to the same tradition and developed each other’s ideas, and also highlights their influence on other major Sufis all the way up to the 19th century. This is the first study to give a full picture of the role that Sufi thought played in the revivalist Islamic movements of the 18th, 19th and even 20th centuries.