“Al-Ghazālī of al-Andalus”: Ibn Barrajān, Mahdism, and the emergence of learned Sufism on the Iberian Peninsula

While preparing the introduction to a paper on Ibn Barrajān’s prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem in which I intended to summarize the biography of this Andalusian Sufi master from the Almoravid period, I could not help feeling that our historical view of him—as a rebellious Mahdist leader...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Bellver, José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/379369
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/379369
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sufismo
Al-Andalus
Ibn Barraŷān, ʻAbd al-Salām b. ʻAbd al-Raḥmān b. Muḥammad
Sufism
Descripción
Sumario:While preparing the introduction to a paper on Ibn Barrajān’s prediction of the Muslim capture of Jerusalem in which I intended to summarize the biography of this Andalusian Sufi master from the Almoravid period, I could not help feeling that our historical view of him—as a rebellious Mahdist leader who challenged the political authority of the Almoravids—was at odds with the quietist and pious Sufi that resonates in his works. The aim of this article is thus to reconsider the historical data we have about Ibn Barrajān (d. 536/1141), one of the foremost Sufis on the Iberian peninsula, whose volume and range of works ensured that he was known in his day already as “al-Ghazālī of al-Andalus.” Today, however, he remains a little-known, controversial figure whose writings have yet to be studied in depth.