Margaret Smith
Special note could be taken of the little cited but brilliant academic Margaret Smith who wrote (1925–1935) on the history of mysticism in the Near and Middle East from a woman's perspective leading to classic pages on early Christian mysticism, women in the early Christian Church, Christianity and Islam at the beginning of the Islamic era (see:Hanif), the rise of Sufism and the early ascetic ideal. Two exemplaries of her subject matter she studied in closer detail: Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya and Harith al-Muhasibi.
The summary of her work reposes in her:
- " 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 of mysticism in Islam, known as Sufism, and of the relationship between Christian and Islamic Mysticism with references, a bibliography and two indexes "
- Dedicated to the memory of Thomas Walker Arnold
- London, 1931 -The Sheldon Press; reprinted 1973 by Philo Press cv, Amsterdam.
Read more about this topic: Sufi Studies
Famous quotes containing the word smith:
“For men tied fast to the absolute, bled of their differences, drained of their dreams by authoritarian leeches until nothing but pulp is left, become a massive, sick Thing whose sheer weight is used ruthlessly by ambitious men. Here is the real enemy of the people: our own selves dehumanized into “the masses.” And where is the David who can slay this giant?”
—Lillian Smith (1897–1966)