A Dialogue

Abstract

MOHAMMED FAGHFOORY: I read the review on my book, Kernel of the
Kernel, in a recent edition of the journal [21:2] and would like to respond to
some of the reviewer’s remarks. The bulk of the review is, in fact, taken
from the book itself and is nothing more than a description of each chapter’s
content. That is fine by itself, and your journal’s format requires that. It is,
however, to his concluding paragraph that I would like to address my
response, where he talks about Sufism in light of feminist literature and theories,
which are alien to Islamic spirituality.
First, the reviewer’s statement that “No women are found among all the
Shi`ite scholars and masters of esoteric sciences” is simply wrong. As early
as the first Islamic century, Sufism produced masters like Rabi`ah `Adawiyah,
to whom Hasan al-Basri, the celebrated patriarch of Basrah and the
first major Sufi master, referred to frequently for spiritual advice. To this,
one must add prominent women like Sayyidah Nafisah (the daughter of
Imam Hasan) and Sayyidah `A’ishah (the daughter of Imam Sadiq), whose
mastery of exoteric and esoteric knowledge have been acknowledged by
Sufi masters like Ibn `Ata’llah Iskandarani and many others. One might also
mention Fatimah of Nayshabur, the Persian Nizam, and another Fatimah
who was, in fact, the spiritual master of the octogenarian Sufi master Muhy
al-Din ibn al-`Arabi.
More problematic is the reviewer’s statement on Sufi doctrine and its
view on men and women. When God decided to manifest Himself, He did so
through Revelation, cosmos, and human being (microcosm). We read in the
Qur’an that God is Ahad (He is One, Absolute) and Samad (Sufficient to
Himself, Infinite). This means that everything is contained in Him. Thus, God ...