Iblis (Satan) refused to bow to Adam, and the Qur’an condemns him for it. But some of the most daring Sufi mystics read that refusal very differently: as the act of a perfect monotheist and a tragic lover who would not bow to anything but God, even at the cost of eternal separation. In this video we explore how Iblis was reinterpreted in Islamic mysticism, from Mansur al-Hallaj’s Kitab al-Tawasin to the Persian “School of Love” (madhhab-i ‘ishq) of Ahmad Ghazali and ‘Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani.

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Sources/Recommended Reading:

Knysh, Alexander (2000). "Islamic Mysticism: A Short History". Brill.

Lumbard, Joseph E.B. (2016). "Ahmad al-Ghazālī, Remembrance, and the Metaphysics of Love". SUNY Press.

Massignon, Louis (1979). "The Passion of Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam". Vol. 1-4. Translated by Herbert Mason. Princeton University Press.

Pourjavady, Nasrollah (translated by) (2015). "Sawanih: Inspirations from the World of Pure Spirits". Routledge.

Rustom, Muhammed (translated and edited by) (2022). "The Essence of Reality: A Defense of Philosophical Sufism". New York University Press.

Rustom, Muhammed (2024). "Inrushes of the Heart: The Sufi Philosophy of Ayn al-Qudat". State University of New York Press.

Safi, Omid (2019). "Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition". Yale University Press.

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