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Sufi paths of negative speech: apophasis in thirteenth century Islamic mysticism

This dissertation examines the formations, historical developments, and contextual regulations of negative speech (apophasis) in pre-modern Sufism, and its contemporary representations in Islamic Studies. The dissertation (i) problematizes the current approaches to apophasis and negative theologies in the study of religion, particularly in relation to Islam (Ch.1-3); (ii) constructs a genealogy of the terms âapophasisâ and ânegative theologyâ in the last two centuries (Ch.1-2); (iii) presents in-depth case studies that provide contextual analyses of Sufi performances of apophasis in the fields of theology (Ch.4-7), and mystical union (Ch.8).
The first two chapters bring a fresh perspective to the field by approaching âapophasis,â and ânegative theologyâ as second-order, scholarly categories that are not sui generis religious, critical, or mystical. This shift in perspective makes clear that contemporary studies on apophasis and negative theologies, as well as their reflections on Islamic Studies and Sufism, are in large part responses to the challenges and demands of modernity. Chapter 3 argues that ânegative theologyâ is a blanket term that cannot distinguish between the varieties of theological questions that medieval scholars asked. I differentiate ânegative theologies of the divine essenceâ from ânegative theologies of divine attributes.â Chapters 4-to-7 introduce the formations and historical developments of four prominent negative theological positions on the divine essence that circulated among medieval Sufis. Chapter 8 examines Sufi approaches to the unio mystica in the thirteenth century, in order to display the ways in which negative speech is governed by context-specific norms and institutions.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03222016-235650
Date23 March 2016
CreatorsKars, Aydogan
ContributorsEllen T. Armour, Devin A. DeWeese, Lenn E. Goodman, Allen Hibbard, Richard McGregor, David J. Wasserstein
PublisherVANDERBILT
Source SetsVanderbilt University Theses
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03222016-235650/
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