The  Influence  of  Islamic  Sufism  on  Jewish  Kabbalah              

Uthman  Khan  

 

  Khan  2  

Table  of  Contents  

INTRODUCTION   3  

WHAT IS KABBALA   5  

A FEW SIMILARITIES   7  

COSMOLOGY   12  

ABRAHAM MAIMONIDES   15  

CONCLUSION   17  

BIBLIOGRAPHY   18  

 

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Introduction Is it really a tug of war between religion and spirituality or are both concepts on

the same side of the fence. Is one religion is truly influencing another religion and is this

influence lower the ranking of one religion over the other? This is one of many questions

that can be raised and taken to another level of dispute and it can be religious ego or a

cultish subjectivity that causes it. Muslim scripture refers to the Christians and the Jews

as ahl al-kita@b and creates a link between the three faiths. Understanding this connection

is crucial before letting ones prejudices dictate ones relationship with others. Muslims

and Jews have been interconnected and have significant common features within their

respective traditions, apart from the conflict in the Middle East. However both faith

traditions originate from Abraham who called to monotheism, a shared doctrine within

both Judaism and Islam. The relationship is closer than one can imagine as the Jews

affirm their descent from Isaac, the son of Abraham and his wife Sarah, and Muslims

from Ishmael, the son of Abraham's Egyptian slave Hagar.

The Qur’a@n repeatedly praises Moses and Muslims have considered him as one of

the arch prophets (ulu@ al-‘azm), and Muslims, like Jews, believe that Moses alone spoke

directly to God. Jews and Muslims both circumcise their male offspring, the Jews at

puberty and the Muslims at birth. Both religions also ban the consumption of pork. Even

in spirituality, from Judaism the Kabbalah sprung out which is similar to Sufism

originating from Islam. Sufism not only formulated in the beginning of the 9th century

under the influence of Neo-Platonism but many attempts have been made to prove that

Sufi@ ideologies have originated from the first generation of Islam and from the Qur’a@n.

The same challenge exists within the Kabbalah that its advent and codification is post

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ninth century, also under the influence of Neo-Platonism and many attempts and

assumptions claim its origins from the earlier days of Judaism and derived from the

Torah.

In this Paper I wish to look into the Kabbalah and Sufism and how both practices

intersected with one another wherein Sufism played a big role in influencing the

practices and theory of the Kabbalah. I will start by briefly talking about the Kabbalah

and the main concepts within it, and then talk some of the similarities and how

chronologically Sufism preceded the Kabbalah in many points. I will also look briefly

into the cosmology of Sufism and the Kabbalah. Finally I wish to look into one major

Kabbalistic figure, the son of Moses Maimonides, Abraham who took the lead in Jewish

spirituality. I wish to thank Dr. Yehezkel Landau for his mentorship and guidance in the

topic of Judaism and the Kabbalah and I know that this is a very vast topic that cannot

be covered in a few pages of research rather it requires volumes. I tried my best to open

up the topic at an exploratory level and I tried to ensure complete neutrality and

objectivity in the references used and read prior to compiling and critiquing this topic. I

pray that this paper will be a doorway leading to the exploration of the topic of the

Kabbalah and Sufism.

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What is Kabbala

Kaballah has nothing to do with eschatology rather it is strictly the mystical

path of Judaism. As in every religion there is always some sort of mysticism involved

and these paths may be at many times an intrinsic part of the religion. For example in

Islam the concept of ih{san means to worship God as though you are seeing him and if

you cannot see him them know that he is seeing you.1 Even in Christianity mysticism

has been connected in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.2 In the case of

Judaism the Torah contains many stories of mystical experiences, from visitations by

angels to prophetic dreams and visions. The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical

school of thought that was taught only to the most advanced students and was not

committed to writing. There are several references in ancient sources to ma'aseh

bereishit (the work of creation) and ma'aseh merkavah (the work of the chariot [of

Ezekiel's vision]), the two primary subjects of mystical thought at the time. Eventually

these mystical teachings were put in writing in books like the Zohar.3 Because of its

depth and spiritual nature, discussions on magic, amulets, demons, exorcism, dreams

and interpretations, and God’s names and attributes are all included. Within the

Kabbalah there are a few fundamental concepts such as the concept of God as the ein

sof, the ten sefirot also known as the Kabbalistic tree of life.

                                                                                                               1 Ibn Rajab, Ja@mi‘al-‘ulu@m wa al-h{ikam, 93

2 Christian mysticism, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mysticism, last

modified on 14 November 2014, (Accessed September 29 2014).

3Tracey Rich, Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism, 2011, Judaism 101, http://www.jewfaq.org/kabbalah.htm, (Accessed September 29 2014).

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The Kabbalist refer to God transcendent as ein sof. The word refers to god in His

pure essence: God in Himself, apart from His relationship to the created world.4 The

sefirot is a fundamental concept of Kabbalah that during the process of creation an

intermediate stage emanated from God’s infinite light to create what we experience as

finite reality and these channels were called the ten sefirot.5 It is believed that through

these powers God created and ruled the universe, and it is by influencing them that

humans cause God to send to earth forces of compassion or severe judgment. The right

side represents the principles of unity, harmony and benevolence and it is associated

with the bestowing of generous goodness upon our world. It is the considered masculine

side. The left side is the side of power and strict justice and it symbolizes the female

side, representing the fearsome awe of God, and the principles of separation and

distinction. The unrestrained dominion of the left side gives rise to evil. The middle

column of the sefirot structure represents the ideal balance of divine mercy and justice.6

Sufism, is very similar to Kabbalah in its being the mysticism within Islam and

is a concept in Islam, defined by scholars as the inner and mystical dimension of Islam. 7

Islamic Sufism was very much influenced by Neo-Platonist philosophy. 8 Perhaps the

reason why many people involved in it would simply follow it because it was very

                                                                                                               4 Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel. "Ein-Sof." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum

and Fred Skolnik.

5 Harav Ginsburgh, The Ten Sefirot: Introduction, Jan 27 2014, Gal Einai, http://www.inner.org/sefirot/sefirot.htm, (Accessed October 12 2014).

6 Eliezer Segal, The Ten Sefirot of the Kabbalah, n.d., Jewish Virtual Library, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Sefirot.html, (Accessed October 11 2014).

7 Sufism, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism, last modified on 17 November 2014, (Accessed October 11 2014).

8 Kamuran Godelek, The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy, n.d., The Paideia Project, http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/CompGode.htm, (Accessed September 22 2014).

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philosophical and hard to understand yet logical and thus it must be true. Many Sufis

have argued that Sufism originated from the Qur'a@n and was compatible with

mainstream Islamic thought and did not contradict Islamic Law in any way rather it was

necessary to its complete fulfillment.9 Nevertheless Sufi Muslims have been less

opportune in their own religion and affiliation than Kabbalist with the Jews that Muslim

fundamentalists have always attacked the Sufis, while Kabbalah seems to have been

assimilated into Orthodox Jewish observance on the most part. The religious

consciousness shared in dialogue between the Muslim Sufis and the Jewish Kabbalist

provides a positive example for the believers in each of the two religions today. 10

A few Similarities

The Kabbalah has been strictly Jewish since the time of its inception even

though its roots were traced back to Moses, or even Abraham or Adam. The issue of

whether or not there had been external influence or not is one that has been discussed in

academic circles and A.S. Halkin, states that: "In all the vast literature of the Kabbalah,

there is no trace of a non-Jewish source or influence”.11 Nevertheless there are many

similarities with Sufism that are very much apparent within the kabalistic literature.

Ibra@him b. Maymu@n (the famous Maimonides’ son) was in the forefront of Jewish

spirituality and constructed a defense of his father's strict rationalism out of a Su@fi@ mold

and string of Pseudo-Maimonidean writings stressing an interiorized Neo-Platonism,                                                                                                                

9 Sufism, Wikipedia.

10 Stephen Schwartz, Islamic Sufism and Jewish Kabbalah: Shining a Light on Their Hidden History, Huffpost Religion, (Dec 5 2011), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-schwartz/sufism-and-kabbalah_b_989875.html, (Accessed September 29 2014).

11 Tom Block, Abraham Maimonides: A Jewish Sufi, Sufi Magazine, London, England, Winter 2001, http://tomblock.com/shalom_jewishsufi#_ednref2, (Accessed October 3 2014).      

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which had surfaced in the thirteenth century.12 The same Neo-Platonism had influenced

Ibn ‘Arabi@ also who was from the same era. This era was one wherein there seems to

have been a lot of the Kabbalistic outbreak. For example Nah{manides (Moses b.

Naḥma@n, also known as Naḥama@ni and Ramban (d. 1270) was the first commentator to

introduce Kabbalah into his commentary of the Bible.13 Bahya b. Asher (d. 1340) is

considered of great importance in kabbalah and is one of the main sources through

which Kabbalistic sayings of Nah{manidis’ contemporaries have been preserved.14 Isaac

the Blind (d. 1235), was a pivotal figure in the study of early thirteenth century

Kabbalistic philosophy and ritual studied not only by Jewish, but also early Greek, and

Christian Gnostic writings, as well as the writing of a Sufi sect in Basra, the Brethren of

Sincerity (ikhwa@n al-s{afa@) 15.

The Bahir is one of the oldest and most important of all Kabbalistic texts. Until

the publication of the Zohar, the Bahir was the most influential source of Kabbalistic

teachings. It is quoted in virtually every major Kabbalistic work and is cited numerous

times by the Ramba@n in his commentary on the Torah. It is also paraphrased and quoted

many times in the Zohar.16 The Sefer Bahir seems to have first appeared in Provence,

                                                                                                               12 Joseph Dan, Ronald C. Kiener, The Early Kabbalah (Google eBook), Paulist Press, 1986, Pg.17.

13 Joseph Kaplan, et al. "Naḥmanides." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred

Skolnik.

14 Efraim Gottlieb, "BaḤya ben Asher ben ḤLava." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik.

15 Mark Stavish, Kabbalah and the Hermetic Tradition, 2006, The Hermetic Library, http://hermetic.com/stavish/essays/kabbalah-hermetic.html (Accessed October 14 2014).

16 Daniel P. Faigin, What is Sefer haBahir, The Bahir (The Book of Illumination), Question 3.32, Culture.Jewish Newsgroups, 2002, www.scjfaq.org/faq/03-32.html, (Accessed November 18, 2014).

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Fr., in the latter half of the twelfth century.17 As for the Zohar, probably written by

Moses de Leon, a Spanish Kabbalist (d. 1305), he claimed to discover the text of the

Zohar, and the text was subsequently published and distributed throughout the Jewish

world.18 Thus the Thirteenthh century was the “Medieval emergence” and the era when

the kabbalah developed into a structured science.

During this century the Spaniard Ibn ‘Arabi@ (1240) emerged and his works also

made it to the market. When reading Kabbalistic works the resemblance is very

interesting and Michael McGaha has pointed out:

It was no coincidence that the earliest Kabbalistic writings and the work of (Sufi philosopher) Ibn ‘Arabi@ appeared around the same time (late twelfth-early thirteenth-centuries). Jewish refugees from Muslim Spain were breathing new life into the doctrines and imagery developed by the Sufis in Baghdad and later in Andalusia, creating the new system of mysticism known as the Kabbalah.19

The Sefer Yetzireh emerged into the light of day in the tenth century20 however

it was referred to prior to that time.21 A little earlier in the late ninth century

Muh{ammad b. Na@sir al-Bas{ri@ al-‘Iraqi@ (d. 883) had established the foundation of the

mystical Shiite group in Baghdad. Being very close in age, the Sefer Yetzireh refers to

three “Mother Letters” being Mem, Shin, and Aleph and equally the Nas{i@riites also had

                                                                                                               17 "Sefer ha-bahir". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/532521/Sefer-ha-bahir>.

18Daniel P. Faigin, Question What is The Zohar?, 3.33, Culture.Jewish Newsgroups, 2002, www.scjfaq.org/faq/03-33.html, (Accessed November 18, 2014).

19 Michael Mcgaha, The Sefer Ha-Bahir and Andalusian Sufism, Medieval Encounters, Volume 3, Issue 1, 1997, BRILL, Pg. 57

20 A. Peter Hayman, Sefer Yetzirah, Mohr Siebeck, 2004, Pg. 40.

21 Robert Zucker, Sefer Yetsirah and Jewish Mysiticsm Time Line, 2011, The Mystical Study of Kabbalah (Qabalah) online, http://emol.org/kabbalah/seferyetzirah/timeline/1stto9thcentury.html, (Accessed November 18, 2014).

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their mystical harmony of the letters ayn, mim and sin (three letters).22 The references of

both the groups is different as the Sefer Yetzireh refers to air, water and fire while the

Nasiriites refer them to ‘Ali@, Muh{ammad and Salma@n the Persian (al-fa@rsi@). Heaven is

created with fire, earth is created with Water, and air (the atmosphere) is from breath

that balances between them,23 essentially the three elements from which all other life

besides God came into being. In regards to the Nas{i@riites, Ali created Muhammad and

Muh{ammad created Salma@n.24 In other words they say that ‘Ali@ is equivalent to Jesus for

the Christians, a god incarnate. The Nas{i@riite three letters pre dates the Kabbalistic

“Mother letters” however it seems that the Kabbalist had improved the structure of the

three letters giving it a more logical explanation.

Another example is the magic and power of the letters. In the ninth century the

great alchemist Ja@bir b. H{ayya@n (d. 815) he made reference to the letters and their usage

and hidden meanings within them. This is also an essential part of the Sefer Yetzireh.

According to Ibn H{ayya@n letters played a big role in scientific alchemical theories,

cosmology, creation of the universe etc.25 In later era’s there seemed to be an influence

of alchemy on the Kabbalah for example the saying “through the gaze of the sun and its

power, dust evolves and grows gold” (Zohar, 1:249–50) agrees with Artephius’ (d. 1150)

theory that the metals grow like plants, but whereas the plants are composed of water                                                                                                                

22 Ha@shim ‘Uthma@n, Al-’Alawiyyu@n bayn al-ust{u@rat wa al-h{aqi@qat, Mu’assasat al-a ‘lami@ li al-mat{bu@ ‘a@t, Beirut, Lebanon, 1985, Pg, 158.

23 David Friedman, Three Mother Letters, Kosmic Kabbalah Art, 2012, http://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/chapter-3-three-mother-letters, (Accessed October 19 2014).

24 Zaynab al-T{alba@ni al-Sulayma@ni@, Madhhab al-Nas{i@riyyat (‘Alawiyyat Su@riyyat), n.d., Mesopotamia, A Periodical published by The Center For Iraqi Nation Studies, http://www.mesopot.com/old/adad9/46.htm, (Accessed October 14 2014).

25 See Letters, Michael Ebstein, Mysticism and Philosophy in al-Andalus: Ibn Masarra, Ibn al-ʿArabī and the Ismāʿīlī Tradition, BRILL, Nov 25, 2013, Pg. 77 -122.

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and dust, the metals are composed of sulfur and mercury; the heat of the sun's rays

penetrates the earth and combines with these elements to form gold, the metal of the

sun.26 Artephius pre dates the Zohar as well and was a Muslim alchemist.27

The 13th century ibn ‘Arabi@ and his works in Islamic mysticism seems to have

influenced the Kabbalah quite a bit and he was a mystic influenced by philosophy and

his understanding of the religion was couched under the terminology of Neo-Platonism.

He had made reference to the notion of a perfect or complete man (al-insa@n al-ka@mil),

which was echoed by the works of Maimonides as adam qadmo@n (primordial man) and

adam salem, which is the Hebrew rendering of al-insan al-ka@mil.28 It would be immature

to claim that there was no influence from Islam or the Sufism upon the Kabbalah

however it is not something that the Kabbalist would worry about if they were open to

reform and improvement of a system based on the changing of time and place. There

may be some religious and subjective opposition from the orthodox Jews as there was

from the orthodox Muslims against the Sufis. Nevertheless, The Babylonian Talmud,

Megillah, states: “He who pronounces a word of wisdom, even of non-Jews, is called a

wise man.” Moses Maimonides wrote: “The truth is the truth no matter what its

source.”29 A few more similarities worth mentioning is that theoretical Kabbalist have

                                                                                                               26 Bernard Suler, "Alchemy." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik.

27 Artephius, Wikipedia, last modified on 26 March 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artephius,

(Accessed November 18, 2014).

28 Ronald Kiener, Ibn al-'Arabí and the Qabbalah: A Study of Thirteenth-Century Iberian Mysticism, 1982, Studies in Mystical Literature 2,2. Available at: http://www.academia.edu/1776816/Ibn_al-Arabi_and_the_Qabbalah_A_Study_of_Thirteenth-Century_Iberian_Mysticism, (Accessed November 2 2014).

29 Israel Drazin, Maimonides’ descendants rejected his philosophy, 2011, Available at: http://booksnthoughts.com/maimonides-descendants-rejected-his-philosophy/, (Accessed September 29 2014).

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seventy-two names of God 30 while the Muslims have ninety-nine names of God. The

invocation of the divine name in Jewish mystical circles is similar to Islamic Dhikr and

invocation of the divine names of God. The Kabbalist (as well as the Jews) have a

mystical interpretation of the Torah (sod)31 as the Muslims have the ba@t{in (hidden or

mystical meaning). In fact, the Kabbalist state that Torah has four layers corresponding

to the four worlds, and the Shiites have said that the Qur’anic verses have seven levels

of meanings.32 Finally Robert Keiner writes:

It is a rare occurrence to find a Jewish mystic consciously and explicitly turning to another religion in his quest for spiritual attainment. In the pre modern world only Abraham Maimuni (d. 1237), the son of Maimonidies (d. 1204) called Jews to follow the ascetic practices of the Sufis. Maimuni thought that the Sufis preserved ascetic traditions of the Hebrew prophets and therefore saw their practices as a model for Jewish pietism. As we shall see, some Jewish philosophical texts, written in an Islamic environment show a strong Sufi influence. But nowhere does one find in Jewish mysticism, save the case of Maimuni, a positive predisposition towards, or even a recognition of, the essential monotheistic similarities of Islam.33

Cosmology Kabbalah teaches a philosophical view of the cosmos in such a way that all

existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance, in this case

through the sefirot. It is very similar to the pantheistic vision of a cosmos and the Su@fi@

concept of wah{dat al-wuju@d. In other words the cosmos is intended to become the

                                                                                                               30 John J. Parsons, Hebrew Names of God, n.d. Hebrew for Christians,

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Esoteric/esoteric.html, (Accessed September 29 2014).

31 Nissan Dovid Dubov, Torah Study, 2014, Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/361894/jewish/Torah-Study.htm, (Accessed October 12 2014).

32 Mohsin Fayz Kasha@ni@, Tafsi@r Al-S{a@fi@, Maktaba As S{adr, 1416 AH 1995 CE), 60, 61.

33 Ronald Kiener, Ibn al-'Arabí and the Qabbalah.

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"vessel" for divinity. The sefirot exposes the mind and dynamic influence of God and

from a human perspective reveals a map of the inner life that is made in the divine

image. Through an individual’s recognition of oneself he/she recognizes God. Human

souls are ultimately considered aspects of a greater “world soul” that is meant to reflect

back the conscious image of God back to God and so each person is a part of a greater

spiritual community that may be called the “body of God.”34

The concept of wah{dat al wuju@d within Sufism echoes the same ideas and it

translated as unicity of existence. In other words we all exist and god exists thus we are

all connected through a unicity of existence. The “Treatise on Being” (risa@lat al-

wuju@diyyah) which was claimed to be written by Ibn ‘Arabi@ referred to this concept. The

whole purpose the treatise was to talk about the Muh{ammadan narration “whoever

recognizes oneself then indeed he recognized his lord” (man ‘arafa nafsahu@ fa qad ‘arafa

rabbahu@) which was considered a fabricated narration.35 Nevertheless one point of

human’s connection with God was when the treatise quoted the prophetic narration

wherein God says, “I was sick and you didn’t visit me and I begged you and you never

gave me”. According to the treatise this pointed to the fact that existence of the beggar

is God’s existence thus the existence of all created things, both accidents and substances

are His existence. Also there is no difference in the existence and the God. Thus the

existence is not a creation and it is none other than the oneness of God. Another point

along these lines was that there is in realty only one being (existence) the one being has

                                                                                                               34 John J. Parsons, The Kabbalah of Creation, n.d. Hebrew for Christians,

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/kabbalah/Creation/creation.html, (Accessed September 29 2014).

35 Jala@l al-Di@n al-Suyu@t{i@, Al-H{a@wi@ li al-Fata@wa@, Da@r al-Fikr li al-T{aba@ ‘at wa al-Nashr, 2004, Pg 288.

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no parts and that one being is neither more here, nor less there. If one were to look

deeply within oneself he/she would see the lord, justifying the saying I am the lord or

glory be to me (ana al-h{aqq or subh{ani@).

From another point of view regarding the cosmos, the medieval mystic Isaac

Luria (d. 1572) distinguished between four different “levels” or “worlds” of reality, each

of which itself includes the sefirot. They were Atzilut, called the “world of Emanation”.

This is completely the realm of the ein sof and is in perfect harmony and balance. Beriah

called the “world of Creation”. This is the realm of the archangels and the throne.

Yetzirah called the “world of Formation”. This is the realm of paradise and the lower

angels. Finally Asiyah called the “world of Action”. This is the realm of the physical

universe and its creatures. This system is not alien to Muslim Mystics for example in

Sufi cosmology there is ‘A@lam al-Ha@hu@t (the world of He-ness). The realm of pre-

existence, the condition of the universe before its formation, equated with the

unknowable essence of God This would be similar to the ein sof of Kabbalah. Below it is

the ‘A@lam al-Lahu@t (the world of God-ness) and this would be similar to the Kabbalist

kether. Below it is the ‘A@lam al-Jabaru@t (the world of power); also ‘A@lam al-Arwa@h{ (the

world of souls). Roughly corresponding to the world of Platonic archetypes, Shaivite

Shivaloka (the world of Shiva), or causal world of Western occultism. Below it is the

‘A@lam al-Malaku@t (the world of angels) and finally below it is the ‘A@lam al-Na@su@t (the

world of humanity).36

                                                                                                               36 Arvan Harvat, Sufi Cosmology, 2004, KHEPER,

http://www.kheper.net/topics/Islamic_esotericism/cosmology.html, (Accessed October 20 2014). Also see Sufi Cosmology, Wikipedia, last modified on 20 August 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufi_cosmology (Accessed October 20 2014).

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Abraham Maimonides Abraham b. Moses b. Maymu@n, also known as Rabbeinu Avraham ben ha-

Rambam, and Avraham Maimuni (d. 1237) was the son of Moses Maimonidies (d.1204).

His father was the author of “the guide for the perplexed” (dala@lat al h{a@’iri@n) and was a

rationalist par excellence, and the greatest Jewish thinker. His son did not seem to

follow in his father’s foot steps rather took a U-turn and chose a path more connected to

Jewish spirituality and mysticism. Before reaching twenty years old he became the

leader of the Jews in Egypt. He had two children, Dawood, who took over the leadership

after him and ‘Uba@diyyah which is similar to the meaning of the Arabic ‘Abd Alla@h.

His teachings and the differences between him and his father were very clear. His father

focused on the development of a person’s intelligence and the acquisition of knowledge

and that the purpose of the Torah was to teach true ideas and aid the people in

improving themselves and society. Abraham on the other hand focused on the soul and

contended that the goal of the Torah was to perfect the soul through ten kinds of ethical

conduct.37 According to Abraham the soul was a separate spiritual part of a person and

the part of the Human being that survives him/her after death. This soul aspires and

longs for the spiritual and heavenly world but this is withheld from the unholy demonic

pull of the body.38 Abraham also focused on pietistic behavior more than the acquisition

of knowledge and intellect. The purpose of knowledge was to attain humility in contrary

to the pride many attain through knowledge. According to him perfection was a feature

                                                                                                               37 Israel Drazin, Maimonides: Reason Above All (Google eBook), Gefen Publishing House Ltd,

Oct 1, 2009, Pg 53.

38 Ibid

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that lies in in disassociation of a person from his body of bodily needs while his father

thought otherwise.39

His influence in the Sufi world is apparent in the Sufi practices of Inayat Khan

(d. 1927) who was the founder of “The Sufi Order in the West” in 1914 (London) and

teacher of Universal Sufism. Universal Sufism is based on unity of all people, religions

and the presence of spiritual guidance in all people, places and things.40 He initiated The

Inayati-Maymu@ni T{ari@qat of Sufi-Hasidim with his student, Netanel (Mu’in al-Di@n)

Miles-Yepez, blending the Sufi and Hasidic principles of spirituality promoted by

Abraham b. Maymu@n. He recently passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, the

third of July 2014, at around at the age of eighty nine.41 Abraham was accepted and was

an important figure in the Jewish world to this day and even though he helped

disseminate Sufi thought to the world he never broke with traditional Judaism in order

to practice a Jewish brand of Sufism.42 He justified this paradoxical situation, i.e.

believing that Jewish law must be strictly adhered to, while advocating Sufi-like

reforms, by reading Sufi attitudes and beliefs into the distinguished history of

Rabbinical thought.43

                                                                                                               39 Ibid. Pg. 54

40 Universal Sufism, Wikipedia, last modified on 1 June 2014,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Sufism#cite_note-2, (Accessed October 14 2014).

41 Netanel Miles-Yepez, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Father of Jewish Renewal, Dies at 89, 2014, Huffpost Religion, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/netanel-milesyepez/rabbi-zalman-schachtersha_b_5555879.html, (Accessed November 18, 2014).

42 Tom Block, Abraham Maimonides: A Jewish Sufi, Sufi Magazine, London, England, Winter 2001, Available at: http://tomblock.com/shalom_jewishsufi#_edn3, (Accessed September 28 2014).

43 Ibid

  Khan  17  

Conclusion

“And were it not that God checks the people, some by means of others, there

would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which

the name of God is much mentioned.”44

While today's politicians are provoking hatred and desperately trying to drive

each other into the Mediterranean Sea, it is important that Muslim and Jewish leaders

realize the closeness of their faiths and vie towards practicing a shared version of their

respective paths, at the least acknowledgement of the similarities within Judaism and

Islam over Christianity. Knowing that the heart and souls of Islam and Judaism are so

closely connected and originate from one source it is very odd that the two religions can

be at war. To envision peace, the answer is to rebuild the golden age harmony when the

Muslim and Jews lived together in agreement and respect; the time of the collaborative

migration of the Jews and Muslims out of Spain in 1212; the welcoming of the Jews

within the ottoman empire known though letters documenting the Rabbis telling the

Jews to leave the European persecution and come to Ottoman Turkey; the help offered

by the Muslims to save many Jews from the holocaust. Spirituality is just one path that

has shown this harmony, but the links between Islamic Sufism and Jewish Kabbalah

deserve to be studied and celebrated, and efforts should be made to resolve the

enigmatic history of their parallel and common pathways.45

                                                                                                               44 Q. al-an ‘a@m: 40

45 Stephen Schwartz, Islamic Sufism and Jewish Kabbalah:

  Khan  18  

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