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Islamic Studies By Author (non-Muslim Or Academic)
The following is a list of notable non-Muslim authors on Islam. Chronological by date of birth 622 to 1500 * Sebeos (fl. 651), Armenian historian, documented in his ''History'' the rise of Muhammad and the early Muslim conquests. * Joannis Damasceni (c. 676–749), official of the Caliph at Damascus, later a Syrian monk, Doctor of the Church, his ''Peri Aireseon'' oncerning Heresies its chapter 100 being "Heresy of the Ishmailites" (attribution questioned). *Du Huan, captured at 751 Battle of Talas, traveled in Muslim lands for ten years, his '' Jingxingji'' ecord of Travels(c. 770) contains descriptions of Muslim life; book lost, but quoted by his uncle Du You in his Tongdian (766-801), an encyclopedia of China. * Sankara (c. 788–820) of Kerala, pivotal Hindu reformer; theologian of non-duality, the Advaita Vedanta: a unity of self ( atman) and the whole (Brahman); unresolved is the claim that early notions of the Sufi ''wahdat al-wujud'' neness of Beingwas synthesized ...
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Peri Bearman
Peri J. Bearman (born 1953) is an academic scholar of Islamic law. She was the Associate Director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. She is also currently the Editor-in-Chief and Islam section editor for the ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' (JAOS). Life Peri Bearman took degrees in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Leiden. She worked for Brill Publishers as the senior editor for the Middle East, and was a member of the editorial board of the second edition of the '' Encyclopaedia of Islam''.Faculty - Speaker Biographies
31 ''Int'l J. Legal Info.'' 327 (2003)


Selected publications

* (ed. with Th. Bianquis,

Du You
Du You () (735 – December 23, 812), courtesy name Junqing (), formally Duke Anjian of Qi (), was a Chinese historian, military general, and politician. He served as chancellor of the Tang Dynasty. Du was born to an eminent aristocratic family in what is now Xi'an, Shaanxi, almost eighteen years before the abrupt rebellion of An Lushan, and received office for the privilege as administrator of Chi-nan commandery (modernly Licheng District). Robert G. Hoyland considers him a "political thinker on a grand scale," comparable to Ibn Khaldun, but he is most often remembered for his thirty-six year compilation of the '' Tongdian,'' a historical encyclopedia of 200 sections (volumes) collecting laws, regulations, and general events from ancient times to his own. While considering Confucian teachings on the relationship between father and son essential, Du stated that he didn't believe that they provided relevant information for government policy. A legal specialist and authority ov ...
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Abd Al-Masih Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi
''Apology of al-Kindi'' (also spelled al-Kindy) is a medieval theological polemic making a case for Christianity and drawing attention to alleged flaws in Islam. The word "apology" is a translation of the Arabic word ', and it is used in the sense of apologetics. It is attributed to an Arab Christian referred to as Abd al-Masih ibn Ishaq al-Kindi. This Al-Kindi is otherwise unknown, and is clearly different from the Muslim philosopher Abu Yûsuf ibn Ishâq al-Kindī. The significance of the work lies in its availability to Europe's educated elite from as early as the twelfth century as a source of information about Islam. Publishing history The date of composition of the ''Apology'' is controversial. The earliest surviving manuscripts of the Arabic text are seventeenth century. However, the Arabic manuscripts are predated by a twelfth-century Latin translation made in Spain, where the Arabic text is assumed to have been circulating among Mozarabs.P.S. van KoningsveldThe A ...
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Wahdat Al-wujud
In Islamic philosophy, Sufi metaphysics is centered on the concept of ar, وحدة, waḥdah, unity, label=none or ar, توحيد, tawhid, label=none. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this topic. literally means "the Unity of Existence" or "the Unity of Being." , meaning "existence" or "presence", here refers to God. On the other hand, , meaning "Apparentism" or "Monotheism of Witness", holds that God and his creation are entirely separate. Some scholars have claimed that the difference between the two philosophies differ only in semantics and that the entire debate is merely a collection of "verbal controversies" which have come about because of ambiguous language. However, the concept of the relationship between God and the universe is still actively debated both among Sufis and between Sufis and non-Sufi Muslims. Waḥdat al-Wujūd (unity of existence) The mystical thinker and theologian Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi discussed this concept in his book called ''Tohfa ...
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Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism",Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p.15 "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice". Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as (pl. ) – congregations formed around a grand who would be the last in a chain of successive teachers linking back to Muh ...
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Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 111–115;For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), ''Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara'', Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. ''Brahman'' as a metaphysical concept refers to the singl ...
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Atman (Hinduism)
Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian handball player Religion * ''Ātman'' (Jainism), or ''Jīva'', a philosophical term used within Jainism to identify the soul * ''Ātman'' (Hinduism), meaning "Self", a philosophical concept common to all schools of Hindu philosophy * ''Ātman'' (Buddhism), ''attā'' or ''attan'', a reference to the essential self ** '' Anattā'' or ''anātman'' — "not-self", central concept in Buddhism * ''Atman jnana'' — "knowledge" in the context of Indian philosophy and religions See also * Ataman, a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds * World Soul (other) * Atma (other) * Divine soul (other) Divine soul in kabbalah is the source of good inclination and Godly desires. Divine soul may also refer to: * ...
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Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (literally "non-secondness", but usually rendered as "nondualism", and often equated with monism) refers to the idea that '' Brahman'' alone is ultimately real, while the transient phenomenal world is an illusory appearance ('' maya'') of Brahman. In this view, (''jiv) Ātman'', the experiencing self, and ''Ātman-Brahman'', the highest Self and Absolute Reality, is non-different. The ''jivatman'' or individual self is a mere reflection or limitation of singular ''Ātman'' in a multitude of apparent individual bodies. In the Advaita tradition, '' moksha'' (liberation from suffering and rebirth) is attained through recognizing this illusoriness of the phenomenal world and disidentification from the body-mind complex and the notion of 'd ...
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Non-duality
Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondifference of subject and object; the identity of conventional phenomena and ultimate reality, or the "nonduality of duality and nonduality"; metaphysical monism, the nonplurality of the world and "the interconnection of all things." It may also refer to a negation of dualistic thinking; and to the mystical unity with God or with Ultimate reality. The English term is derived from Sanskrit terms such as "advaita" (अद्वैत), "not-two" or "one without a second," which in various Hindu philosophies refers to the identity of ''Atman'' and ''Brahman''; and ''advaya'', also meaning "not two," but referring to various Buddhist ideas such as the identity of conventional and ultimate reality. In Indian philosophy, these terms refer to s ...
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Theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, asks and seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and, in particular, to reveal themselves to humankind. While theology has turned into a secular field , religious adherents still consider theology to be a discipline that helps them live and understand concepts such as life and love and that helps them lead lives of obedience to the deities they follow or worship. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument ( experiential, philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help ...
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Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Indus River, Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic peoples, Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-i ...
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Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canara, and Thiruvithamkoor. Spread over , Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The Chera dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala. The Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north formed the other kingdoms in the early years of the Common Era (CE). The region had been a prominent spice exp ...
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