The meditation known in Arabic as naẓar ila'l-murd ( ar, النظر إلى المرد), "contemplation of the beardless" is a
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, ...
practice of spiritual realization.
Peter Lamborn Wilson claims this as the use of "imaginal
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
" to transmute erotic desire into spiritual consciousness. It was practiced by
Awhad al-Din Kermani Awḥad al-Dīn Ḥāmid ibn Abi ʾl-Fakhr Kirmānī (died 21 March 1238) was a Persian poet and Ṣūfī mystic.
Kirmānī studied under Rukn al-Dīn al-Sijāsī and joined the '' ṭarāʾiq'' (orders) of Quṭb al-Dīn al-Abharī and Abū Naj ...
.
Richard Francis Burton
Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
's translation of ''
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night
''The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night'' (1888), subtitled ''A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments'', is the only complete English language translation of '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (the ''Arabian N ...
'' (commonly called ''
The Arabian Nights'' in English) included collections of stories that were often sexual in content and were considered
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, at the time of publication. In particular, the ''Terminal Essay'' in volume 10 of the ''The Arabian'' ''Nights'' contained a 14,000 word essay entitled "Pederasty" (Volume 10, section IV, D) in which Burton speculated and opined that male homosexuality was prevalent in an area of the southern latitudes named by him the "
Sotadic zone
Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
". Rumors about Burton's own sexuality were already circulating and were further incited by this work.
Criticism
Conservative Islamic theologians condemned the custom of contemplating the beauty of boys. Nazar was denounced and deemed a
heretic
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
by
Ibn Taymiyya
Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
(1263–1328). Despite opposition from the clerics, the practice has survived in Islamic countries until only in recent years, according to Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe in their work on Islamic homosexuality.
[Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe, ''Islamic Homosexualities;'' New York University Press, 1997; p.111]
See also
*
Bacha bazi
*
Ghilman
Ghilman (singular ar, غُلاَم ',Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . plural ')Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . were slave-soldiers and/or mercenaries in the armies throughout the Islamic world, such as the Safavi ...
*
Köçek
The ''köçek'' (plural in Turkish) was typically a very handsome young male slave or a Romani dancer (''rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.
Roots
The Persian word ''kuchak'' derive ...
Notes
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Sufism