Category: Islamic Studies

NO CHAT GPT! I WILL BE GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE CHECKS TO ENSURE THIS!
Essay Assignment:
Part A: What is Sufism?) 4 Pages
– Questions to be Considered: What
does Sufism mean and how is it perceived broadly-construed? What are the best ways to describe
this practice? How is it misconceived in our contemporary world? Who is a mystic or a Sufi?
Sources:
1. Carl W. Ernst, Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam (New York: Shambala,
2011). Read “1. What Is Sufism?”; “2. Sacred Sources of Sufism”; “4. The Names of God,
Meditation, and Mystical Experience,”; and “5. The Sufi Orders” as well as “6. Sufi
Poetry”, esp. the sections “The Basics of Islamicate Poetry”, “Arab Sufi Poetry,” and
“Persian Sufi Poetry.” 
2. Alexander Knysh, Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2022), pp. 1-62.
Part B:  Any Title) 4 Pages
Do any analysis on this:
1. Read American poet Fanny Howe’s short essay “Bewilderment”: 
2. Divine Flashes, trans. Chittick and Wilson (New York: Paulist Press, 1983).
Al-Jāmī, Lawā’iḥ: A Treatise on Sufism, trans. Whinfield and Kazvīnī (London: Royal Asiatic
Society, 1914). Read only the text until page 44.
Part C: Hafez) 4 Pages
– Select a poem or two on pages 10-11, 22-3, 26-8, 76-79, 106-7, 158-9, 257-9, 280-1, 288-9, 328, and 356-7 and analyze them. 
Extra Sources:
1. J.T.P. De Bruijn, Persian Sufi Poetry: An Introduction to the Mystical Use of Classical Persian
Poems (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 51-83. 
2. Hafez: Translations and Interpretations of the Ghazals, trans. Geoffrey Squires (Florida: Miami
University Press, 2014). 
Part D: Hallaj) 4 Pages
– Please select a poem or two to analyze its features with regard to Ḥallāj’s life.
1. Louis Massignon, Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr: Abridged Version (Princeton: Princeton University,
1994), pp. 1-9, 101-114, 204-207, and 280-292. 
2. Carl W. Ernst, Words of Ecstasy in Sufism (New York: SUNY Press, 1004), pp. 25-52, 63-72, and
102-110. 
3. Carl W. Ernst, Hallaj: Poems of a Sufi Martyr (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2018)
NO CHAT GPT! I WILL BE GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE CHECKS TO ENSURE THIS!

Choose a relatively small, limited topic that can serve as an example of the broader issue of interest and write a 3300-word research paper. Make sure to have sufficient primary sources – or analyze the different approaches to your
topic in the secondary literature. The gold standard is to use primary sources – that is, sources that directly
represent the phenomenon being studied, rather than other authors’ interpretations of that
evidence.  
Question: How does the image of A’isha get contested within the 20th century? (Can be amended)
Specification: Her relationship to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in relation to Islamic History set a precedent for how society views/abuses child marriage and how it impacts Islamic legislation and cultural norms today.
Conclusion: Do we do a good job protecting young girls?

NO CHAT GPT! I WILL BE GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE CHECKS TO ENSURE THIS!
Essay Assignment:
Part A: What is Sufism?) 4 Pages
– Questions to be Considered: What
does Sufism mean and how is it perceived broadly-construed? What are the best ways to describe
this practice? How is it misconceived in our contemporary world? Who is a mystic or a Sufi?
Sources:
1. Carl W. Ernst, Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam (New York: Shambala,
2011). Read “1. What Is Sufism?”; “2. Sacred Sources of Sufism”; “4. The Names of God,
Meditation, and Mystical Experience,”; and “5. The Sufi Orders” as well as “6. Sufi
Poetry”, esp. the sections “The Basics of Islamicate Poetry”, “Arab Sufi Poetry,” and
“Persian Sufi Poetry.” 
2. Alexander Knysh, Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2022), pp. 1-62.
Part B:  Any Title) 4 Pages
Do any analysis on this:
1. Read American poet Fanny Howe’s short essay “Bewilderment”: 
2. Divine Flashes, trans. Chittick and Wilson (New York: Paulist Press, 1983).
Al-Jāmī, Lawā’iḥ: A Treatise on Sufism, trans. Whinfield and Kazvīnī (London: Royal Asiatic
Society, 1914). Read only the text until page 44.
Part C: Hafez) 4 Pages
– Select a poem or two on pages 10-11, 22-3, 26-8, 76-79, 106-7, 158-9, 257-9, 280-1, 288-9, 328, and 356-7 and analyze them. 
Extra Sources:
1. J.T.P. De Bruijn, Persian Sufi Poetry: An Introduction to the Mystical Use of Classical Persian
Poems (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 51-83. 
2. Hafez: Translations and Interpretations of the Ghazals, trans. Geoffrey Squires (Florida: Miami
University Press, 2014). 
Part D: Hallaj) 4 Pages
– Please select a poem or two to analyze its features with regard to Ḥallāj’s life.
1. Louis Massignon, Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr: Abridged Version (Princeton: Princeton University,
1994), pp. 1-9, 101-114, 204-207, and 280-292. 
2. Carl W. Ernst, Words of Ecstasy in Sufism (New York: SUNY Press, 1004), pp. 25-52, 63-72, and
102-110. 
3. Carl W. Ernst, Hallaj: Poems of a Sufi Martyr (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2018)
NO CHAT GPT! I WILL BE GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE CHECKS TO ENSURE THIS!

Choose a relatively small, limited topic that can serve as an example of the broader issue of interest and write a 3300-word research paper. Make sure to have sufficient primary sources – or analyze the different approaches to your
topic in the secondary literature. The gold standard is to use primary sources – that is, sources that directly
represent the phenomenon being studied, rather than other authors’ interpretations of that
evidence.  
Question: How does the image of A’isha get contested within the 20th century? (Can be amended)
Specification: Her relationship to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in relation to Islamic History set a precedent for how society views/abuses child marriage and how it impacts Islamic legislation and cultural norms today.
Conclusion: Do we do a good job protecting young girls?