Seeing God in Sufi Qur'an Commentaries

Discusses the concept of the vision of God in Sufi Qur'an commentaries
This history of Sufi conceptions of the hereafter - often imagined as a place of corporeal reward (Paradise) or punishment (Hell) - is built upon the study of five medieval Sufi Qur'an commentaries. Pieter Coppens shows that boundary crossing from this world to the otherworld, and vice versa, revolves around the idea of meeting with God and the vision of God; a vision which for some Sufis is not limited to the hereafter.
The Qur'anic texts selected for study - all key verses on seeing God - are placed in their broader religious and social context and are shown to provide a useful and varied source for the reconstruction of a history of Sufi eschatology and the vision of God.
Key Features
. First in-depth study of the concept of the vision of God in Sufi eschatology, not only focusing on the hereafter, but also on this-worldly vision
. Compares five understudied tafsir sources, gaining new insights into the genre of Sufi tafsir and its intertextuality
. First study that intensively deals with the yet-unpublished Qur'an commentary of Shams al-Din al-Daylami.
. Includes detailed descriptions of Sufi imaginations of Paradise and Hell, and discussions of Qur'anic passages on Adam, Moses and Muhammad related to seeing God
Pieter Coppens is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology of VU University, Amsterdam. Besides Islamic eschatology, his research focuses on the history of Qur'anic Exegesis and the history of Sufism.
Cover image: Tasdiq al-ma'arif by Shams Al-Din al-Daylami. Courtesy of the Turkey Authoring Works Authority for The Süleymaniye Manuscript Library New Mosque Collection 59, 58b
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edinburghuniversitypress.com
ISBN 978-1-4744-3505-5
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Pieter Coppens is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology of VU University, Amsterdam. Besides Islamic eschatology, his research focuses on the history of Qur'anic Exegesis and the history of Sufism.