The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return by Najm al-Din Razi; Hamid AlgarReview by: Annemarie SchimmelInternational Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Nov., 1983), pp. 584-585Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/163579 .

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584 Reviews

NAJM AL-DIN RAZI, The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return (Mirsad al- Cibdd men al-mabda' ila'l-mac'ad). A Sufi compendium by Najm al-Din RazT, known as Daya. Translated from the Persian, with introduction and annotation, by Hamid Algar. Persian Heritage Series 35 (Delmar, New York: Caravan Books, 1982).

Najmuddin Daya Razl's Mirasd al-'ibdd is one of the most central texts in the "sober" mystical tradition, and has been studied for centuries in the Eastern Islamic world, particu- larly in Turkey, where it was soon translated, and in India, where the tarTqa to which Daya belonged (the Kubrawiyya) was largely responsible for the Islamization of Kashmir, thanks to the efforts of Sayyid CAll Hamadhani (d. 1385); later, the Kubrawiyya and the Naqshbandiyya often merged in northern India. This text, even used in Indo-Muslim apologetic works, is offered here in Hamid Algar's translation, which, as is to expected, reads very well and reflects the spirit of the original very faithfully. One may, as in every translation, disagree with this or that rendering; thus, I find "bondsmen" for 'ibdd instead of the generally used "servants" somewhat recherche-but this is more or less a question of personal taste, as are some other instances.

RazT Daya's Mirsad alludes in its very title to Sana'T's Sair al-'ibad ild'l-ma'Cd, and it is remarkable how often Sana'i is quoted by the author while 'Attar, whose poetical works must have been also known to him, is never mentioned. This is another proof for Sana'i's enormous influence on early Persian mystico-ascetic writing, which can also be witnessed in Rium's poetry. Interestingly, there are many quotations from Anvari, certainly not a religious poet!

The Mirsad speaks first, with many a mythological detail, of creation; then of the veils that cover the human spirit. It then deals with prophetology (the "Refinement of the soul" and "the Adornment of the heart") and, after mentioning the wayfarer's need for a shaikh, dwells upon the various kinds of dhikr. The author then discusses the visions of light as they are typical of the Kubrawi path, and which were mentioned first by H. L. Fleischer in the ZDMG 17 (1865) (Ober die farbigen Lichterscheinungen der Sufis) before Fritz Meier treated them in his masterly edition of Najmuddin Kubra's Fawa'ih al-jamdl wa fawdtih al-jaldl (Wiesbaden, 1957). The fourth part of the Mirsad is devoted to the "return" of the various types of the soul (one would have liked to see the term nafs with some explanation when "the soul" comes up first; otherwise the text sounds strange for a reader who, as an average Westerner, considers the "soul" as something lofty and positive). The last part then teaches the different ways kings, scholars, merchants, etc. are supposed to wander on the Path toward God.

The book is a storehouse of medieval Sufi thought, and one wonders whether Rium? was aware of it (since it had been presented by its author to the very Seljuk king who invited RumT's father to Konya) or whether similarities in imagery are to be ascribed to the common spiritual climate, that of eastern Iran, in which both mystics have their roots.

Particularly interesting is RazT Daya's prophetology and his stress on the Muhammadan Light as the true origin of created beings, and his beautiful parable of the Prophet Muhammad who, "in the oven of love . . . bakes the bread of religion," whose ingredients had been sifted and kneaded by the previous prophets and which he now offers to the whole world. RazT's attacks on 'Umar Khayyam prove that the mathematician was indeed known as the author of ruba'iydt as early as the first decades of the thirteenth century. In his negative attitude toward the hellenistic philosophers, Razi Daya follows exactly the line of Ghazzali, SanadT, and his own master, MajduddTn Baghdadd, a line that continued through RuimT to Muhammad lqbal. On the other hand, Hallaj is often quoted and positively judged.

The annotations give the Koranic quotations and the origins of the verses and some explanations, which could have been extended with some more secondary material for the

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Reviews 585 Reviews 585

benefit of the nonspecialist; the same is valid for the bibliography, to which some recent works (like Meier's Abu SaC'd-i Abu 'I-Khair) could have been added. The only real problem is the transliteration for which the translator is not responsible: it renders some words, like Khwaja, almost illegible (K Vaja) and will confuse the nonspecialist who cannot combine the normally used dhikr with zekr or looks in vain for Termezi whom he knows as Tirmidhi, etc.

We welcome this long-awaited book with gratitude; it will remain one of the basic works on Sufism in English and will, as its translator rightly states, refute the pseudo- Sufis by showing the Koranic roots of classical Sufism. We recommend it warmly, albeit that Daya, who saved his own life and left his family to be killed by the Mongols, is not what we would consider an ideal Sufi model.

Harvard University ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL

ALI KAZANCTGIL and ERGUN OZBUDUN, eds., Atatiirk: Founder of a Modern State (Ham- den, Conn: Archon Books, The Shoestring Press, 1981). Pp. vi + 243.

JACOB M. LANDAU, Pan-Turkism in Turkey: A Study in Irredentism (London: C. Hurst, 1981). Pp. iv + 219.

These two books embody an intriguing juxtaposition. The first, an edited collection of essays by a variety of scholars, constitutes an attempt to provide analytic insights into the political, social, and economic legacy of the founder of modern Turkey on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. The second is a meticulous examination of a group of indi- viduals and ideas which were peripheral to the mainstream of Turkish politics under Ataturk.

The KazancTgil and Ozbudun collection of essays on Atatiirk includes a number of illustrious scholars representing a variety of perspectives. The coverage includes the prin- ciples of Kemalism, as Atatiirk's program came to be called; the social and historical roots of these principles in the Ottoman past; Atatiirk as an institution builder; the political structure of Atatiirk's regime; its international position and policies (as seen by a Soviet observer); the Kemalist movement as a revolution viewed from a comparative perspective; the nature and significance of economic policies and developments under Atatiirk; the sociological and cultural significance of Atatiirk's secularism; and, finally, a comparison of Japanese and Turkish modernization. All eleven essays (including the introduction) were apparently written especially for this work. The purpose, in the words of the editors, was not to hold Atatiirk or his Turkey up as a model for emulation by other Third World societies, but rather to "stimulat(e) . .. debate around issues concerning state-building and institutionalisation in nations undergoing a very rapid political and socio-cultural change" (p. 5). Although, inevitably, a multi-authored volume encompasses contributions of uneven quality, this effort is remarkably successful.

An assessment of Atatirk is tricky for several reasons. First, the current military regime has exerted great efforts to capitalize on his name and his ideas for its own immediate purposes. Second, so much has been written about the subject over the years that it is sometimes difficult to imagine that there is anything new to say. Several of the essays in this volume, however, are significant contributions. In particular, they analyze the emer- gence of the Turkish Republic in terms of the peripheralization of the Ottoman-Turkish economy and its increasing dependence on the main centers of western capitalism. The authors who pursue this line of argument tend to view Atattirk's contribution as designed to lessen, or even put an end to, Turkish economic dependence on the west. Of particular interest in this regard is Korkut Boratav's analysis of agricultural prices and external

benefit of the nonspecialist; the same is valid for the bibliography, to which some recent works (like Meier's Abu SaC'd-i Abu 'I-Khair) could have been added. The only real problem is the transliteration for which the translator is not responsible: it renders some words, like Khwaja, almost illegible (K Vaja) and will confuse the nonspecialist who cannot combine the normally used dhikr with zekr or looks in vain for Termezi whom he knows as Tirmidhi, etc.

We welcome this long-awaited book with gratitude; it will remain one of the basic works on Sufism in English and will, as its translator rightly states, refute the pseudo- Sufis by showing the Koranic roots of classical Sufism. We recommend it warmly, albeit that Daya, who saved his own life and left his family to be killed by the Mongols, is not what we would consider an ideal Sufi model.

Harvard University ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL

ALI KAZANCTGIL and ERGUN OZBUDUN, eds., Atatiirk: Founder of a Modern State (Ham- den, Conn: Archon Books, The Shoestring Press, 1981). Pp. vi + 243.

JACOB M. LANDAU, Pan-Turkism in Turkey: A Study in Irredentism (London: C. Hurst, 1981). Pp. iv + 219.

These two books embody an intriguing juxtaposition. The first, an edited collection of essays by a variety of scholars, constitutes an attempt to provide analytic insights into the political, social, and economic legacy of the founder of modern Turkey on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. The second is a meticulous examination of a group of indi- viduals and ideas which were peripheral to the mainstream of Turkish politics under Ataturk.

The KazancTgil and Ozbudun collection of essays on Atatiirk includes a number of illustrious scholars representing a variety of perspectives. The coverage includes the prin- ciples of Kemalism, as Atatiirk's program came to be called; the social and historical roots of these principles in the Ottoman past; Atatiirk as an institution builder; the political structure of Atatiirk's regime; its international position and policies (as seen by a Soviet observer); the Kemalist movement as a revolution viewed from a comparative perspective; the nature and significance of economic policies and developments under Atatiirk; the sociological and cultural significance of Atatiirk's secularism; and, finally, a comparison of Japanese and Turkish modernization. All eleven essays (including the introduction) were apparently written especially for this work. The purpose, in the words of the editors, was not to hold Atatiirk or his Turkey up as a model for emulation by other Third World societies, but rather to "stimulat(e) . .. debate around issues concerning state-building and institutionalisation in nations undergoing a very rapid political and socio-cultural change" (p. 5). Although, inevitably, a multi-authored volume encompasses contributions of uneven quality, this effort is remarkably successful.

An assessment of Atatirk is tricky for several reasons. First, the current military regime has exerted great efforts to capitalize on his name and his ideas for its own immediate purposes. Second, so much has been written about the subject over the years that it is sometimes difficult to imagine that there is anything new to say. Several of the essays in this volume, however, are significant contributions. In particular, they analyze the emer- gence of the Turkish Republic in terms of the peripheralization of the Ottoman-Turkish economy and its increasing dependence on the main centers of western capitalism. The authors who pursue this line of argument tend to view Atattirk's contribution as designed to lessen, or even put an end to, Turkish economic dependence on the west. Of particular interest in this regard is Korkut Boratav's analysis of agricultural prices and external

This content downloaded from 62.122.76.74 on Fri, 9 May 2014 08:41:09 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions