The Muslim mystic who fasted in his cradle – what does a 19th century MS tell of the 13th century saint?

Abstract

In this paper, the author discusses the problem of interpreting literary sources, using one specific example, namely that of a Muslim saint of the 13th century, as depicted in a 19th century manuscript. The problem is examined on three different levels: 1) the form, 2) the contents, and 3) the context. We can see that the 19th century Muslim saint does not tell so much of a 13th century saint but of the 19th century ideals — and that this statement is due to a 20th century re-reading of the sources.

Keywords

• Mysticism -- Islam
• Sufism
• Islamic saints
• Fasting -- Religious aspects -- Islam
• Criticism, Textual