Martin Lings

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(No Transcript)
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English thinker Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din (Martin
Lings)
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English thinker Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din (Martin
Lings). Martin Lings was one of the most
eloquent and serene Western voices in the Islamic
world. Through his rich and varied oeuvre,
translated into more than a dozen languages,
Lings transmitted a certain vision of the sacred
as embodied in Sufism, the esoteric, spiritual
dimension of Islam.
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Lings was born in 1909 in Lancashire. After
Clifton College in Bristol, he went to Magdalen
College, Oxford, and read English under C.S.
Lewis, who recognized his gifted students
spiritual ardor. Young Martin was intensely
pious and spent the hours he was not working in
prayer, specifically to the Virgin Mary,
requesting her guidance in finding his spiritual
path. After Oxford he traveled in Europe,
lecturing at various universities including
Kaunas in Lithuania.1
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He traveled to Egypt in 1940, originally to visit
a friend who was lecturing at Cairo University.
During the visit, his friend died in a riding
accident and Lings was offered the post. It was
at about this time that he converted to Islam,
and was soon imbued with the Sufi dimension of
the religion. He found the critique of modern
civilization by the French Muslim writer, René
Guénon, particularly convincing and shared his
universalism, within the context of Islam.
Back in London in 1952, and without a job, Lings
decided to study, while Lesley, a
physiotherapist, went back to work. After taking
a BA in Arabic studies, he received his doctorate
from the School of Oriental and African Studies
(Soas) for a thesis on the great Algerian Sufi,
Ahmad al-Alawi. This was the basis for one of his
most influential books, A Sufi Saint Of The
Twentieth Century, recognized as a unique view of
Islamic spirituality seen from within.
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In 1955, he joined the staff of the British
Museum as assistant keeper of oriental printed
books and manuscripts he was keeper from 1970 to
1973, when he was seconded to the British
Library. This work focused his interest in
Quranic calligraphy and he published a classic
work on the subject, The Quranic Art Of
Calligraphy And Illumination, to coincide with
the 1976 World of Islam Festival, with which he
was closely involved.2
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He spent the last 30 years of his life writing
books, and lecturing all over the world, to a
growing following. Among his numerous books are
the magisterial Muhammad his life based on the
earliest sources (1983), Shakespeare in the Light
of Sacred Art (1966, reissued as The Secret of
Shakespeare, 1984, with an introduction by the
Prince of Wales), in which the roots of
Shakespeares oeuvre are traced to the Platonic
and Scholastic traditions, and the splendid The
Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination
(1976, republished as Splendors of Quran
Calligraphy and Illumination, 2004). Ling's final
work was Mecca, a history of the sacred city from
pre-Abrahamic times to today, published last
year.2.
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At the time when so much nonsense is talked about
the clashes of civilizations and Islam is under
siege, the work of Martin Lings shines like a
beacon. He lived in a modest cottage in the
middle of woods in Kent. A keen and original
gardener, he created a small but ravishing garden
with a view over the undulating country all
around. He was laid to rest among the flowers and
plants he had lovingly cultivated. Refrence 1
http//www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/mar
tin-lings-6145686.html 2 http//ccm-inc.org/iqr
a/index.php?page0507martinlings  
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Text source Islam story web site www.Islamsto
ry.com Prepared by - Translation Campaign
Team www.facebook.com/translation.campain 2012
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