MARTIN LINGS (1909-2005)

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MARTIN LINGS(1909-2005)

• Presented by
• Siti Nazirah Mustapha
• Sharifah Raabiatul Adawiyah
• Edited by
• Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan
• International Islamic University Malaysia
• 2010

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• Martin Lings was an acclaimed author, editor,
  translator, scholar, and poet.
• His works put an especial emphasis on the
  relationship between God and man through
  religious doctrine, scripture, symbolism,
  literature, and art.

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Life chronology

• 1909 He was born in Lancashire, England.
• 1932 He received his BA in English Literature
  from Oxford University.
• 1935 He discovered the writings of René Guénon,
  the French philosopher. Guénons writings had
  awakened within him the realization that there is
  a common inner Truth that exists within each of
  the great world religions.

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• He came to this realization I knew that I was
  face to face with the Truth. It was almost like
  being struck by lightning. I knew that something
  must be done about this.
• 1939-1940 He reverted to Islam with a Muslim
  name Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din.

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• 1937 He received his MA in English Literature
  from Oxford University.
• Until 1939 He was a Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon and
  Middle English at the University of Kaunas in
  Lithuania.

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• 1940 1951 - He taught English and English
  literature, mainly Shakespeare, at Cairo
  University.
• 1952 Martin Lings composed his definitive
  account of Sufi doctrine in Arabic, which he
  later translated into English and published under
  the title of The Book of Certainty The Sufi
  Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis, taking his
  Muslim name (Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din) as his nom de
  plume.

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• 1959 He received his PhD from the University of
  London.
• 1961 He consolidated his reputation as a
  leading historian of Islamic mysticism or Sufism
  with the publication of his PhD thesis entitled A
  Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century Shaikh Ahmad
  al-Alawi. Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi was the founder
  of a popular modern Sufi order- the Alawiyya,
  which spread throughout Algeria and other parts
  of North Africa.

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• -His PhD thesis has appeared in numerous editions
  and translations French, Spanish, Persian,
  Urdu, Arabic, etc.
• - It was immediately reviewed by the great
  Cambridge Professor of Islamic Studies, A. J.
  Arberry, who highlighted the important original
  contributions to knowledge made by Lings.
• 12 May 2005 At the age of 96, Martin Lings died
  in his home in the Kent countryside in south
  England.

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achievements

• Martin Lings powerful works had made him an
  eminent exponent of Islam and of Sufism.
• He will be remembered as one of the foremost
  contributors to Islamic scholarship, together
  with his close friends Titus Burckhardt and
  Seyyed Hossein Nasr (an Iranian University
  Professor and prominent Islamic philosopher).

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• His classic biography Muhammad His Life Based on
  the Earliest Sources (1983) is widely recognized
  as arguably the most readable account of the life
  of the Prophet to date. It was translated into
  more than ten languages and won a number of
  prizes in the Muslim world.

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His Works

• The Book of Certainty The Sufi Doctrine of
  Faith, Vision, and Gnosis (1952)
• A Moslem Saint of the Twentieth Century Shaikh
  Ahmad Al-Alawi His Spiritual Heritage and Legacy
  (1961)
• Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions (1964)
• Shakespeare in the Light of Sacred Art (1966)
• The Elements, and Other Poems (1967)
• The Heralds, and Other Poems (1970)

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• What is Sufism? (1975)
• The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination
  (1976)
• Muhammad His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
  (1983)
• The Eleventh Hour The Spiritual Crisis of the
  Modern World in the Light of Tradition and
  Prophecy (1987)
• Symbol and Archetype A Study of the Meaning of
  Existence (1991)

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• Mecca From Before Genesis Until Now (2004)
• Sufi Poems A Mediaeval Anthology (2004)
• A Return to the Spirit Questions and Answers
  (2005)
• The Underlying Religion An Introduction to the
  Perennial
• Philosophy (2007) - edited
• The Holy Quran Translations of Selected Verses
  (2007)
• Shakespeare's Spirituality A Perspective. An
  Interview With
• Dr. Martin Lings (2007) - film

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The Book of Certainty The Sufi Doctrine of
Faith, Vision, and Gnosis (1952)

• It marks the beginning of his writing career.
• He first wrote it in Arabic and then translated
  into English.
• It was published under his Islamic name, Abu Bakr
  Siraj ad-Din.
• It is a comprehensive account of Sufi doctrine.
• It demonstrates his comprehensive knowledge of
  the Quran and traditional Sufi metaphysics, as
  well as a deep interest in universal symbolism.

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A Moslem Saint of the Twentieth Century Shaikh
Ahmad al-Alawi (1961)

• He did his doctoral thesis on Algerian Sufi Ahmad
  al-Alawi.
• Later, it was revised and published as a book.
• It was very well-received.
• It is recognized as the most important study of
  the life and teachings of this great Sufi master.
  
• It has been translated into languages that
  include French, Spanish, Persian, Urdu, and
  Arabic.

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Shakespeare in the Light of Sacred Art (1966)

• It has been revised for 4 times and the latest
  edition was published in 2006.
• It provides an Islamic perspective on
  Shakespeares plays.
• In the book, he argues that Shakespeares plays
  contain elements of Sufism.
• He says that the plays are sacred, visionary
  works that, through the use of esoteric symbols
  and form, mirror the inner drama of the journey
  of all souls to reach its final sacred union with
  the divine.

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What is Sufism? (1975)

• It is a penetrating introduction to Sufism.
• In the book, Lings states The full-grown Sufi
  is thus conscious of being, like other men, a
  prisoner in the world of forms, but unlike them
  he is also conscious of being free, with a
  freedom which incomparably outweighs his
  imprisonment.
• This statement captures one of the essences of
  Sufism where Sufis view the physical reality as a
  prison and therefore choose to turn away from it
  by practicing zuhd so that their souls could be
  closer to Allah.

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Muhammad His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
(1983)

• It is a detailed account of the Prophet
  Muhammads life based on Arabic sources of the
  eighth and ninth centuries.
• It was once hailed as the best biography of the
  Prophet in English at the National Seerat
  Conference in Islamabad.
• It has been translated into more than a dozen
  languages and has garnered numerous awards.

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Idris Tawfiq

• Presented by
• Farhana Binti Mohamed Noor
• Nik Izyani Nik Nordin
• International Islamic University Malaysia
• 2010

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IDRIS TAWFIQ
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• Presenting a true image of Islam to the world is
  not always the easiest work, especially when
  people depend so much on a media which
  is often biased and distorted.
• This is when the work of Idris Tawfiq comes in
  and plays a role.
• He is a British Muslim writer and broadcaster.
• He has a degree in English Language and
  Literature from the University of Manchester and
  a degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical
  University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

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• For many years he was Head of Religious Studies
  at different schools in England and Wales and has
  much experience of teaching, both in the UK and
  Egypt.
• Before embracing Islam, he was a Roman Catholic
  priest.

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Role

• Idris Tawfiq is much in demand as a speaker. His
  style of speaking is simple, gentle and touching
  , which causes people to think.
• He points out that he is not an
  Islamic scholar, but rather has a way of
  explaining things about Islam in a very simple
  way .
• He aims at trying to explain Islam to those in
  the West who are not Muslim.
• He travels all over the globe and speaks about
  Islam both to Muslims and non-Muslims.

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• He is very popular with Muslim youths and has
  spoken at over forty universities worldwide.
• He is a speaker on television and radio, having
  made nearly a hundred TV programs.
• After working for a while as the Director of the
  Post Graduate Research Centre at Al-Fatih Islamic
  Institute in Damascus, Idris Tawfiq now lives in
  Egypt.

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• Often asked why he chooses the Middle East as a
  base from which to speak to people in the West
  about Islam, rather than living in London, he
  says that the culture and the people of that
  region are a fertile source of inspiration for
  him.
• He now divides his time between his home in Egypt
  and his travels around the world.

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How he Reverted to Islam

• During a recent lecture he gave at the British
  Council in Cairo, he made it clear that he had no
  regrets about his past and what he holds in
  regards to what Christians do and his life at the
  Vatican for five years.
• I enjoyed being a priest helping the people for
  some years. However, deep inside I was not happy
  and I felt that there was something not
  right. Fortunately, and it is Gods will, some
  events and coincidences in my life led me to
  Islam.

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• His decided to quit his work at the Vatican. As
  priests do not get married, he felt lonely and
  decided to search for the cheapest holiday
  destination he could find a step followed by
  making a trip to Egypt.
• He used to think of Egypt as a country of
  Pyramids, camels, sand and palm trees.
• Shocked to find it similar to some European
  beaches, he took the first bus to Cairo where he
  said he spent the most wonderful week in his
  life.
• This was his first introduction to Muslims and
  Islam. 

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• Like all Britons, my knowledge about Muslims up
  to that time didnt exceed what I heard from the
  TV about suicide bombers and fighters, which gave
  the impression that Islam is a religion of
  troubles.
• However, getting into Cairo I discovered how
  beautiful this religion is.  They have a strong
  faith in the presence and will of Allah. They
  perform salah, fast, help the needy and dream to
  have a trip to Mecca with the hope of living in
  heaven in the hereafter.

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• Unlike many troublesome teenagers, these
  Egyptian students set a good example of what a
  Muslim could be. They were polite and kind. So a
  friendship developed between them and they asked
  if they could use his classroom to perform salah
  during the fasting month of Ramadan.
• His room was the only one with a carpet. So he
  got accustomed to sitting at the back, watching
  them perform salah for a month. He sought to
  encourage them by fasting during Ramadan with
  them, even though he wasnt yet a Muslim.

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• While living in a hotel he came in contact with a
  little boy who was cleaning shoes in the streets.
• One day, he went to the little boy and the boy
  said, Assalamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you). And
  Idris Tawfiq felt deep in heart that the boy
  meant what he said, and he would go to the boy
  every morning just to listen to the boy saying
  the Arabic phrase to him.
• And because of this, he came to a conclusion that
  the Muslims are not bad people like what the
  television says.

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• One day he headed to the biggest Masjid in
  London, to hear more about this religion. Getting
  into London Central Mosque at Regent Park, he
  found Yusuf Islam, the former pop singer, sitting
  in a circle talking to some people about Islam. 
• After a while, he found himself asking Yusuf
  Islam, What do you actually do to become a
  Muslim?

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• He answered that a Muslim should believe in one
  God, perform salah five times a day and fast
  during the month of Ramadan.
• He interrupted him saying that he believed all
  this and had even fasted during Ramadan. 
• So Yusuf Islam asked, What are you waiting for?
  What is holding you back? Idris Tawfiq said,
  No, I dont intend to convert.
• At that moment the call to perform salah was made
  and everyone got ready and stood in lines.

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• He sat at the back and cried. Then he said to
  himself, Who am I trying to fool?
• After they ended their salah, he headed to Yusuf
  Islam, asking him to teach him the words by which
  he would announce his conversion reversion.
• Idris Tawfiq recited after Yusuf Islam in Arabic
  that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad
  is the Messenger of Allah.

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IDRIS TAWFIQs BOOKS

• Ask about Islam Series Talking to Young Muslim,
  Talking to New Muslims, Talking to Muslims in the
  West, Talking about Ramadhan, Calling others to
  Islam, Talking about Other Faiths
• Looking for Peace in The Land of the Prophets
• The Beauty of Islam

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Ask about Islam series

• Talking to Muslims in the West
• Idris Tawfiq stresses that Islam is not a threat
  to the West.
• Muslim brothers and sisters in the West have so
  much to teach Islam throughout the world.
• Talking to New Muslims
• He points out that taking on a new religion is a
  major step and that many new to
• Islam have faced great hardships in order to
  do so.
• It is all the more important, then, to take care
  of these New Muslims and to nurture their
  faith.

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Ask about Islam series

• Calling others to Islam
• He mentions that we are all called to do the
  preaching but in more practical ways that suits
  modern life.
• In a way to call the non-Muslims to Islam, it is
  better to accept them the way they are rather
  than how or to what extent we want them to be.
• Talking to Young Muslims
• This book discusses the young Muslims life and
  the challenges they are facing nowadays.
• He says that the distractions like technology,
  entertainment and so forth should be balanced so
  that they can live in a more Islamic way.

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Ask about Islam series

• Talking about Other Faiths
• He says that honest and open dialogue can enrich
  each one's faith and benefit all the people of
  the world. Thus he promotes inter-faiths
  dialogues.

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IDRIS TAWFIQs ARTICLES

• 1. Garden of delight how is it actually
  being a Muslim?
• Being a Muslim is to be good to people all the
  time because when that happens, we will feel less
  worried about anything other than God because He
  is the One who has power over all.
• It is good because when you die people will
  remember you for your good deeds
• The tragic story of Princess Diana which shows
  how much people of the world remember her as a
  person who had such a big heart and helped the
  needy all over the world.
• Oh thou soul at peace, return to thy Lord,
  well-pleased and well-pleasing Him. (Al-Fajr
  27-28)
• He states that the biggest barrier for Islam to
  be seen as the pure religion is poor knowledge
  and understanding. Therefore, we Muslims need to
  discard all these barriers by being good to
  everyone and by giving good examples.

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• Not living a Muslim lifestyle?
• Muslims nowadays are living kind of lives which
  are not really in accordance with Islamic
  teachings.
• Examples
• In North London Fully licensed halal restaurant
  is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks.
• In Malaysia Almost everything that is happening
  in the West is happening in here too like the
  opening of many night clubs which serve the
  alcoholic drinks to anybody including the
  Muslims.
• Due to this phenomenon, Islam is being badly
  portrayed and perceived by the West and people
  who are practicing those prohibited actions are
  responsible for it.

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• 3. The challenges of Iman in the West
• Limited access to certain basic necessities like
  finding the halal restaurant and halal meat.
• Lack of opportunities to dress in Islamic dress
  code.
• Difficulties in finding right schools for kids.
• Lack of space to pray at work place.
• In Malaysia certain companies
• Do not allow Muslims to perform Friday prayer.
• Do not provide place/room to pray.
• Ask female Muslims to open their aurah if they
  want to get the job.

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IDRIS TAWFIQs thoughts

• Is EVERYTHING forbidden in Islam?
• Activities like watching movies, listening to
  songs, cracking jokes have most of the time
  misunderstood by the Westerners as something
  prohibited in Islam and thus making a Muslim a
  loner and miserable while the truth is, it is
  not. Theres no basis in Islam saying that all
  those things are not permitted in Islam. Even the
  prophets made jokes. However, Islam has its
  guidelines in allowing Muslims to have fun.

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Not yet to conclude but to provide things to
ponder

• There is a lot more to treasure about Islam and
  its messages.
• We should not be so much comfortable at what
  stage we are in now.
• Islam should be taught through good examples not
  merely words.
• Everyone is called for Islam so we should not
  make ourselves a fool by ignoring all the
  messages given. If we can thank people for good
  things they did to us, why cant we thank the One
  who gives us LIFE!
• Islam is EVERYTHING only if you know what it
• really means.