MARTIN LINGS ( 1909-2005)

1. MARTIN LINGS(1909-2005) Presented by SitiNazirah Mustapha SharifahRaabiatulAdawiyah Edited by Dr. Md. MahmudulHasan International Islamic University Malaysia 2010

2. 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.

3. 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. Guénon’s writings had awakened within him the realization that there is a common inner Truth that exists within each of the great world religions.

4. 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 BakrSirajad-Din.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. -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. • 12May 2005 – At the age of 96, Martin Lings died in his home in the Kent countryside in south England.

9. 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).

10. 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.

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. 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 Qur’an: Translations of Selected Verses (2007) • Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings (2007) - film

14. 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 BakrSiraj ad-Din. • It is a comprehensive account of Sufi doctrine. • It demonstrates his comprehensive knowledge of the Qur’an and traditional Sufi metaphysics, as well as a deep interest in universal symbolism.

15. 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.

16. 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 Shakespeare’s plays. • In the book, he argues that Shakespeare’s 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.

17. 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.

18. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (1983) • It is a detailed account of the Prophet Muhammad’s 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.

19. IdrisTawfiq Presented by FarhanaBinti Mohamed Noor NikIzyaniNikNordin International Islamic University Malaysia 2010

20. IDRIS TAWFIQ

21. 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 IdrisTawfiq 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.

22. 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.

23. Role • IdrisTawfiq 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.

24. 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, IdrisTawfiq now lives in Egypt.

25. 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.

26. 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 God’s will, some events and coincidences in my life led me to Islam.”

27. 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. 

28. “Like all Britons, my knowledge about Muslims up to that time didn’t 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.”

29. 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 wasn’t yet a Muslim.

30. 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, “AssalamuAlaikum” (Peace be upon you). And IdrisTawfiq 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.

31. 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?”

32. He answered that a Muslim should believe in one God, perform salahfive 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?” IdrisTawfiq said, “No, I don’t intend to convert.” • At that moment the call to perform salah was made and everyone got ready and stood in lines.

33. 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.”

34. IDRIS TAWFIQ’s 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

35. Ask about Islam series… • Talking to Muslims in the West: • IdrisTawfiq 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.

36. 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.

37. 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.

38. IDRIS TAWFIQ‘s 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.

39. “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.

40. 3. “The challenges of Iman in the West” • Limited access to certain basic necessities like finding the halalrestaurant 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.

41. IDRIS TAWFIQ’s thoughts “ Is EVERYTHING forbiddenin 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. There’s 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.

42. 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 can’t we thank the One who gives us LIFE!… • Islam is EVERYTHING only if you know what it really means.