In this article I propose that questions about the nature of contemporary Sufism, especially in Western contexts, can be addressed with further precision and nuance by shifting focus from Sufism’s relationship to Islam, its shari‘a, or Islamic law (fiqh). As very few questioned prior modern period, analytical shift offers advantage contextualizing debates Sufism within much richer history intra...

in his book quranic studies, wansbrough presents two criteria of style and function for typification of old commentatorial texts before al-tabari. recognizing twelve commentatorial devices and borrowing some expressions from jewish commentatorial works, he divides old quranic commentaries into five categories of parabolic, juristic, textual, rhetorical, and analogical. based on literary analysi...