Scholar, mystic and visionary, Ibn 'Alwan lived through the transition from Ayyubid to Rasulid rule in thirteenth-century Yemen. He was well known in his time for his critique of the ruling elites and their governance, and left behind a substantial body of writings on Islamic mysticism, theology, law and exegesis of the Qur'an. Here Muhammad Aziz presents a comprehensive portrait of Ibn 'Alwan, delineating the religious and political background in Yemen, the development of Sufi orders, the interplay between Sufi, Shi'i and Sunni traditions, and the impact of Ibn 'Alwan on the history of Sufism and Islam. The first study of Ibn 'Alwan in English, "Religion and Mysticism in Early Islam" is essential reading for all those interested in mysticism, early Islam, Sufism, and religion and history more generally.

Muhammad Ali Aziz received his PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has taught at Princeton University and the University of Michigan. He currently teaches at Yale University and is translating three medieval treatises by Ibn 'Alwan.

List of Illustrations
Notes on Transliteration and Dates
Acknowledgements
Introduction

I. Medieval Yemen's Islamic Environment
II. Sufism in Yemen Prior to the 13th Century

III. The Life and Works of Ibn 'Alwân

IV. Ibn 'Alwân's Theological Views

V. Ibn 'Alwân and the Sufi Tradition
VI. The Fundamentals of Ibn 'Alwân's Sufi Thought

VII. The Islamic Concept of Sainthood and Ibn 'Alwân as a Saint
VIII. Zaydî Imams and the Sufi Tradition in Yemen

IX. Sufism in Yemen after the Age of Ibn 'Alwân

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index