The subtle body and the experience of politics in the human 1

Breathing Hearts

“…29. See Sharify-Funk et al (2018), Milani (2018, Ridgeon (2015a), Chittick (2015), Taji-Farouki (2009), Ernst (2003. 30.…”

“…[Referring to the Light verse (Qur'an 24:35), Hafiz concluded] Through the remembrance of Allah, the divine light comes into being, and the heart is polished so that it gleams like a polished mirror. (Hafiz's text in a local magazine, published in September 2008) Sufi studies scholars have discussed the heart in relation to other (subtle) body parts (Pagani 2017;Milani 2013;Rustom 2008;Kugle The electronic open access publication of Breathing Hearts has been made available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license as a part of the Berghahn Open Migration and Development Studies initiative.…”

“…Sufi bodies, together and separately, differ from the image of the human body in anatomical atlases. The subtle body of Sufism may not fit together even with the subtle bodies derived from other traditions (Milani 2013). Sufi discourse talks about the human body in ways that cannot be fully translated into academic discourse.…”

“…The subtle body centers in Sufi discourse do not entirely correspond to the subtle body centers (chakras) in yoga discourse (Dale 2009). The Sufi schema of the subtle heart center may have been influenced by Taoist, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions, but exact historical linkages are not confirmed (Milani 2013;Ernst 2005). The latifa qalbiyya (subtle center of the heart) was prominent in the teachings of Naqshbandi Sheikh 'Ala Uddawla Simnani (d. 1336) (Lizzio 2007;Schleßmann 2003, 46).…”

“…history (Milani 2018;Green 2012;Heck 2009Heck , 2007b. Sufi practices are not without political consequences under the shadow of nationalism, literalist and reformist religion, and secularist hegemony.…”