DEVOTIONAL LIFE

The meaning and analytical value of the phrase "devotional life" needs clarification in the case of Islam. "Devotional" is derived from the Latin term devotio, which was originally the name of a ritual in Roman religion, and became predominantly a Christian term, which in the Middle Ages and in modern speech means the obedient submission to God. The theologian John Renard defines devotion as "the elements of personal investment"—energy, feeling, time, substance—that characterize a Muslim communal and individual response to the experience of God's ways of dealing with them. The Islamic-Arabic term closest to devotio may be ikhlas (cf. S. 4:146, speaking about those who "akhlasu dinahum lillah," that is, are sincere in their obedience to God), but this term is not used in religious studies in the same way as it is used in Constance Padwick's classic Muslim Devotions. Even though the devotional practices as described below include the "canonical" rituals (˓ibadat) as well, one assumes that in quantitative terms a great part of devotional life takes place outside the prescribed rituals even though it remains closely connected and intertwined with them. As in other religious traditions, many aspects of devotional life seem to fulfill a need for the "sacramental" aspect: to touch or be near and close to the object of veneration, believed to have healing or intercessional powers.

The term devotion can therefore only be used for the widest variety of forms of engaged, affectionate worship: from the ˓ibadat to the veneration of the prophet Muhammad (for example, in the celebration of his birthday, Ar. mawlid), saints (awliya˒), or intermediary beings such as the jinn and zar spirits, taking place within a wide variety of institutional settings, and under the guidance of a particular leadership. Hence, devotional life refers here in the first place to a broad range of personal, popular behaviors and beliefs that stand in a dialectical relationship with scriptural orthodoxies of various kinds and varieties. The reasons for this tension may vary: Many practices are without precedent in the time of the Prophet (bida˓s), and there may be forms of reprehensible moral behavior such as joint gatherings of men and women, and particular forms of trance. However, it is the alleged veneration of mortal and created human beings instead of God, the Creator, which is condemned as shirk.

Devotional life in Islam has yet to be mapped and its history is still to be written. So far, most studies have focused on written sources (such as Padwick, Muslim Devotions; Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering): small books and booklets, pamphlets, and manuscripts (amulets) that can be purchased in small bookshops, in the streets, and at religious institutions. Among them are many prayer manuals and devotional texts, often originating in the ritual practices of one of the mystical traditions, the subject of Padwick's classic study. The pamphlets may be written by classical authors, most often mystics, such as the famous ˓Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166), but there are also many modern authors.

Devotion to the Prophet is a dominant element in many Sufi movements. A very popular text is the Dala˒il al-khayrat (Guide to happiness) by the Moroccan mystic al-Jazuli (d. 1465). In it, the 201 names of the Prophet occupy an important place, as well as the tasliya, or prayer on the Prophet, which reads in translation: "O God, send your blessing [salli ] on our Lord Muhammad and on the family of our Lord Muhammad and greet them with peace!" The family of the Prophet is sometimes taken very broadly and may include all people of belief. In Shi˓ite books it also includes all the ˓Alids.

In popular pamphlets older texts such as the Qasidat alburda by al-Busiri may be found together with modern texts, forming handbooks of devotion for individual and communal life. Padwick lists different types of ritual forms in addition to the term salat, which may indicate the obligatory salat, the voluntary (nafila) salats, and salats for special occasions, as well as the prayer on the Prophet. These include ˓ibada, which refers to the outward aspects, and wazifa or ratib, the daily individual devotional office. In addition to forms Padwick mentions different types of texts: munajat, or conversations between God and Prophets or other saintly persons; du˓a, a very important term indicating invocations and prayers that can also be said during the salat, particularly the sujud; or prosternation. In this regard, it is important to observe that whereas it is obligatory to recite the Qur˒an (undoubtedly the most important devotional text) during the salat in Arabic, du˓as can also be said in the vernacular. There is a connection between prayers in the vernacular and the emergence of popular literature in such Islamic vernaculars as Persian, Turkish, and other languages. Dhikr literally means "remembrance," namely of God and the ninety-nine beautiful names (memorization of which, tradition holds, almost assures a person entrance into Paradise), and may refer both to a type of text (especially in the plural, adhkar) and the ritual of reciting them. A wird is a litany often accompanied by a name and associated with the devotional life of a particular Sufi order. Other texts are referred to as hizb, litany, a term which also refers to an allotted part, namely of the Qur˒an, or of a text such as the Dala˒il (divided into eight ahzab). Al-Shadili (d. 1258) composed the famous Hizb al-bahr aboard a vessel on his way to Mecca. Ahzab have a strong connotation of offering protection against hostile natural or human forces. The same holds true for the Hirz, which literally means "stronghold." All such types of texts are recited at different ritual occasions. In addition, many popular pamphlets deal with other devotional subjects such as magic (Ar. sihr), evil powers, for example, those of the jinn and the evil eye (alhasad, al-˓ayn) and how to avert or control them, and with the afterlife and eschatological subjects (for example, "life" in the grave). Devotional life should also be approached through music and literary works of prose and poetry. For example, in his autobiographical work Ein Leben mit dem Islam (A Life with Islam; 1999), Nasr Abu Zaid reminds us that recitation of the Qur˒an had spiritual as well as aesthetic and physical aspects. Another interesting autobiography, and an important source for devotional life of a woman in the Islamist movement, is that of Zaynab al-Ghazali.

Studies into devotional life based on field work exist, but do not abound and is only rarely the subject of a monograph. One may think of the accounts by Edward Lane (Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians; 1846), Snouck Hurgronje of life in Mecca, Edward Westermarck's Ritual and Religion in Morocco, Usha Sanyal on Barelwi devotions (although it focuses on fatwas rather than on field work), Abdul Hamid El Zein's study of saint veneration in Lamu, John Bowen's Muslims Through Discourse (a study in the Gayo highland), or Ian Netton's book on Sufi ritual in the United Kingdom.

Images, pictures, and paintings form an important source for the study of devotional life. In this respect, a promising new contribution can also be expected of visual anthropology (e.g., films such as those by Fadwa El Guindi, El Sebou˒, on life-cycle rituals in Egypt). Finally, the Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, has emerged as a medium for the spread of devotional life. Quite a few Sufi orders are active in cyberspace, and noteworthy developments take place there with regard to publications as well. A great lacuna remains, however, the lack of empirical analysis on a micro level in which textual (and musicological and iconographical) study is combined with (participant) observation.

See alsoAdhan ; Dhikhj ; Du˓a ; ˓Ibadat ; Tasawwuf .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bowen, John R. Muslims through Discourse. Religion and Ritual in Gayo Society. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1993.

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Renard, John. Seven Doors to Islam: Spirituality and the Religious Life of Muslims. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

Sanyal, Usha. Devotional Islam and Politics in British India:Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi and his Movement, 1870–1920. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999.

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Zein, Abdul Hamid el-. The Sacred Meadows. A StructuralAnalysis of Religious Symbolism in an East African Town. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University, 1974.

Gerard Wiegers