Description
In this talk, Annabel Keeler explores the enduring impact of Bāyazīd’s radical devotion, his title as ‘Sultan of the Gnostics,’ and how his mysticism challenged religious norms.
The ninth-century mystic Bāyazīd (Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī) is one of the most influential figures in Sufi history. Revered by Rumi, Ibn ʿArabī, and Fakhr al-Dīn Rāzī, his ecstatic utterances and uncompromising vision earned him both veneration and controversy – sometimes even accusations of unbelief.
Though he left no written works, his teachings endure through sayings and stories preserved in the Sufi tradition. Keeler’s acclaimed study on Bāyazīd was published earlier this year.
About the Speaker
Annabel Keeler
Annabel Keeler is an Affiliated Researcher at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Studies, University of Cambridge. She works in the field of Sufi exegesis as well as the formative period of Islamic mysticism. Her published works include: Sufi Hermeneutics: The Qur’an Commentary of Rashīd al-Dīn Maybudī, The Spirit and the Letter: Approaches to the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qurʾan, and a translation of Tafsīr al-Tustarī. Her latest monograph, published by Brill, is entitled Bāyazīd: the Life and Teachings of the Mystic Abū Yazīd al-Basṭāmī.
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