Martin Lings
Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din) (born January 24, 1909 in Burnage , Lancashire , † May 11, 2005 in Westerham , Kent ) was a British Anglicist , orientalist and religious philosopher .
Life
The Protestant Lings first studied English literature at Oxford , u. a. at CS Lewis , with whom he became a close friend. During his studies his interest in the other world religions was aroused. He was particularly influenced by the writings of René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon . In 1938 he went to Schuon in Basel, whose pupil he remained throughout his life. In the same year, Lings converted to Islam under the impression of the Algerian scholar Ahmad Alawî asch-Shazalî , where he was given the name Abu Bakr Siraj ed-Din .
From 1938 to 1948 he worked as a lecturer in English literature at Cairo University . During this time he also worked as René Guénon's personal secretary and studied the Arabic language and Sufism .
He then returned to London, where he studied Arabic and received a diploma in oriental studies in 1955 . He then moved to the library of the British Museum in London, where he was in charge of the department for oriental manuscripts. In 1970 he was appointed director.
Lings published several works on the mysticism of Islam, including a. What is Sufism? and A Twentieth Century Sufi Saint translated into many languages. His internationally best-known work is the biography Muhammad - His Life According to the Earliest Sources, written in 1983 . Lings also wrote various articles for the Encyclopædia Britannica .
Fonts
- 1989 The eleventh hour , Freiburg im Breisgau: Aurum.
- 1990 What is Sufism? , Freiburg im Breisgau: Aurum.
- 1992 as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn: The Book of Certainty. The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Vision and Gnosis . The Islamic Texts Society , Cambridge, England, ISBN 0-946621-37-3 .
- 1993 A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century. Shaikh Ahmad al-'Alawi - His Spiritual Heritage and Legacy . The Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, England 1993, ISBN 0-946621-50-0 .
- deutsch 2005 A Sufi saint of the twentieth century: Sheikh Aḥmad al-ʿAlawī - his spiritual heritage and legacy , Kandern: Spohr.
- 2000 Muhammad. His life according to the earliest sources , Kandern: Spohr.
- 2005 Old belief and modern superstition , Kandern: Spohr.
- 2018 Mecca. From the earliest times to the present day, Lympia (Cyprus): Spohr Publishers.
Web links
- Literature by and about Martin Lings in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lings, Martin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British Anglicist, orientalist and religious philosopher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 24, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Burnage , Lancashire |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 11, 2005 |
| Place of death | Westerham (Kent) , Kent |