Ali Hussain

Mystical Musings of a Contemporary Dervish Ali Hussain

"Mystical Musings of a Contemporary Dervish" is a collection of writings that reflect a personal journey with Sufi metaphysics and the writings of the Andalusian mystic, Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-'Arabi. The book begins with two short stories revolving around Spectre and his imaginative journey with dead leaves of autumn and aroma of a coffee cup. Thenceforth, the reader is delivered to the shore of an essay on Sufi metaphysics, titled "The Light of the Blessed Tree: Islam's Intellectual Imperative in Modernity," wherein Ibn al-'Arabi is hosted in a meaningful conversation with contemporary Western thought, represented by a wide range of figure, from William Shakespeare to Jacques Derrida. The third component of the work pays homage to the theoretical underpinnings outlined in "The Light of the Blessed Tree" and explores themes of mystical divine love and sacred art in a series of short poems and poetic reflections. "Mystical Musings of a Contemporary Dervish" is a deep experiential journey with the classical and academic studies of Islam, the heartache that comes with feeling out of place in both these worlds and eventual redemptive liberation of feeling at home in the artistic nexus of Sufism.