Talk: Divine Names in Islamic Thought

A guest lecture by Yousef Casewit.

There is no way to know God except through knowing His names and attributes. But what exactly is a divine name? How is it possible to name God? What do God’s names really tell us about the divine Essence?

The divine names tradition constitutes a distinct and early sub-genre of writings within the fold of Muslim theology, philosophy, and mysticism that continues to attract the attention of Muslim scholars up to the present day.

Yousef Casewit is the chair of Islamic studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His research areas include Qur'anic Studies, medieval commentaries on the ninety-nine names of God, intellectual history of North Africa and al-Andalus, and Muslim perceptions of the Bible. He has several publications, most recently The Mystics of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century (2017), a study on Ibn Barrajan’s life and teachings. He is currently working on a translation and critical edition of a commentary on the divine names by the Algerian scholar ʿAfif al-Din al-Tilimsani.

Born in Egypt and raised in Morocco, he is fluent is Arabic, French and Spanish. Yousef has traveled throughout the Islamic world, and has studied with Muslim scholars in Morocco, Syria and Mauritania.

Hosted by WLU Muslim Studies, Religion & Culture and Ontario Ismaili Council. Sponsorship provided by The Office of the President, WLU.