Ibn Masarra and the Beginnings of Mystical Thought in al-Andalus*
Ibn Masarra and the Beginnings of Mystical Thought in al-Andalus* Some of the crucial stages in the development of both Jewish and Christian mysticism have taken place in the Iberian peninsula. Suffice it to mention the Zohar on the one hand, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross on the other. That the emergence and development of mystical systems of both religions in Spain justifies a comparative study seems almost obvious. But no such study would be complete - in fact, no such study would be likely to offer a balanced or correct historical insight - without it including also Muslim Andalusian mysticism. Miguel Asín Palacios has forcefully argued for the relationship between Christian and Islamic mystics. Asín saw the roots of the Carmelite renunciation of carismata in the teaching of the Muslim mystic Ibn 'Abbad of al-Rondā (d. 1389)1. Asín was also sensitive to Jewish-Muslim connections, but he did not dwell on their existence in the domain of mysticism, but rather ...