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{{short description|American philosopher, writer and translator}}
{{Infobox philosopher
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|denomination =
|era
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|caption =
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|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|6|29|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Milford, Connecticut]], U.S.
|school_tradition =
|alma_mater = [[University of Tehran]]
|main_interests = [[Sufism]], [[Islamic philosophy]]
|website = [http://www.williamcchittick.com www.williamcchittick.com]
}}
'''William
==Biography==
Born in [[Milford, Connecticut]] on June 29, 1943,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://alkindi.ideo-cairo.org/agent/5308 |title=William C. Chittick |website=Library of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies }}</ref><ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi ">{{cite book | last1=Rustom | first1=M. | last2=Khalil | first2=A. | last3=Murata | first3=K. |chapter=Editors introduction| title=In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought | publisher=State University of New York Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4384-3937-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-k5wf8JTM-cC | page=xi, xii}}</ref> Chittick earned his B.A. in history in 1966 from the [[College of Wooster]] in [[Wooster, Ohio]].<ref name="ʻIrāqī 1982 p. viii ">{{cite book | last1=ʻIrāqī | first1=F.D.I. | last2=Chittick | first2=W.C. | last3=Wilson | first3=P.L. | last4=Nasr | first4=S.H. | title=Divine Flashes | publisher=Paulist Press | series=Classics of Western spirituality | year=1982 | isbn=978-0-8091-2372-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CkbYAAAAMAAJ | page=viii}}</ref> As part of his undergraduate program, he undertook the study of Islamic history at the [[American University of Beirut]] during the 1964–1965 academic year. During this time, he became familiar with [[Sufism]] as he chose to focus on the subject for his junior year independent study.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> Following a period of scholarly inquiry into the precepts of Sufism, he attended a public lecture by [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]], who was then the Aga Khan Visiting professor of [[Islamic studies]] at the American University of Beirut.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> This lecture deepened his interest in Sufism, and, upon his graduation from Wooster, led him to pursue graduate studies at the [[University of Tehran]]'s Faculty of Letters, where he spent eight years (1966-1974) working towards his doctoral degree in [[Persian literature]].<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/><ref name="Rustom 2022 p. "/> He earned his PhD in 1974 under Nasr's supervision.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> His PhD dissertation, which was published in 1977 and later reprinted in 1992, focused on [[Jami]]'s ''Naqd al-nusus''. This work is a critical commentary on Ibn 'Arabi's ''Naqsh al-fusus'', which is a shortened version of his ''Fusus al-hikam''. While pursuing his studies at the University of Tehran, Chittick also served as a research assistant at the Center for the Study of Islamic Science from 1971 to 1972.<ref name="Rustom 2022 p. ">{{cite book | last=Rustom | first=M. | chapter=Preface| title=Islamic Thought and the Art of Translation: Texts and Studies in Honor of William C. Chittick and Sachiko Murata | publisher=Brill | series=Islamic History and Civilization | year=2022 | isbn=978-90-04-52903-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgqmEAAAQBAJ| page=xvi-xvii}}</ref>
Chittick later taught comparative religion at [[Sharif University of Technology|Aryamehr Technical University]] and joined the faculty of the [[Iranian Research Institute of Philosophy|Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy]] in 1978.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> While in Tehran, he met [[Sachiko Murata]], who was also studying there, and they got married.<ref name="Rustom 2022 p. "/> During his stay in [[Tehran]], Chittick studied under and collaborated with distinguished scholars of Islamic thought such as [[Peter Lamborn Wilson]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Versluis |first1=Arthur |title=A Conversation with Peter Lamborn Wilson |journal=Journal for the Study of Radicalism |date=2010 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=139–165 |doi=10.1353/jsr.2010.0000 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/431501/summary |access-date=15 April 2024 |issn=1930-1197}}</ref> [[Sayyed Jalal-ed-Din Ashtiani|Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani]], [[Henry Corbin]], [[Toshihiko Izutsu]], [[Badiozzaman Forouzanfar|Badi' al-Zaman Furuzanfar]], Jalal al-Din Humai, [[Mehdi Mohaghegh]], and [[Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai|Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai]]. This extended contact with such scholars gave Chittick a unique appreciation and mastery of classical Arabic and Persian, as well as a broad understanding of medieval Islamic philosophical, theological, and mystical texts.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/>
Prior to the [[Iranian Revolution|revolution]] in 1979, Chittick returned to the [[United States]] with his wife, and served as an associate editor for [[Encyclopædia Iranica]] in the early 1980s.<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> Chittick began working at Stony Brook University in 1983 as an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies.<ref name="Rustom 2022 p. "/> He is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Stony Brook University.<ref>[http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/asianamerican/facultystaff/WilliamChittick.html Stony brook edu]</ref>
Chittick has been the recipient of several academic honors throughout his career. These include the Kenan Rifai Distinguished Professorship at the Institute of Advanced Humanistic Studies at [[Peking University]], as well as an Honorary Professorship at the School of Philosophy and Religious Studies at [[Minzu University of China|Minzu University]]. In addition, he has been awarded fellowships from a number of esteemed organizations, such as the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]], the [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|John Simon Guggenheim Foundation]], the Harvard Centre for the Study of World Religions, and the [[School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences|Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales]] (EHESS).<ref name="Rustom 2022 p. "/><ref>[https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/william-chittick/ "Fellows"] www.gf.org</ref>
==Influence==
William Chittick is "renowned for his translations and interpretations of classical Islamic philosophy and mystical texts".<ref name="Bano 2020 p. 64">{{cite book | last=Bano | first=M. | title=The Revival of Islamic Rationalism: Logic, Metaphysics and Mysticism in Modern Muslim Societies | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-108-48531-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIHCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=64}}</ref> He has been variously called "one of the most important contemporary translators and interpretors of Islamic mystical texts and poetry",<ref name="Laude 2011 p. 161">{{cite book | last=Laude | first=P. | title=Universal Dimensions of Islam: Studies in Comparative Religion | publisher=World Wisdom, Incorporated | series=G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-935493-57-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsC-RUvVsywC&pg=PA161 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=161}}</ref> "arguably the leading scholar of Ibn al—Arabi writing in English",<ref name="van Bruinessen Allievi 2013 p. 178">{{cite book | last1=van Bruinessen | first1=M. | last2=Allievi | first2=S. | title=Producing Islamic Knowledge: Transmission and Dissemination in Western Europe | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Islamic Studies Series | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-136-93286-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WO-5e-HSdOoC&pg=PA178| page=178}}</ref> "a well known scholar on Rumi and Sufism",<ref name="Ozdemir 2013 p. 29">{{cite book | last=Ozdemir | first=I. | title=Rumi and Confucius: Messages for a New Century | publisher=Tughra Books | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-59784-664-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxZRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=29}}</ref> "one of the leading American scholars of the Sufi mystical tradition",<ref name="Katz 2013 p. 315">{{cite book | last=Katz | first=S.T. | title=Comparative Mysticism: An Anthology of Original Sources | publisher=OUP USA | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-19-514379-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkSEheKgiBAC&pg=PA315 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=315}}</ref> "a leading Western scholar of Islamic spirituality",<ref name="Bakar Cheng 1997 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Bakar | first1=O. | last2=Cheng | first2=G.N. | title=Islam and Confucianism: A Civilizational Dialogue | publisher=Published and distributed for the Centre for Civilizational Dialogue of University of Malaya by University of Malaya Press | series=Civilizational dialogue series | year=1997 | isbn=978-983-100-038-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyHYAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=}}</ref> "One of the most prominent scholars of Sufi Islam and of the concept and practice of Ihsan" <ref name="Khan 2019 p. 95">{{cite book | last=Khan | first=M.A.M. | title=Islam and Good Governance: A Political Philosophy of Ihsan | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-137-54832-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWWRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=95}}</ref> "a distinguished scholar on Sufism",<ref name="Mayer Vanderheiden 2021 p. 214">{{cite book |last1=Mayer |first1=C.H. |author-link=Claude-Hélène Mayer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbosEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 |title=International Handbook of Love: Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives |last2=Vanderheiden |first2=E. |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=978-3-030-45996-3 |page=214 |access-date=2023-03-09}}</ref> "a leading and greatly respected scholar in the field of the classical Muslim intellectual tradition",<ref name="Mahmutćehajić 2006 p. 81">{{cite book | last=Mahmutćehajić | first=R. | title=The Mosque: The Heart of Submission | publisher=Fordham University Press | series=Abrahamic dialogues series | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-8232-2584-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVK3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 | access-date=2023-03-09 | page=81}}</ref> and "one of the major scholars of Islamic thought" in the contemporary world.<ref name="Lawson p. i">{{cite journal | last=Lawson| first=Todd| title=The Quran as Matrix of Islamic Civilization and Society | publisher=International Institute of Islamic Thought | journal=American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences |volume=25|issue=3| year=2008 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJU3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR1| page=i}}</ref> According to [[Mohammed Rustom]], [[Atif Khalil]], and Kazuyo Murata, "Students of Islamic thought are, in one way or another, indebted to Chittick's writings".<ref name="Chittick Rustom Khalil Murata 2012 p.xi "/> Taneli Kukkonen of New York University states that "Over the course of four decades, William Chittick has done more than anyone to elucidate for an Anglophone audience's benefit the theosophical side of Sufi literature and later Islamic philosophy".<ref name="Kukkonen 2014 pp. 239–244">{{cite journal | last=Kukkonen | first=Taneli | title=In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought by William K. Chittick | journal=Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies | publisher=Project Muse | volume=7 | issue=2 | year=2014 | issn=2051-557X | doi=10.1353/isl.2014.0023 | pages=239–244}}</ref>
==Major works==
Chittick has published 30 books and numerous articles on Islamic intellectual history, Sufism and Islamic philosophy.
===Books===
* ''The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi: An Introduction'' (Tehran: Aryamehr University Press, 1974). <small>A new edition, ''The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi'', released in 2005 (see below).</small>
* ''The Sufi
* ''The Sufi Path of
* ''
*
* ''Varolmanın Boyutları (The Dimensions of Existence)'' A collection of seventeen essays edited and translated by Turan Koç (Istanbul: Insan Yayınları, 1997).
* ''The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-'Arabi's Cosmology'' (Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], 1998).
* ''Sufism: A Short Introduction'' ([[Oxford]]: Oneworld, 2000). <small>It has been translated into [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] (2002), [[Turkish language|Turkish]] (2003), [[Farsi|Persian]] (2004, 2007), [[Albanian language|Albanian]] (2007), [[Italian language|Italian]] (2009) and [[Russian language|Russian]] (2012).</small>
* ''The Heart of Islamic Philosophy:The Quest for Self-Knowledge in the Teachings of [[Afdal al-Din Kashani]]'' (Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 2001). <small>It has been translated into [[Farsi|Persian]] (2011).</small>
* ''
* ''
* ''
* With [[Sachiko Murata]] and [[Tu Weiming]], ''The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms'' (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Centre, 2009).
* ''In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought.'' An anthology of Chittick's writings (from 1975 to 2012) edited by [[Mohammed Rustom]], Atif Khalil, and Kazuyo Murata (Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], 2012). It has been translated into Persian. (2017)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nashrefalat.com/auther/show/45 |title=ویلیام چیتیک |website=nashrefalat.com |language=Persian |access-date=2017-06-30 |archive-date=2021-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201845/http://www.nashrefalat.com/auther/show/45 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''Divine Love: Islamic Literature and the Path to God'' (New Haven: [[Yale University Press]], 2013). <small>It has been translated into [[Farsi|Persian]] (2016).</small>
* ''Rumi et Shams: la voie spirituelle de l'Amour.'' A collection of Chittick's writings translated into French by Jean Annestay (Paris: Editions i Littérature, 2021).
* ''Muqarabat fi l-tasawwuf wa-l-hubb wa-l-insan.'' Several articles translated by Muhammad 'Ali Jaradi and Dima El-Mouallem (a special issue of al-Mahajja 36 [2021], edited by Ahmad Majed).
* ''L'Âme et le Cosmos: Miroir et unite.'' A selection of articles translated by Ghislain Chetan (Paris: Les Lumières d'Orient, 2023).
* ''Dirasat fi fikr al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-'Arabi wa-madrasatihi.'' A large collection of articles on Ibn 'Arabi and his school translated by Naser Dumairieh and edited by Abdel Baki Meftah (Kuwait: Dar al-Ma'ani, 2023).
===Edited volumes===
* With Seyyed Hossein Nasr (vols. 1–3) and Peter Zirnis (vols. 2–3), ''An Annotated Bibliography of Islamic Science'' (Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, 1975–78, vols. 1–2; Tehran: Cultural Studies and Research Institute, 1991, vol. 3).
* [[Jami|'Abd al-Rahmân Jâmî]], ''Naqd al-nusûs fi sharh naqsh al-fusûs'', Persian and Arabic text with critical apparatus, notes, English and Persian introductions, indexes (Tehran: [[Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy]], 1977).
* ''The Works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr Through His Fortieth Birthday.'' Edited and Introduced (Uppsala: University of Utah Press, 1977).
* ''The
* ''The
===Translations===
* [[Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i]], ''[[A Shia Anthology|A Shi'ite Anthology]]'' (Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], 1981).
* [[
* [[Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi|Fakhr al-Din 'Iraqi]], ''Divine Flashes.'' Translated with [[Peter Lamborn Wilson|P.L. Wilson]] (New York: [[Paulist Press]], 1982).
* [[Javad Nurbakhsh]], ''Sufism [II]: Fear and Hope, Contraction and Expansion, Gathering and Dispersion, Intoxication and Sobriety, Annihilation and Subsistence'' (New York: Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi, 1982).
* [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], ''Supplications (Du'â)'', (London: Muhammadi Trust, 1982).
* [[Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin|Zayn al-'Abidin]], ''The Psalms of Islam.'' Translated and introduced (London: Muhammadi Trust, 1988). Reprinted as ''The Psalms of Islam: English Version'' (Birmingham: al-Mahdi Institute, and Marsta, Sweden: Me'raj Educational Publishers, 2007).
* [[Javad Nurbakhsh]], ''Sufism IV: Repentance, Abstinence, Renunciation, Wariness, Humility, Humbleness, Sincerity, Steadfastness, Courtesy'' (London: Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi, 1988).
* ''Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts'' (Albany: [[State University of New York Press]], 1992).
*
* [[Mulla Sadra]], ''The Elixir of the Gnostics.'' Translated, Edited, and Introduced (Provo: [[Brigham Young University Press]], 2003).
* [[Shams Tabrizi|Shams al-Din Tabrizi]], ''Me and Rumi: The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi.'' Annotated and Translated (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2004).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/the-book-in-my-hand/article8145529.ece|title=The book in my hand|date=2016-01-24|newspaper=The Hindu|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
* [[Ibn 'Arabi]], select translations from ''The Meccan Revelations.'' Translated by [[Michel Chodkiewicz]] (ed.), ''The Meccan Revelations'' (New York: Pir Press, 2004).
* [[Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi]], ''The Texts.'' Translated in [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]] and [[Mehdi Aminrazavi]] (eds.), ''An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia,'' vol. 4 (London: I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2012). Note: The translation of this text in this volume is slightly abridged. For the complete translation, see https://www.academia.edu/8101330/Sadr_al-Din_Qunawi_The_Texts_al-Nusus_
* Aqa Muhammad Rida Qumsha'i, [https://www.academia.edu/18066172/Aqa_Muhammad_Rida_Qumshai_Two_Arabic_Treatises ''On the Oneness of Existence, or Rather, the Existent'' and ''Addendum to the Ringstone on Seth from 'The Ringstones of Wisdom': On the Topics of Friendship.''] Translated in Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Mehdi Aminrazavi (eds.), ''An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia,'' vol. 5 (London: I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2015).
* [https://www.academia.edu/7542492/Rashid_al-Din_Maybudi_The_Unveiling_of_the_Mysteries_and_the_Provision_of_the_Pious_Kashf_al-asrar_wa_uddat_al-abrar_ Rashid al-Din Maybudi, select translations from ''The Unveiling of the Mysteries and the Provision of the Pious''] (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2015). Also available online at [http://www.altafsir.com/Books/kashf.pdf Altafsir.com].
*
==See also==
{{Sufism}}
* [[Insha-Allah Rahmati]]
* [[Iranistics]]
* [[Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i]]
* [[
* [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]]
* [[
* [[Sufism]]
==
{{reflist}}
==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.williamcchittick.com Personal Website]
* [https://sunysb.academia.edu/WilliamCChittick All of Chittick's articles, as well as a number of his translations and interviews with him (downloadable for free)]
* [http://meti.byu.edu/mysticism_chittick.html "Mysticism in Islam" - lecture delivered at the Center for International Studies, Brigham Young University, May 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518081802/http://meti.byu.edu/mysticism_chittick.html |date=2008-05-18 }}
* [http://www.seriousseekers.com/Audio%20and%20Video/Audio_pathstoheart/audio_chittick_cosmologydhikr.htm Free recording the 2001 Paths to the Heart Conference – lecture and Q&A section] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705024213/http://www.seriousseekers.com/Audio%20and%20Video/Audio_pathstoheart/audio_chittick_cosmologydhikr.htm |date=2016-07-05 }}
* [http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Podcasts/Fall%20of%20Adam%20podcast.html Audio lecture on the Myth of the Fall of Adam in Ahmad Sam'ani's ''Refreshment of Spirits''].
* [http://www.mohammedrustom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Equilibrium-and-Realization-AJISS-25.3-2008.pdf An article on Chittick's understanding of self and cosmos].
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chittick, William}}
[[Category:American
[[Category:State University of New York faculty]]
[[Category:Islamic philosophers]]
[[Category:Sufi writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Milford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:University of Tehran alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Sharif University of Technology
[[Category:American Iranologists]]
[[Category:American Arabists]]
[[Category:American orientalists]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran alumni]]
[[Category:Traditionalist School]]
[[Category:Rumi scholars]]
[[Category:Ibn Arabi scholars]]
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