Martin Lings

Martin Lings (January 24, 1909 - May 12, 2005) was a British scholar of Sufism.

Related Topics:
January 24 - 1909 - May 12 - 2005 - British - Sufism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lings was born in Burnage, Lancashire in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings would gain an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment. Lings completed his studies at Clifton College, and then studied at Oxford University, Magdalen College. At Oxford, he was a student of CS Lewis, who would become a close friend of his. After studying at Oxford, Lings went to Lithuania where he taught in Kaunas.

Related Topics:
Burnage - Lancashire - Protestant - United States - Clifton College - Oxford University - Magdalen College - CS Lewis - Lithuania - Kaunas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For Lings himself, however, the most important event that occurred while he was at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the French philosopher René Guénon and the German spiritual authority and metaphysician Frithjof Schuon. In 1938 Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance, and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life. Having found an authentic and orthodox spiritual path was for him the most important event of his life and he devoted the rest of his life to the spiritual path and serving God.

Related Topics:
René Guénon - Frithjof Schuon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1939 Lings went to Cairo, Egypt in order to visit a friend of his, who was an assistant of the traditionalist philosopher René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend would die, and Lings began studying and learned the Arabic language. It was in Cairo that Lings studied Sufism, maintaining Guénon's views of all religions being different manifestation of the divine truth. Lings embraced Islam and became Muslim in the 1940's.

Related Topics:
1939 - Cairo - Egypt - René Guénon - Arabic language - Sufism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cairo would become his home for over a decade, he would become an English teacher at the University of Cairo and would produce Shakespearean plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944, and lived with his wife in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.

Related Topics:
English - University of Cairo - Shakespearean - 1944 - Pyramids - 1952

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Upon returning to the United Kingdom, he continued his education, earning a PhD from SOAS. His thesis at SOAS would become a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi. After earning his PhD, Lings would work at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works.

Related Topics:
PhD - SOAS - Ahmad al-Alawi - British Museum - British Library

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A writer throughout this period, Lings output would increase in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well-regarded, his most famous work was a biography about the Prophet Muhammad, written in 1983, that earned him acclaim in the Muslim world, and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent.

Related Topics:
Prophet Muhammad - 1983 - Pakistan - Egypt - Kent

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~