The legacy Hashlamah article argued that Sufism and Kabbalah contain striking parallels and, at identifiable historical points, evidence of direct influence. It highlighted the Islamicate intellectual setting of figures such as Baḥya ibn Paquda and the later history of ecstatic Jewish mysticism.
Baḥya ibn Paquda and the duties of the heart
Baḥya’s Judeo-Arabic ethical writing placed inward intention beside outward observance and drew from a religious world in which Jewish and Muslim ascetic and mystical vocabularies could interact.
Ecstatic practice and transmission
The older article also pointed to scholarship on Abraham Abulafia and the possibility of Sufi influence on breathing, recitation, contemplative concentration, and other ecstatic techniques within Jewish mystical practice.
Why the history matters
Hashlamah does not need to claim that Sufism and Kabbalah are identical. The historical significance lies in permeability: Jewish and Muslim seekers, scholars, and devotional communities have repeatedly existed close enough to learn from one another.
Legacy page summarized from an essay previously attributed on Hashlamah.com to HuffPost.