Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority & Implications

The Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality (IMS) research area at Al-Mahdi Institute is delighted to open registration for its upcoming conference: "Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority, and Contemporary Implications" on 1st – 2nd June 2026.

This conference brings together a distinguished group of scholars whose research engages with the epistemological dimensions of the Islamic mystical tradition. While Sufi ways of knowing — encompassing unveiling, tasting, inspiration, and presential knowledge — have long occupied a central place in Islamic intellectual history, their systematic study within contemporary academic scholarship remains a rich and evolving field. This conference, therefore, aims to examine these questions through rigorous interdisciplinary inquiry, drawing on classical Islamic thought, philosophy, history, and the study of religious experience.

The themes encompassed by the conference reflect the depth and breadth of debates surrounding mystical epistemology across time and tradition. These include the contested proof-value of experiential knowledge in jurisprudence and theology; the relationship between inspiration and prophetic revelation; the hermeneutical role of unveiling in Sufi Qur'anic commentary; and the philosophical systematisation of kashf within major traditions such as the Akbarian school and Mulla Sadra's transcendent wisdom. The programme also engages questions of discursive and institutional authority, including the regulation of ilhām in Ottoman scholarly culture, the place of letter mysticism and occult thought within Sufi epistemology, and the gendered and social dimensions of access to mystical knowledge. Contemporary implications are equally central to the conference's concerns, encompassing the function of experiential epistemology in new religious movements, the boundaries between spiritual experience and psychological states, and the role of mystical knowledge-claims in modern Islamic theology and reform.

The conference provides a unique platform for dialogue among scholars working across Islamic studies, philosophy, history, and the social sciences. By bringing together specialists in classical and contemporary approaches to Sufi thought, the gathering seeks to advance scholarly understanding of how experiential knowledge has been claimed, debated, institutionalised, and contested — and what these dynamics continue to mean for Muslim intellectual and spiritual life today.

Tickets cost £35 per day or £60 for both days. Tickets include lunch and dinner for the chosen day(s).

Student tickets include a 20% discount on ticket prices. Please choose the correct ticket type at checkout.

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