Spektrum Iran

Abstract At the beginning of his academic career, the German Protestant theologian Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck published two fundamental works on Sufism or Islamic mysticism in addition to a number of theological writings. In 1821: Sufismus sive Theosophia Persarum Pantheistica quam e MSS. Bibliothecae regiae Berolinensis Persicis, Arabicis, Turcicis eruit atque illustravit and 1825: Blütensammlung aus der morgenländischen Mystik: nebst einer Einführung über Mystik allgemein und Morgenländische innesonder. In the introduction to the collection of flowers, Tholuck first explains what mysticism is in general and then what Islamic mysticism is in particular, and then compares Islamic mysticism with the Christian faith. In doing so, he finds both similarities and differences. A large part of the flower collection also contains his translations of Persian mystical poems. Before these connections are examined and presented in detail in the following, a brief overview of Tholuck's life and work is given.