Martin Lings | |
|---|---|
Abū Bakr Sirāj al-Dīn | |
 Lings in 2001 | |
| Title | Shaykh |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1909-01-24)24 January 1909 Burnage, Manchester, England |
| Died | 12 May 2005(2005-05-12) (aged 96) Westerham, Kent, England |
| Era | Modern era |
| Notable work(s) | Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Islamic scholar, author, Shakespearean scholar |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Tariqa | Shadhili |
| Creed | Sunni |
| Movement | Traditionalist School |
| Spouse | Lesley Smalley (1944–2005) |
Martin Lings (24 January 1909 – 12 May 2005), also known asAbū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of theSwissmetaphysicianFrithjof Schuon[1] and an authority on the work ofWilliam Shakespeare, he is best known as the author ofMuhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, first published in 1983 and still in print.
Lings was born inBurnage, Manchester, in 1909 to aProtestant family.[2] He gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States because of his father's employment. He attendedClifton College[3] and went on toMagdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a BA in English Language and Literature. At Magdalen, he was a student and then a close friend ofC. S. Lewis. After graduating fromOxford Lings went toVytautas Magnus University, inLithuania, where he taughtAnglo-Saxon andMiddle English.[2]
For Lings himself, however, the most important event while at Oxford was his discovery of the writings ofRené Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert, and those ofFrithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938, Lings went to Basel to make Schuon's acquaintance. This prompted him to embrace the branch of theAlawiyya tariqa led by Schuon. Thereafter, Lings remained Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.[4]
In 1939, Lings went toCairo,Egypt, to visit a friend who was an assistant of René Guénon. Soon after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studyingArabic. Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English language teacher at theUniversity of Cairo and producedShakespeare plays annually.[5] Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near thepyramids.[6] Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.[7]
On returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from theSchool of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a book on AlgerianSufiAhmad al-Alawi.[2] After completing his doctorate in 1959, Lings worked at theBritish Museum and later theBritish Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works,[2] rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970–73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journalStudies in Comparative Religion.
A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well regarded, his most famous work was abiography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt.[8] His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference inIslamabad.[9] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home inKent. He died on 12 May 2005.[6]
Lings and aSalafist scholar named Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi had a public debate about some accounts of Lings' biography of Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The exchange was published bySaudi Gazette.[10]
His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a foreword byCharles III.[11] Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the filmShakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings.[12]
