Islam and the Contemporary World

Islam and the Contemporary World

The Concept of “Crossing the Boundary” and the “Center and Periphery” Model in Peter Coppens’ Interpretive Study: A Critique and Analysis of Limitations

Document Type : Original Research Article

Author
Seyed Ali Mostajaboldavati
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
10.22034/icwj.2025.518755.1034
Abstract
The article reconsiders Peter Coppens’ categories of “crossing the boundary” and “center and periphery” in the study of Sufi Qur’anic interpretation. Rather than accepting these models at face value, it highlights how they fail to capture the complexity of Sufi thought. The first model, which links worldly existence with the hereafter, overlooks key spiritual notions such as fanāʾ (annihilation), qurb (nearness), and waḥdat al-wujūd (unity of being), as well as the regional diversity of Sufi traditions in places like Nishapur, Baghdad, and Andalusia. The second model, which situates Sufism within the larger religious tradition, reduces the institutional and intellectual rivalries between Sufi masters and jurist–scholars to overly simple binaries. Drawing on a combination of textual readings, historical sources (Tārīkh Nīshābūr, Tārīkh Baghdād), and comparative approaches, the study argues that Coppens’ reliance on non-indigenous theories (e.g., Lange and Shils) results in ambiguous definitions, insufficient evidence, and a disregard for discursive as well as institutional dynamics. To move beyond these limitations, it recommends employing indigenous Sufi categories such as fanāʾ, qurb, and tajallī, together with textual-historical, phenomenological, and discursive frameworks, in order to produce analyses more closely aligned with the intellectual and social contexts of Islamic tradition.
Keywords
Sufi interpretations
Peter Coppens
crossing the boundary
center and periphery
Sufism
Subjects
The Holy Qurʾān.
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