Several years ago William Chittick gave a lecture at our local university on Ahmad Sam'ani's view of Adam's fall as elaborated in Sam'ani's work, "The Ease of Spirits in Explaining the Names of the All-Conquering King" ("Rawh al-arwah fi sharh asma' al-malik al-fattah").<br /><br />It's a fascinating and beautiful lecture (reflective of the excellence of Chittick's work in general) and I have wanted for some time to make it available online but did not feel right doing so without first obtaining Chittick's permission. I was recently put in contact with him and he has very graciously, granted permission. The lecture is now available as a podcast. You can listen to the first part or it <a href="http://www.islamfrominside.com/Audio/Fall%20of%20Adam%20%28Part%201%20of%203%29.mp3">here</a> or at <a href="http://www.islamfrominside.com/">islamfrominside.com</a> (or click the title of this post to link to the audio) or subscribe/listen to it as a podcast in iTunes or any other podcast aggregrator. Due to file size, I've divided the audio into three parts. The other two parts will follow.<br /><br />The theme of the lecture is God's Mercy and is elucidated through a beautifully detailed and nuanced exposition of Sam'ani's commentary on the fall of Adam. Sam'ani's audience were Muslims who followed and reflected the values of a society where the practical and legal injunctions of Islam were routinely and regularly observed - where the external aspects of the faith were well established and evident in the lives of the people and society in general. While the external, shariah/fiqhi aspect of the religion highlight God's commanding, kingly and legislative qualities, Sam'ani's work had the purpose of illuminating the internal, more esoteric aspects of the faith - focusing especially on the precedence of God's mercy over His wrath, illuminating for his readers aspects of the religion that are often veiled by the more visible external form.<br /><br /><br />Note: A revised/updated version of this lecture is available in written form in chapter 9 of Chittick's book "Sufism: A Short Introduction".<br /><br />- Irshaad Hussain
