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Ecstasy
(8,208 words)

Ecstasy (wajd), an overwhelming and heightened state of awareness, usually of joyful intoxication and wonderment, specifically associated with an experience of mystical self-transcendence, or a whole range of emotive responses to an encounter with the divine. Sometimes this experience leads to ecstatic utterances which are shocking or even heretical to the ordinary mind (see below: Ecstatic Speech).

The Definitions of Ecstasy

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Cite this page
Stephen Hirtenstein, “Ecstasy”, in: Encyclopaedia Islamica, Editors-in-Chief: Farhad Daftary. Consulted online on 09 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1875-9831_isla_COM_037169>
First published online: 2018
First print edition: 20180110



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