Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi (Arabic:أبو بكر الكلاباذي), in full,Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub al-Bukhari al-Kalabadhi (Arabic:أبو بكر بن أبي إسحاق محمد بن إبراهيم بن يعقوب البخاري الكلاباذي) (fl. late 10th century,Bukhara) was aPersian^[1]HanafiMaturidi^[2]Sufi scholar and the author of theKitab at-ta'arruf, one of the most important works ofSufism composed during the first 300 years of Islam.

Very little is known about his life. His Arabic name (Nisba) indicates that he lived in Kalabadh (a district of Bukhara) and was probably of Persian ancestry. Depending on the source, he died in 990, 994 or 995. His grave in Bukhara still receives many visitors.

Kalabadhi studied Sufism under Abu al-Husayn al-Farisi andFiqh under Muhammad ibn Fadl.

Of his six or seven works, two in Arabic survive:

• Bahr al-fawa´id/ Ma´ani al-akhbar. Short moral commentaries on 222 of theHadith.
• Kitab at-ta'arruf (the English translation byA. J. Arberry is calledThe Doctrine of the Sufis.)

Al-Kalabadhi's fame rests on theKitab at-ta'arruf. The work itself consists of 75 relatively short chapters, but several long commentaries have been appended. The work was written primarily for two purposes: to advocate the Sahu ("sober") school of Sufi thought and to assure adherents of orthodox Islam that Sufism does not contradict their beliefs. The second point was of special importance, as Sufism was in danger of being declared aheresy.

Not long before, in 922, the famous Sufial-Hallaj had been publicly executed on allegations of heresy. This must have had a significant effect on al-Kalabadhi. He quotes al-Hallaj frequently in his works, but never by name. He is simply referred to as "one of the great Sufis".

The book is still understandable for modern readers and preserves many important quotes from the first three hundred years of Islam.

• List of Sufis
• List of Sufi saints

• Arthur J. Arberry (Trans.):The Doctrine of the Sufis. University Press, Cambridge 1977,ISBN 0-521-21647-8
• Kalabadhi. In: Emery van Donzel (Ed.):Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill, Leiden 1978,ISBN 90-04-05745-5.
• Kalabadhi. In:Mircea Eliade (Ed.):Encyclopedia of Religion, Bd. 8. Macmillan, New York 1987,ISBN 0-02-909790-8, S. 230–231.

• Sunni Sufis
• Hanafis
• Maturidis
• 10th-century Iranian writers
• 10th-century scholars
• 10th-century Islam
• 10th-century Islamic religious leaders
• Scholars of Sufism

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• Articles containing Arabic-language text