 Al-Qusharyri's Epistle on Sufism | |
| Editors | Dr. Muhammad Eissa,Laleh Bakhtiar,'Abd al-Halim Mahmud |
|---|---|
| Author | Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri |
| Original title | الرسالة القشيرية في علم التصوف |
| Translator | ProfessorAlexander D. Knysh |
| Language | Arabic,English,French,German,Persian,Turkish, andUrdu |
| Subject | Sufism,Tabaqat,Kalam (Islamic theology) |
| Publisher | Suhail Academy Lahore, Mizan Press, Kazi Publications |
Publication date | 2011 |
| Publication place | Persia (present-dayIran) |
| Pages | 480 pages |
| ISBN | 978-9695191828 |
| Followed by | Lata'if al-Isharat (Subtleties of the Allusions) |
Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya fi 'Ilm al-Tasawwuf (Arabic:الرسالة القشيرية في علم التصوف,lit. 'The Qushayriyyan Epistle on the Science of Sufism'), mostly known asal-Risala al-Qushayriyya (The Treatise of al-Qushayri), is one of the early complete manuals of the science ofSufism (tasawwuf in Arabic), written by theShafi'i-Ash'ari scholarAbu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 465/1074). It was written in 438/1045–6 and has been published in several editions and translated in various languages, includingEnglish,French,German,Persian,Turkish, andUrdu.[1][2] It became the most widely disseminated handbook of Sufism in theIslamic world.[3]
Al-Qushayri's goal was to show the compatibility between mystical teaching and mainstreamSunni Islam. The purpose of authoring the book was to provide a solid structure for Sufism, along with its terminology and principles, and to demonstrate the conformity of Sufi beliefs and practices with the norms of the Shari'a, and to show that the creed of the Sufis was identical to that of the Ahl al-Sunna (in itsAsh'ari formulation).[1]
The work is considered as an indispensable reference book for those who study and specialize inIslamic mysticism, since it combines the two genres of biographicalhagiography and technical manual – a feature that no other text from the period displays.
The work may be divided as follows:[3]
Al-Qushayri took it as axiomatic that the beliefs of the Sufi shaykhs were "in agreement withSunni teaching on questions of the fundamentals of faith (Usul al-Din)".[3] In discussing a plethora of Sufi technical terms, unique to their spiritual vernacular, al-Qushayri also dedicates a section to a lucid and detailed account ofmujahada (spiritual striving orjihad). Fittingly, al-Qushayri begins this entry by quoting the Qur'anic verse: As for those who struggle in Our cause, We will surely guide them along Our Way. And Allah is certainly with the good-doers.[Quran29:59] and following it with the hadith: 'A man asked, "What is the best form of jihad?" to which the Islamic prophetMuhammad replied, "To speak the truth in front of an oppressive ruler"'.
Al-Qushayri goes on to interweave a variety of pious dicta from a number of early spiritual authorities such asIbrahim ibn Adham (d. 777),Abu Sulayman al-Darani (d. 830),Abu Yazid al-Bistami (d. 848),Dhu al-Nun al-Misri (d. 860),Sari al-Saqati (d. 867),Abu Hafs al-Haddad (d. between 869 and 874) andAbu al-Qasim al-Junayd (d. 910), as well as quotations from his own Sufi mentors,Abu 'Ali al-Daqqaq (d. 1015) andAbu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (d. 1021). Among the most concise and telling quotations is that ofAbu 'Uthman al-Maghribi (d. 983), who is quoted as saying, "Whoever thinks that some aspect of the [spiritual] path (tariqa) will be opened to him or some facet of it revealed to him without spiritual struggle (mujahada), he is sadly mistaken".[4]
The book has been translated in English and published under the title:[7]
The first German translation was byRichard Gramlich [de] with introduction and commentary, and was printed atFranz Steiner Verlag in 1989 under the title "Das Sendschreiben al-Qusayris über das Sufitum."[8]
The first French translation was by André Fontenay, and it was printed and published in 2016 under the title "Épître sur la science du soufisme."[9]
The first Urdu translation was by Maulana Mohammad Irfan Beg Noori, and it was printed and published in 2000 under the title "Ruh-e-Tassawwuf" available at Darul Irfan, Aligarh, UP, India.
The work has garnered numerous plaudits. Alexander Knysh suggests that al-Qushayri is famous principally because of this mystical treatise and that it was "probably the most popular Sufi manual ever".Annemarie Schimmel concurs, holding that it "is probably the most widely read summary of early Sufism" and stressing that "it was analyzed in the West prior to most other books on Sufism".Heinz Halm, in his Encyclopaedia of Islam article, cherishes al-Qushayri's Risala as "a most important compendium of the principles and terminology of Sufism", where, in this work as elsewhere, al-Qushayri attempts to reconcile Sufi practices, held as suspect by so many of the 'ulama' (scholars of the religious and legal sciences), with the dictates of Islamic law.[10]
Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 771/1370) in his bookMu'id al-Ni'am wa Mubid al-Niqam (Arabic:معيد النعم ومبيد النقم,lit. 'Restorer of Graces and Annihilator of Misfortunes') praised the creed ofal-Qushayri, who mentioned it in his epistle, and considered it as one of the most important classical Sunni creeds held by theAsh'aris, along withal-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya by the Hanafi scholarAbu Ja'far al-Tahawi (d. 321/933), andal-'Aqida al-Murshida [ar] byIbn Tumart (d. 524/1130), the founder of theAlmohad Empire in North Africa andal-Andalus, who was a student ofal-Ghazali.[11]
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