Islamic Mysticism

THEMES IN ISLAMIC STUDIES

A (new) Brill Series including short histories and concise surveys of appealing
themes in the eld of Islamic and Arabic Studies. The various titles give an
accessible overview of a specic aspect or topic. Scholars and graduate students
nd in this series easy reference tools to current subjects in Islamic history and
culture. Several titles are edited compilations of articles from the Encyclopaedia
of Islam (second edition).

VOLUME 1

Islamic Mysticism
A Short History

By

Alexander Knysh

LEIDEN BOSTON
2000

Cover illustration: Bibliothque nationale de France, Paris, RESERVE OD-43-PET,

FOL 24 (NQ-C-024203), Visite du chanteur sou Shir Muhammed auprs dAbul
Hasan Qutb Shah, XVIIIme sicle.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this title as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knysh, Alexander D.
Islamic mysticism : a short history / by Alexander Knysh,
p. cm. (Themes in Islamic studies, ISSN 1389-823X ; v. 1)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9004107177 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. SusmHistory. 2. MysticismIslamHistory. I. Title. II. Series.
BP189.K69 1999
297.409dc21
99-41321
CIP
Die Deutsche BibliothekCIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Knysh, Alexander:
Islamic mysticism : a short history / by Alexander Knysh. Leiden ;
Boston ; Kln : Brill, 2010
(Themes in Islamic studies : Vol 1)
ISBN 90-04-10717-7

ISSN 1389-823S
ISBN 978 90 04 10717 5 (Hardback)
ISBN 978 90 04 19462 5 (Paperback)
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ...................................................................... ix
A Note on Transliteration .......................................................... xi
List of Abbreviations .................................................................. xiii
Introduction ..................................................................................

Chapter I. The Beginnings ........................................................

The Name ................................................................................
Assumptions and Goals ..........................................................
The Archetypal Sufi: Al-asan al-Bar ................................
The Accumulation of Ascetic and Mystical Lore ................
'Abd al-Wid b. Zayd ..........................................................
Variety of Devotional Styles: Ibrhm Ibn Adham,
Ibn al-Mubrak and Fuayl Ibn 'Iy ..............................
The Love Mysticism of Rbi'a al-'Adawiyya ......................
The Formation of Mystical Language and Speculation:
Shaqq al-Balkh ..................................................................

5
5
8
10
13
16
18
26
32

Chapter II. Asceticism and Mysticism in Western

Provinces: Syria and Egypt ....................................................
Ab Sulaymn al-Drn and His Circle ............................
Dh l-Nn al-Mir ................................................................

36
36
39

Chapter III. The Sufism of the Baghdad School ....................

The Rise of Mystical Psychology: al-Musib ....................
The Formation of the Baghdadi Tradition ..........................
A Mysticism of Sobriety: al-Junayd al-Baghdd ..................
The Tongue of Sufi Science: Ab Sa'd al-Kharrz ..........
The Blossom of Erotic Mysticism ..........................................

43
43
48
52
56
60

Chapter IV. The Intoxicated Mysticism of al-Bism and

al-allj ....................................................................................

68

Chapter V. Ascetic and Mystical Movements in Bara

and Khursn ........................................................................

83

vi

contents
Ibn Karrm and the Karrmiyya ........................................
The Path of Blame ................................................................
Why Sufism? Some Observations Regarding Sufisms
Ascendancy During Islams Golden Age ..........................

88
94
99

Chapter VI. The Systematization of the Sufi Tradition ........

Ab Nar al-Sarrj and His Kitb al-Luma' ....................
Ab lib al-Makk ..............................................................
Sufism on the Eastern Fringe ..............................................
The Systematization of Khursn Tradition:
al-Sulam ............................................................................
Ab Nu'ayms Decoration of the Saints ..........................
Al-Qushayrs Sufi Manual ....................................................
Sufism Speaks Persian: al-Hujwrs Kashf al-majb ............
Sufism With a anbal Flavor: al-Anr al-Haraw ..........
The Maturity of Sufi Science: al-Ghazl ..........................

125
128
130
132
135
140

Chapter VII. Sufism As Literature and Metaphysics: The

Grand Masters of Mystical Poetry and Philosophy ............
'Ar ........................................................................................
Rm ......................................................................................
Jm ........................................................................................
Sufism As Unitive Metaphysics: Ibn [al-]'Arab ..................

150
152
156
161
163

Chapter VIII. Unity and Diversity in Sufism The Rise of

the arqas ..........................................................................
The Grand Masters of arqa Sufism ..................................
'Abd al-Qdir and the Qdiriyya ....................................
Al-Suhraward and the Suhrawardiyya ............................
Al-Shdhil and the Beginnings of the Shdhiliyya ........
Bah" al-Dn Naqshband and the Naqshbandiyya ........
Najm al-Dn Kubr and the Kubrawiyya ......................
Sufism in a Sh' Context: The Ni'matullhiyya ................

169
179
179
192
207
218
234
239

Chapter IX. Sufi Institutions in Regional Contexts Over the

Last Six Centuries ..............................................................
Sufism and Sufi Brotherhoods in the Maghrib ..................
Sufism in sub-Saharan Africa ..............................................
A Turkish Face of Sufism: The Khalwatiyya and Other
Turkic Orders ....................................................................

116
118
121
123

245
245
251
264

contents

vii

Sufi Institutions in Moghul India ........................................

Sufism in Indonesia ..............................................................
Sufism in the Caucasus ........................................................
Shmil and Muridism: Methodological Problems ..........

280
286
289
294

Chapter X. Major Sufi Concepts and Institutions ................

The Path: arq(a) ................................................................
The States and Stations of the Mystical Path ............
The Goal of the Mystical Path: fan"/baq" ........................
Sufi Epistemology: Kashf ........................................................
Methods of Inducing Mystical States: khalwa, dhikr,
and sam' ............................................................................

301
301
303
309
311

General Conclusion ....................................................................

Bibliography ................................................................................
General Index ............................................................................
Index of Book Titles ..................................................................
Index of Terms ..........................................................................

326
328
334
351
354

314

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my profound gratitude to the following contributors to the Encyclopaedia of Islam for granting me permission to
use their articles on various aspects of Sufism:
H. Algar, Nashband, Nashbandiyya, Ni'matallhiyya
C. E. Bosworth, Karrmiyya
G. Bwering, Sahl al-Tustar and al-Sulam
J. During, Sam'
A. Hartmann, al-Suhraward, Shihb al-Dn
P. M. Holt, al-Mahdiyya
J. O. Hunwick, Kunta and Taawwuf in Africa
C. H. Imber, al-Malmatiyya
F. de Jong, Khalwatiyya
A. H. Johns, Shams al-Dn al-Samatr"
H. Landolt, Khalwa
B. Lawrence, Makhdm al-Mulk Manr
I. M. Lewis, Muammad b. 'Abdallh assn
P. Lory, al-Shdhil and al-Shdhiliyya
Y. Marquet, al-Tirmidh al-akm
R. S. OFahey, ara in northeastern and eastern Africa
B. Reinert, Sar al-Saa
F. Sobieroj, al-Suhraward , Abu l-Nab, al-Shibl, alSuhrawardiyya
W. M. Watt, al-Ghazl
Th. Zarcone, ara in the Turkish lands
I bear full responsibility for any mistakes that may have crept into
this volume. I owe a special debt to my wife Anya, who spared neither time nor eort seeing this book through. Finally, I dedicate this
book to my parents, Dmitri Knysh and Alexandra Knysh, in gratitude for their love and kindness.

A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION

In transliterating Arabic and Persian words I follow the system of

the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam with the modifications
adopted by the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, namely q
instead of and j instead of dj. All dates are given according to the
Muslim lunar calendar (hijra), which are followed by a backslash and
the Common Era equivalent.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EI
BEO
JAOS
JRAS
MIDEO
StI
ZDMG

The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, vols. 111, Leiden.

Bullentin dtudes Orientales de lInstitut Franais de Damas,
Damascus.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Ann Arbor, MI.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,
London.
Mlanges de lInstitut Dominicain dtudes Orientales du Caire,
Cairo.
Studia Islamica, Paris.
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft, Wiesbaden.