Al-Sulami (d. 412/1021) was an influential classical Sufi master whose works espoused companionship as a way for believers to experience God’s guidance and cultivate religious virtues. This book provides a historical reconstruction of Sufi companionship in Khurasan in the period, arguing that al-Sulami's concept of suhba (companionship) envisioned the transformation of society as whole, not just the master-disciple relationship. Bringing debates in contemporary virtue ethics to bear on al-Sulami's spiritual method, the book offers an original analysis of the latter’s thought that will be of interest to scholars of early Islam and classical Sufism as well as moral theologians interested in virtue ethics, character and friendship.
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Transliteration, Dating, Primary Sources and Abbreviations
Introduction: What Does Virtue Ethics Have to Do with Sufism?
Companionship and community
Virtue and character
Biography of al-Sulami
Recent scholarship on al-Sulami
Companionship and virtue
Chapter 1: The Emergence of Adab in al-Sulami’s Spiritual Method
‘Adab literature’
Works of Sufi adab and adab literature
Adab, akhlaq and ahwal
Adab as MacIntyrean practice
Adab among al-Sulami’s Sufi predecessors
Al-Sulami’s approach to Adab
Dhikr adab al-sufiyya
Maiyyat al-faqr wa-adabihi
Adab al-faqr wa-sharaituhu
Adab mujalasat al-mashayikh
Jawami adab al-sufiyya
Kitab bayan al-sharia wa-l-haqiqa
Kitab adab al-suhba
Conclusion
Chapter 2: Virtue and Character in al-Sulami’s Thought
What does Athens have to do with Nishapur?
The treatment of traits
MacIntyre on tradition and virtue
Sufi psychology
The stations (maqamat)
Spiritual centres
The ego-self (nafs)
The heart (qalb)
The secret (sirr) and the spirit (Ruh)
Al-Sulami’s notion of akhlaq
Emotional akhlaq
Growth in virtue: Outside-in or inside-out?
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Al-Sulami’s vision of fellowship and spiritual companionship
Suhba and ishra: A difference in degree or in kind?
The dangers of suhba
The many faces of suhba and ishra
Acknowledged dependence, with a little help from my friends
O brother, who art thou?
Suhba in the relationship between master and disciple
Does suhba suffer fools?
Relations with women
The etiquette of the marketplace
Chapter 4: Suhba in comparison: al-Sulami’s near contemporaries
Philosophical approaches to friendship
Al-Tawhidi: The loyal friend of selfless care
The elevation of shaykhs and the bond of brothers
Al-Sarraj: Companions to disturb and to serve
Al-Qushayri: Stability and exclusivity on the path
Conclusion
Conclusion
MacIntyre, al-Sulami, and avenues for future research
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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