Abū ʿAbd ar-Rahmān as-Sulamī

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Abū ʿAbd ar-Rahmān Muhammad ibn al-Husain as-Sulamī ( Arabic أبو عبد الرحمن محمد بن الحسين السلمي, DMG Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusain as-Sulamī ; born 937 in Nishapur , Iran ; died November 3, 1021 ibid, according to the Islamic calendar 325 H – 412 H), was a Persian and Islamic Sufi ( mystic ).

childhood

His father, al-Husain ibn Muhammad ibn Musa, a well-known Sufi teacher at the time, introduced al-Sulami to Islamic mysticism during his childhood. When the father later leaves his family to move to Mecca , he lives with his maternal grandfather, Abū ʿAmr Ismāʿīl ibn Nudschaid (d. 976/7), who is considered one of the greatest theologians of his time. The wealthy grandfather is not only like a father to as-Sulami, but he is also his teacher and benefactor. The depth of this relationship can be seen from the fact that he takes the name Sulami, which is the name of his mother's tribe (Sulaym) . As-Sulami also accompanies his grandfather to readings and discussions that take place with other great men of the time.

education

His traditional upbringing begins with learning to recite the Koran , then he studies grammar and literature . He is later considered a great narrator of the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed and the interpretation of the Koran.

to travel

As-Sulami travels to various cities in Khorasan , Turkestan , Iraq and Arabia . Although he does not report any visits to Syria or Egypt , he seems to have a thorough knowledge of the countries between Samarkand , Bukhara and Balkh in the east and Cairo and Mecca in the west. Apparently he does not travel to the countries west of Egypt or the Maghreb (North Africa and Spain) because he reports only sparingly about Sufi masters from these areas.

During his travels he gathers the knowledge and wisdom of many Sufi saints, which he later cites in his works, especially in Tabaqat as-Sufiyyah (literally The Sufi Classes ). There he mentions 105 Sufis and their teachings. In Baghdad and Mecca he gained most of his knowledge by systematically interviewing a large number of Sufi teachers there.

As-Sulami founded his own convent ( hânqâh ) in Nishapur , which existed long after his death. His students include al-Quschairi and Ahmad b. al-Husain al-Baihaqî .

Works

In addition to the already mentioned book Ṭabaqāt aṣ-Ṣūfīya, there is another manuscript in the original Arabic text, namely Kitab al-futuwwah (for example: The Book of Chivalry ), kept in the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul .

In addition, Sulami wrote a dictionary of Sufi terms (daradschât al-muâmalât) .

In the haqā'iq at-tafsīr he collected comments from important Sufis on the Koran.

Another work, the Risālat al-Malmātīya, deals with a Sufi movement that was quite active and controversial in Nishapur at the time, the Malāmatīya (the "blasphemers"), whose moderate branch also included as-Sulami's grandfather.

literature

Primary texts
  • Kitāb al-Futuwwah (The Sufi Path to Perfection)
  • Laṭā'uf al-miʿrāǧ
    • The Subleties of the Ascension: Early Sayings on Muhammad's Heavenly Journey , translated by Frederick S. Colby, Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY 2006
Secondary literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sulamī, Abū ʿAbd ar-Rahmān as-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sulami, Muhammad Ibn-al-Hussain as-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION islamic mystic
DATE OF BIRTH 937
PLACE OF BIRTH Nishapur
DATE OF DEATH November 3, 1021
Place of death Nishapur