The Doctrine of Sufis - Softcover

Abu Bakr Al-Kalabadhi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521292182 ISBN 13: 9780521292184

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1977

Synopsis

This 1935 English translation of a classic Arabic text in Sūfīsm, the mystical aspect of Islam, by A. J. Arberry preserves the beauty and simplicity of the original without departing from a literal translation. Little is known of the author of this treatise Abū Bakr al-Kalābādhī, except that he was a lawyer and died in Bukhārā in about AD 990. This book is the work on which his fame rests, and is important because it is the earliest extant text to reconcile the position of Sūfīsm and orthodox Islam. The book consists of five parts: a general introduction to the term Sūfī and an enumeration of the names of the great Sūfīs; a statements of the tenets of Islam, as accepted by the Sūfīs; a discussion of the various 'stations' of the Sūfīs; and a discussion of the various phenomena of Sūfīsm. This is a superb English introduction to Sūfīsm.

About this title

Review:

This is a traditional Sufi (Sunni) work written by the Sufi master Abu Bakr Al-Kalabadhi, known and respected by the Sufis for 1000 years. This work mentions the disagreements in doctrine within the different Sufi Tariqahs. In general the translation is spot on, non-literal - as it cannot be when dealing with the esoteric, and in my opinion Arberry does it justice. --By A. S. Abdulbari 27 June 2011

Book Description:

This 1935 English translation of a classic Arabic text in Sūfīsm, the mystical aspect of Islam, by A. J. Arberry preserves the beauty and simplicity of the original without departing from a literal translation. The original is important because it is the earliest extant text to reconcile Sūfīsm and orthodox Islam.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1977
• ISBN 10: 0521292182
• ISBN 13: 9780521292184
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 173