A Collection of Sufi Rules of Conduct

Jawāmi‘ Ādāb al-Ṣūfiyya and ‘Uyūb al-Nafs wa-Mudāwātuhā by Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī Edited with an introduction by Prof. Etan Kohlberg Text I, 28+124 pp., 1976This is an edition of two texts by Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d.412/1021), one of the most important Ṣūfī authors. Al-Sulamī combined thoroughknowledge of tradition (ḥadīth) with the Ṣūfī heritage. He paved the way for thegradual acceptance of Ṣūfism into the mainstream of Islamic thought, by endeavoringin much of his work to prove that Ṣūfism and Islam were mutually compatible.The texts in this edition present two important aspects of al-Sulamī‟s writings.In the Jawāmi‘ adāb al-Ṣūfiyya (“A collection of Ṣūfī rules of conduct”), al-Sulamīprovides us with what is apparently the first comprehensive documentation of Ṣūfīcustoms and practices. Most of the Jawāmi‘ consists of Ṣūfi sayings representing theviews of five generations of thinkers. The subjects dealt with cover a wide range andreflect the preoccupations of Ṣūfī society.The second work is a handbook of spiritual discipline entitled ‘Uyūb al-nafswa-mudāwātuhā (“The defects of the soul and their remedy”). As its title suggests, the‘Uyūb deals with one of the central motifs of Ṣūfism, the constant struggle against thenafs, or the “lower soul”. The attitudes and beliefs expressed are on the wholecharacteristic of the early ascetics, who regarded the conduct of the Prophet as thesupreme example. In both style and content, this work occupies the middle groundbetween the worlds of ḥadīth, adab, and ethics. The two texts contribute not only to abetter appreciation of al-Sulamī's work, but also to our understanding of a crucialphase in the history of Ṣūfism.Price: US$ 40

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