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  • Companionship and Virtue in Classical Sufism: The Contribution of al-Sulami

    Companionship and Virtue in Classical Sufism by Welle, Jason; Welle, Jason;

    The Contribution of al-Sulami

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    Product details:

    • Publisher I.B. Tauris
    • Date of Publication 24 July 2025
    • Number of Volumes Paperback

    • ISBN 9780755652310
    • Binding Paperback
    • No. of pages pages
    • Size 234x156 mm
    • Language English
    • 700

    Categories

    Short description:

    An in-depth study of friendship in eleventh-century Sufi al-Sulami's thought and life

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    Long description:

    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.

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    Table of Contents:

    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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