Given the spiritual proclivities of al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī (d. 243/857) and his prolonged residence in Baghdad, it is little surprise that he has also been associated with the notion of “the Baghdad School of Sufism.” It is far more ambiguous, however, as to what is meant by a “school” in this context, as Baghdad in no way manifested a singular coherent teaching and in fact, displayed considerable doctrinal variety.
One of the Sufi authorities who provides a favourable entry on al-Muḥāsibī is Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī (d. 412/1021) in his Ṭabaqāt al-ṣufiyya. This raises a number of important questions, which include but are not limited to: How did al-Sulamī understand (if at all) the notion of a “Baghdad School”? How many of the of the famous luminaries of the “school” does he provide entries for and is there a determinable reason for his selection? Can this “school” be clearly identified within the Ṭabaqāt al-ṣufiyya and how does he represent the interactions between the various members of the Baghdad milieu? Since al-Muḥāsibī is often referred to as an exemplary “proto-Sufi”, we may also ask, how influential (if at all) was al-Muḥāsibī was on al-Sulamī in his concretization of his spiritual worldview? In addition, were other members of the “Baghdad School” more influential on al-Sulamī, or was more concerned with the teaching of his own direct spiritual masters?
Therefore, this paper will attempt to address these issues and other subsidiary, related research questions, in an attempt to explore the extent of the influence of al-Muḥāsibī and other Baghdad luminaries, on the works and thought of al-Sulamī and the development of Sufism in Nishapur.