Year
2021
Language
English
Abstract
| The purpose of this article is to present some early definitions of taṣawwuf, uttered by a Sufi who lived before the end of the first half of the third/ninth century known by his paidonymic Abū Yazīd al-Bistāmī (161AH–234AH). The importance of this discussion–which employs the historical analytical method–stems from the fact that the definitions under study reflect a highly developed Sufi experience. The paper concludes that Abū Yazīd’s definitions are among the earliest known to us and that taṣawwuf had reached its maturity well before the end of the first half of the third century AH. This would I feel prompt researchers in the field to reassess and reconstruct the history of taṣawwuf, especially in its formative period, and might well lead to a new narrative of its development. |
English
ISSN/ISBN
2550-1755
No. of Pages
197-250
Select type of work
Name of the Journal
CIS Program Old
CIS publications
No
CIS Thesis
No
Status
Pending
QF Thematic Areas
CIS Program
CIS Research Foci