The Kashf al-mahjúb: The oldest Persian treatise on Súfiism — John Shaqi
The Kashf al-mahjúb: The oldest Persian treatise on SúfiismHujviri, ‘Ali ibn ‘Usman
Islamic
The Kashf al-mahjúb: The oldest Persian treatise on Súfiism
Hujviri, ‘Ali ibn ‘Usman
Sufism -- Early works to 1800
Abú Ḥafṣ Ḥaddád of Níshápúr says: _Al-taṣawwuf kulluhu ádáb^{un}
li-kulli waqt^{in} adab^{un} wa-li-kulli maqám^{in} adab^{un}
wa-li-kulli ḥál^{in} adab^{un} fa-man lazima ádáb al-awqát balagha
mablagh_ _al-rijál fa-man ḍayya`a ´l-ádáb fa-huwa ba`íd^{un} min ḥaythu
yaẕunnu ´l-qurb wa-mardúd^{un} min ḥaythu yaẕunnu ´l-qabúl_, “Ṣúfiism
consists entirely of behaviour; every time, place, and circumstance have
their own propriety; he that observes the proprieties of each occasion
attains to the rank of holy men; and he that neglects the proprieties is
far removed from the thought of nearness (to God) and is excluded from
imagining that he is acceptable to God.” The meaning of this is akin to
the dictum of Abu ´l-Ḥasan Núrí: _Laysa ´l-taṣawwuf rusúm^{an} wa-lá
`ulúm^{an} wa-lákinnahu akhláq^{un}_, “Ṣúfiism is not composed of
practices and sciences, but it is morals,” i.e. if it consisted of
practices, it could be acquired by effort, and if it consisted of
sciences, it could be gained by instruction: hence it is morals, and it
is not acquired until you demand from yourself the principles of morals,
and make your actions square with them, and fulfil their just claims.
The distinction between practices (_rusúm_) and morals (_akhláq_) is
this, that practices are ceremonial actions proceeding from certain
motives, actions devoid of reality, so that their form is at variance
with their spirit, whereas morals are praiseworthy actions without
ceremony or motive, actions devoid of pretension, so that their form is
in harmony with their spirit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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