Description
This is the translation of Imam al-Suyuti’s risala ‘Tayid al-Haqiqa al-Aliya wa Tashyid al-Tariqa Shadhiliya’ – on the Shadhili Tariqa. Imam al-Suyuti who was a Shadhili himself writes writes in erudition about tasawwuf and its place as an essential traditional Islamic science.
” The science of tasawwuf or Sufism is one of the traditional Islamic sciences; it like other Islamic sciences has its basis in the Qur’an and the Sunna of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Towards the end of his life in the famous hadith of Jibril, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, defined Islam, Iman and Ihsan after having been asked by the Angel Jibril.
Despite orientalist and reformist salafist protestations – the schools of ‘aqida, the schools of fiqh, and the schools of tasawwuf developed around the same time, all within the bounds of traditional Sunni orthodoxy. The term ‘Sufi was known by, approved by and used by scholars like the mujtahid Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him.
No area of Islam has been vehemently attacked by the reformist movements as tasawwuf has, therefore it is a great pleasure to present this work by one of the most prolific intellectual geniuses of the Ummah, who authored nearly a thousand works with many still in print over five centuries after his death. Imam al-Suyuti, may Allah be pleased with him, was a Sufi and an adherent of the Shadhili Tariqa, a fact that not many people may have been aware of. The translation of Imam Suyuti’s work Shadhili Tariqa into English brings to Western audiences a magnificent book which illustrates, through the pen of a master, what tasawwuf and the Shadhili Path are about.”
About The Author
Imam Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari, (849-911AH /1445-1505),, the mujtahid imam and renewer of the tenth Islamic century, foremost hadith master, encyclopaedist, historian, and biographer and probably one of the most prolific of all Islamic writers. There are an enormous number of his essays and treatises preserved today. A number of his writings concerned scientific topics or issues related to natural science and food and regimen, amongst other things.
From Asyut in Egypt, he was among the most renowned and prolific Muslim scholars of all time. He wrote more than 300 books, covering every aspect of the Islamic sciences. He memorized the Qur’an at the age of ‘eight, and then went on to study with more than 150 scholars. He travelled extensively in his quest for knowledge — to Damascus, Hijaz, Yemen, India, Morocco, and the lands south of Morocco, as well as in Egypt.
Al-Suyuti devoted his life to learning, teaching and writing. He was noble, abstinent and self-sufficient, distancing himself from people of rank and power and living on what he earned by teaching. Major writings of al-Suyuti that remain widely used today include al-Itqan, on the Qur’anic sciences; and Tafsir al-Jalalayn, which he completed when only 22.
