40 Hadith on Sufism

Book excerpt: Sheikh Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami (325-412 AH) was the undisputed sheikh of Sufism in Khorasan during his lifetime. He authored 700 volumes on Su- fism and 300 in Hadith, in addition to works in Tafsir and other disciplines. A man who bore the markings of Divine acceptance, he was loved by common men and princes, yet politely declined the extravagant gifts of the latter. His works were so popular that swaths of people would gather to listen to his public readings and lectures. Among his works is acompilationof 40 hadiths on the subject of Sufism-spirituality in Islam-with his own chains of transmission returning to the Prophet , his companions, or the generation after them. Imam al- Sakhawi (831-902 AH), one of the erudite luminaries of Hadith science, produced a derivative work (known as a takhrij) in which he checked and graded al- Sulami's collection. He also provided corroborating transmissions (shawahid). While not all of the hadiths in al-Sulami's collection are authentic, the principles they demonstrate are, without doubt, central to Sufism, and, consequently, compliant with the noble Sharia. True Sufism is the spiritual dimension of Islamic Law. Anything that contradicts the Law is either fraud or misguidance. In addition to the translation of Sheikh al-Sulami's collection of 40 hadiths on Sufism, brief footnotes- gleaned and paraphrased from Imam al-Sakhawi's de- rivative text-are included in the following work.