Unveiling the Three Suhrawardis

In recommending books for English-speaking aspiring Sufis, I recently heard an eminent shaykh recommend that murids stick to reputable and reliable translations of the well-known classical texts—and thus avoid modern texts that often suffer from New Age, perennialist and other un-Islamic influences. In that regard, the shaykh mentioned "al-Suhrawardi" as the author of one of these classical texts. Although my notes from this particular lesson don't indicate whether the shaykh mentioned the actual name of the text, I realized that he must have been referring to Kitab Adab al-Muridin, by Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi.

My knowledge in this regard was due to the fact that a few months prior I had became somewhat confused when I heard a mainstream Sunni shaykh mention that a certain "al-Suhrawardi" was a great Sufi master and guide. The reason for my confusion was that, in my ignorance, I was only aware of one eminent Muslim by the name al-Suhrawardi—and that would be Shahab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi. Since this figure is, to say the least, rather controversial from a mainstream Sunni perspective, the shaykh's statement prompted me to do some research. I was already somewhat familiar with the Islamic philosopher named al-Suhrawardi due to purchasing Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna-Suhrawardi-Ibn Arabi a few years ago, coupled with the fact that I had seen a translation of one of his major works that had been recently published. However, further research helped quell my confusion since I soon learned, with the help of Wikipedia, that although this Shi'a founder of the Illuminationist School (Hikmat al-Ishraq) of Islamic Philosophy is probably the best known of Muslims bearing the the name al-Suhrawardi, he's quite a different person than Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi—who was very much a mainstream Sufi of the Ahl al-Sunna, being Ash'ari in 'aqida and Shafi'i in fiqh.

For those who are interested, in order to avoid confusion in the future, there are three Muslim sages who bear the name al-Suhrawardi, also spelled al-Suhurwardi, that one should be aware of:

• Shahab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi (born 1155, died 1191 CE) was a Shi'a philosopher of Kurdish origin, and founder of the School of Illumination (Hikmat al-Ishraq)—one of the most important doctrines in the history of Islamic Philosophy. His life spanned a period of less than forty years in the middle of twelfth century CE, produced a series of highly assured works that established him as the founder of this new school of philosophy. His teacher was Majd al-Din Jaili who was also the great Sunni Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's teacher. Shahab al-Din al-Suhrawardi was unique in his deep insights into the origins of Iranian and Greek philosophy, as well as his treatment of Islamic teachings.
  
  Arising out of the peripatetic philosophy developed by Ibn Sina, al-Suhrawardi's illuminationist philosophy is critical of several of the positions taken by Ibn Sina, and radically departs from the latter through the creation of a symbolic language. The fundamental constituent of al-Suhrawardi's philosophy is pure immaterial light, of which nothing is more manifest, and which unfolds from the light of lights in emanations through the descending order of the light of ever diminishing intensity; through complex interaction, then in turn give rise to horizontal arrays of lights, similar in concept to Platonic Forms, which govern the species of mundane reality.
  
  Shahab al-Din al-Suhrawardi also elaborated the idea of an independent intermediary world, the imaginal world ('alam al-mithal). His views have exerted a powerful influence down to this day, particularly through Mulla Sadra's adoption of his concept of intensity and gradation to existence, wherein he (i.e. Mulla Sadra) combined peripatetic and illuminationist descriptions of reality. He is sometimes given the honorific title Shaykh al-Ishraq, or "Master of illumination", as well as being called "The Master of Oriental Theosophy". In his writings, he attempted a synthesis of Zoroastrian, Platonic, and Islamic ideas. The "Orient" of his "Oriental Theosophy" is the symbolic Orient, the East and the dawn as the symbol of Spiritual Light and Knowledge. He taught a complex and profound emanationist cosmology, according to which all creation is a successive outflow from the original supreme Light of Lights (Nur al-Anwar).
  
  He was executed in 1191 on charges of cultivating Batini teachings and philosophy, by the order of al-Malik al-Zahir, son of Saladin, and sometimes is called al-Maqtul (i.e. "the Slain"). A critical edition of his Hikmat al-Ishraq was recently (2000) translated into English and publshed as The Philosophy of Illumination by Brigham Young University Press.
  
  
• Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi (born 1097, died 1168 CE) was an Iranian Sufi and founder of al-Tariq al-Suhrawardiyya. He was a Sunni scholar, staunchly Ash'ari in creed, who studied Islamic law in Baghdad, then set up a retreat by the river Tigris where he gathered disciples. At the age of about twenty-five, he left his academic pursuits in order to dedicate himself to a life of tasawwuf and eventually became an esteemed murid of Ahmad al-Ghazali—the brother of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. In 545 A.H. he was appointed to teach Shafi'i fiqh at the prestigious Nizamiyya academy, but was later removed for purely political reasons. Both before and after this appointment, he continued to teach fiqh, hadith and tasawwuf at his own madrasa, and he was considered to be an authoritative mufti as well. After his lifetime, his paternal nephew, Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi, went on to spread and expand the Suhrawardiyya order, of which he was a co-founder. Although he was known to have written a number of books, his Kitab Adab al-Muridin seems to be the only one to have survived to the present day. He is also sometimes known as Diya al-din Abu 'n-Najib al-Suhrawardi.
  
  
• Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi (born 1144, died 1234 CE) was an Sufi who expanded the al-Suhrawardiyya Sufi order, by obtaining the support of the caliph, that he co-founded with his uncle Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi (mentioned immediately above). He authored a Sufi text entitled 'Awarif al-Ma'ârif, a translation of which is due to be published by Fons Vitae as Knowledge for Encountering God.

In the end, knowing the biographical details of all three of these well-known al-Suhrawardi's might not do away with all of the confusion, since many articles and books—including the various transtions—simply list the author as "al-Suhrawardi" without specifying which one!

By the way, Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi's Kitab Adab al-Muridin was ably translated into English back in 1975 by Menahem Milson and published by Harvard University Press. Last year I was able to track down a used copy that was still in great shape. I didn't have my hopes very high, since I was expecting the book to contain a hypercritical and rather hostile introduction, complete with a host of faulty conclusions that one expects to find, as a matter of course, in books on Sufism produced by Western Orientalists.

However, I found Milson's translation to be a pleasant surprise. Not only was his translation seemingly sound—although since the Arabic text isn't included, I have to reserve final judgement—but his introduction was balanced, informative and relatively free from bias. I certainly felt that he treated the subject matter in a fair manner—and much better than your typical hostile Orientalist. Indeed, he clearly demonstrated that Sufism was not (and is not) some sort of antinomian Muslim sect that was somewhat aloof of the shari'a and in opposition to orthodox Sunni beliefs—misinformed myths that some Muslims and non-Muslim "experts" continue to propagate to this very day. Not to deny that Milson's introduction couldn't be knit-picked on a few points, I hope that the following excerpts will demonstrate the refreshing nature of his clarifications:

"To be sure, this does not suggest that those persons neglected
the divine law. Quite the contrary. Being painfully aware of
human imperfection, they held that man could not possibly
go too far in attempting to carry out God's orders. Hence, one
of the characteristics of those early Muslim pietists was their
utmost scrupulosity (wara') in observing the rules of the
shari'a in ritual and social matters" [pages 2-3].

"The question of the origins of Sufism has long been debated
by Western scholars, most of whom, until the last generation,
held that the essential ideas of Islamic mysticism had origin-
nated from alien, non-Islamic sources. Admittedly, Sufism
absorbed a considerable number of heterogenous elements;
the influence of Neoplatonism was especially significant. It
should be recognized, however, that the primary sources of
Sufism are Islamic, the Quran being first and foremost among
them" [pages 3-4].

"Since the fifth century A.H., Sufism has attracted a large
following in all strata of society. This development appears
to have resulted from the need which many Muslims felt to
enrich emotionally their religious life. Such need was ex-
perienced not only by the uneducated, who were naturally
debarred from the intellectual satisfaction that could be de-
rived from juristic and theological studies, but also by many
of the religious scholars ('ulama')—guardians of the divine
law of shari'a. Layman and 'ulama' alike adopted Sufism to
satisfy that need" [page 6].

"Yet Sufis did not constitute a sect; with few exceptions they
remained within the fold. They have always regarded them-
selves, and have been regarded by most other Muslims; as
part of the orthodox (sunni) community, a concept which is
expressed in the Arabic idiom ahl al-sunna wa-'l-jama'a-
'those who adhere to the tradition and the community.'
Indeed, the Sufis held that they were the very core of that
community. This idea is expressed in one of the best known
Sufi compendiums in these words: 'The most excellent of the
Muslim community, who keep their respiration with God
and safeguard their heart from the intrusions of heedlessness,
have singled themselves out with the name of Sufism; and
this name has become famous in reference to these great men
before the year two hundred A.H.'" [pages 6-7 - and the "Sufi
compendium" just mentioned refers to al-Qushayri's al-Risala,
which has also been reliably translated into English by Barbara
Von Schlegell].

The remainder of Menaham Milson's introduction to his translation of Kitab Adab al-Muridin, which is actually entitled A Sufi Rule for Novices, goes on to discuss Sufi doctrine and practices in more detail, provide a fairly detailed biography of Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi and then offer an insightful overview of the text itself.

The actual translation of Kitab Adab al-Muridin, which spans from page 27 to 83 in the book, includes 208 points, in a somewhat abridged form, which relate to proper Islamic adab-which the author translates as "ethics". Accepting the fact that the Arabic word adab is a multifaceted word that is rather difficult to translate using a single English word, suffice it to say that Kitab Adab al-Muridin is essentially a "manual of ethics" that discusses everything from points of Islamic creed ('aqida) and the various states (ahwal) of the soul, to personal acts of worship ('ibada) and the proper use of a host of dispensations (rukhsa) within the Islamic shari'a. All of the diverse points of the original text are covered in fairly good detail, the only abridgement being that some of the detailed proofs from the Qur'an and hadith literature are omitted. In short, this is certainly a valuable book for aspiring Sufis who want to improve their knowledge by reading a translation of a classical text. Unfortunatley, A Sufi Rule for Novices has long gone out of print so I pray that Almighty God gives success to all those murids who try to find a copy.

Deen On...