Abu 'l Qasim al-Qushayri [d.1074] 

Abd al-Karim ibn Hawazin al-Qushayri Allah be pleased with him is from Nishapur (Khurasan district) in what is today Iran. Al-Qushayri was a famous Sunni scholar and mystic (sufi). He was a disciple of the Sufi master Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq Allah be pleased with him, who had been a student of al-Sulami. Al-Qushayri Allah be pleased with him was a recognised muhaddith who transmitted hadith to pupils by the thousands in Naysabur, as well as a mufassir who wrote a complete commentary of the Qur'an entitled 'Lata'if al-isharat bi tafsir al-Qur'an' (The subtleties and allusions in the commentary of the Qur'an).   His "Risala ila al-sufiyya" or "Epistle to the Sufis" is so widely read in Sufi circles that it is often called the "Treatise of Qushayri" or simply "Treatise," no other name required. It is a Sufi textbook of the highest order where Sufi practices, states and stations, rules of travel, dreams and advice to the spiritual seeker, among other topics are related to Qur'anic verses, traditions of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah upon him) and sayings of early Sufis. The Risala is an interwoven collection of brief essays on Sufism and mystical experience, often accented with anecdotes, sayings, and poetry. Its insight, clarity, and readability make it one of the most respected and studied early works on the Sufi way.   This was a book that Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rume Allah be pleased with him read and recommended to his students. 'The Risalah' has been described as one of the early complete manuals of the science of tasawwuf.

Sufi Book of Spiritual Ascent :  al-Risala al-Qushayriya 
 Paperback - 350 pages  

Abridged translation by Rabia Harris. Edited by Laleh Bakhtiar  
 
Abu'l-Qasim al-Qushayri was born in 986 CE in the province of Khurasan, the richest centre of eastern Islamic civilisation down to the 13th cent. Common Era.  
This is a Sufi textbook of the highest order where the spiritual ascent is opened for the reader through quotations from the Qur'an al-karim, aHadith and sayings of early Sufis --- a must for all aspirers, of the greatest works of the early Sufis--- this work teaches, 'The spiritual warrior (fata) is he who breaks an idol; and the idol of each person is his ego.'   
This is a Recommended Book for all background levels of muslims & non-muslims.

 
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Al-Qushayri's Epistle on Sufism :  Al-risala Al-qushayriyya fi 'ilm al-tasawwuf 

Paperback -  460 pages

Al-Qushayri's Epistle is probably the most popular Sufi manual ever. This edition is from the Great Books of Islamic Civilization series.

Written in 437/1045, it has served as a primary textbook for many generations of Sufi novices down to the present. In it, Al-Qushayri May Allah be pleased with him gives us an illuminating insight into the everyday lives of Sufi devotees of the eighth to eleventh centuries C.E. and the moral and ethical dilemmas they were facing in trying to strike a delicate balance between their ascetic and mystical convictions and the exigencies of life in a society governed by rank, wealth, and military power.

In al-Qushayri’s narrative, the Sufi ‘friends of God’ (awliya’) are depicted as the true, if uncrowned, ‘kings’ of this world, not those worldly rulers who appear to be lording it over the common herd of believers. Yet, even the most advanced Sufi masters should not take salvation for granted. Miracle-working, no matter how spectacular, cannot guarantee the Sufi a ‘favorite outcome’ in the afterlife, for it may be but a ruse on the part of God who wants to test the moral integrity of his servant. In the Epistle these and many other Sufi motifs are illustrated by the anecdotes and parables that show al-Qushayri’s fellow Sufis in a wide variety of contexts: suffering from hunger and thirst in the desert, while performing pilgrimage to Mecca, participating in ‘spiritual concerts’, reciting the Qur’an, waging war against the ‘infidel’ enemy and their own desires, earning their livelihood, meditating in a retreat, praying, working miracles, interacting with the ‘people of the market-place’, their family members and peers, dreaming, and dying.

 
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