Treatise For The Seekers of Guidance, Risala al-Mustarshidin,
[A5] Paperback - 274 pages,
by Imam al-Harith al-Muhasibi, [d.243h],
Translation, Biography & Commentary by Imam Zaid Shakir.
Published by N.I.D Publishers, USA.
Description from the publisher:
Imam Abu Abdullah
al-Harityh bin Asad al-Muhasibi, rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayhi, who was born in the Iraqi port city of
Basra in 165/781, and passed away in 243/857 at Baghdad, is one of the
most important scholars of the formative period of the Islamic sciences.
His most important contribution is in the area of character
reformation, and formulating a spiritually-based moral psychology.
In
this translation of his, Risala al-Mustarshidin (Treatise for the
Seekers of Guidance), along with a lucid commentary, Zaid Shakir makes
one of the formative works in Muslim intellectual history accessible in
the English language.
“Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance is a
classic of early Islamic literature. It provides us with a document
that testifies to the fundamental principles, attitudes, and incumbent
conduct of Islamic moral psychology from the formative period. This
work, from the pen of Imam Harith al-Muhasibi (d. 243/857), the mentor
of al-Junayd, is one of earliest examples we have of the role these
principles played in constituting the moral thought and action that
constitutes that fabric of Muslim society. This translation in Imam
Zaid’s own words is, “a layman’s guide to Islamic spiritually” and as
such is a key text to our understanding today of the multiple faceted
framework behind the principle themes of the teacher/disciple
relationship and testifies to the manner in which these principles have
become integrated within the process of Islamic spiritual orientation.
Among the salient characteristics of Treatise for The Seekers of
Guidance is the care Imam al-Muhasibi has taken to structure the
discourse of the treatise on the foundations of the Qur’an and the
Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in such a manner that he
provides us with a clear and coherent criteria for both the theoretical
and practical aspects that comprise the Islamic view of human
development in general and salvation in particular.
Imam Zaid
Shakir has accompanied this text with an in-depth commentary based upon
the Qur’an and Hadith that enriches and contextualizes the concise prose
of Imam al-Muhasibi within the social milieu of our times. He employs
language that is accessible and free of technical terminology. His
translation thus provides sound guidance to anyone who is seeking in the
midst of the uncertainties of social turmoil and personal struggle, a
whole and integral path, a unity of form and substance, self-effecting
comportment, and intimate knowledge of God. In short this is a work
that no one’s library should be without.”
Table of Contents :
---Translators Introduction,
---Author's Biography : Imam al-Harith al-Muhasibi,
------Selected Sayings of Imam al-Muhasibi.
---Chapter [1]. Guard your Actions,
---Chapter [2]. Honesty leads to Righteousness,
---Chapter [3]. Wake up from your slumber!
---Chapter [4]. Seek the help of God in Everything,
---Chapter [5]. The Signs of a Truthful Servant?
---Chapter [6]. Excessiveness is the Soul of Spiritual Harm,
---Chapter [7]. ''The heart is like a house with six doors''!
---Chapter [8]. Do not hold back anything from God,
---Chapter [9]. Manifesting good character.
---Imam al-Muhasibi's Conclusion.
---Glossary,
---Endnotes.
