The Way of Abu Madyan

larger image

The Way of Abu Madyan -
[Bilingual] English & Arabic Texts,
Doctrinal and Poetic Works of
Abu Madyan Shu'ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Ansari,
*[A5] Paperback - 206 pages,
by Abu Madyan al-Ansari [d.594_H],
Translated & Edited with Notes by : Vincent J. Cornell.
Published by Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, UK,
Part of the ITS 'Golden Palm' Series.

Back in Stock May 2024

Description :

This is the first English translation of works attributed to Abu Madyan, a seminal figure of Sufism in Muslim Spain and North Africa. The Arabic text accompanying the English translation also represents the first scholarly edition of these works in the original language. The variety of Abu Madyan’s oeuvre, which includes doctrinal treatises, aphorisms, and poetical works in the ode, qasida, style, provides a unique opportunity for students of Arabic and Sufism, as well as the interested layman, to experience several of the most important genres of religious writing in the Islamic Middle Period.

               '' If a repenter repents, it is necessary for him to irrevocably
                 divorce the material world and all dosobedience [toward
                 God], while continuing to practice contemplation, work
                 at perfecting his state], fear [for the wrath of God], weeping
                 [for what he has done], and sadness [for what has gone
                 before]. '' ---Shaykh Abu Madyan.

The Arabic texts have been extensively vocalised in order to aid the student. The work as a whole is well-suited for use as a reader for advanced level classes in the Arabic language. In addition, notes have been provided in the English translation. The Arabic parallel text, set by DecoType, Amsterdam, marks the debut of a new form of calligraphic typesetting in the classical Nashk style, combining state-of-the-art computer technology with unique faithfulness to the great calligraphic tradition of the Islamic world.

Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Husayn al-Ansari, 1115/16-1198, poet, teacher and Sufi mystic, was born in the town of Cantillana near Seville in Muslim Spain and is buried at al-Ubbad outside the city of Tlemcen in Western Algeria. After spending many years of his life learning from the most famous Sufi's of Morocco, he settled in the Algerian city of Bijaya, where he spread his particular brand of orthodox mysticism to Sufi adepts and the general public alike. Called ‘Shaykh of Shaykhs’ and ‘the Nurturer’, al-Ghawth, by his contemporaries, Abu Madyan was the most influential Sufi of the formative period of mysticism in North Africa and had a profound influence on the eventual Qadiri and Shadhili Sufi traditions.

Vincent J. Cornell is Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies and MESAS Chair at Emory University, Atlanta, USA.

Table of Contents :

---Acknowledgements,
---Introduction :
------The Junayd of the West' and the World of Maghribi Sufism in the 12th Century C.E.,
------The Career of Abu Madyan,
------Abu Madyan and Sufism in the Western Maghrib,
------The Texts and their Translation.


---Chapter [1]. The Supplication for Forgiveness [al-Istighfar],
---Chapter [2]. The Blessed Creed [al-Aqida al-Mubaraka],
---Chapter [3]. Basic Principles of the Sufi Path [Bidayat al-Murid],
---Chapter [4]. The Intimacy of the Recluse and Pastime of the Seeker [Uns al-Wahid wa Nuzhat al-Murid],
---Chapter [5]. The Qasida in Ra,
---Chapter [6]. The Qasida in Nun,
---Chapter [7]. The Qasida in Mim,
---Chapter [8]. The Qasida in Ra'
---Chapter [9]. The Qasida in Ba,
---Chapter [10]. The Qasida in Lam,
---Chapter [11]. The Qasida in Lam,
---Chapter [12]. The Qasida in Ra'
---Chapter [13]. Verses.

---Appendix I : The Ode in Nun by Ali ibn Isma’il ibn Hirzihim,
---Appendix II: A Treatise on Sufism by Abu Ya’za Yalannur ibn Maymun ad-Dukkali,
---Index.