Journal of Qur'anic Studies

OL M E X ISSUE II 2 00R

CENTRE OF lSI MI DIES

chool of Oriental and African Studics

Universi lY of London

107

the original text, the use of

:-or 31 -01n is commenting on a

-1-1 . pp. 125-6). Manuscript

Ling a pal1icular reading is

e. but I would like to list here

,-h may contrihute to a better

6) read ~; instead of ..»"i

.... . instead of (')\...." (p. 82. 1. 4)

lead of JY"'" 0'" (p. 86, 1. I)

~ ~ read -r'WI; instead of ~

read -'r. ' :~; Y; instead of ,-?:;l/'1 1

aU ~'~ (?); instead of ",.:,.]1

• I read C~~u 0); instead of

' -'-} I p. 152, 1. 18) read .~:.,:

. J -Biqil'"I seems to assume so.

h look at Qur'anic exegesis.

l.J1ce oj; the Bible in medieval

'lUdics on al-Biqa'i are to be

reconsidered. An important

e,rimonies to which al-Biqa"1

...,.,l.. already promised by Saleh

'omparative religious studies

amlation of the text may be

I! of Qui"' anic exegesis and.

p<.lrtance· . Walid Saleh is to be

11r".

[SLAM OAYEH

1n.3366/E 114653591 0900045X

.FiJrid. His Verse, and His Shrine

" /II'a a/-G/w::.Zlti'.\· 'Best o( All

/.

The Hehrew Bible Quolations in

JJ JI1~e l ' Stern (cds ), Adaptalio//.\

Book Reviews

Sufism: The Formative Period. By Ahmet T. Karamustafa. Edinhurgh: Edinburgh

University Press, 2007. Pp. 202. £16.99.

There are many good existing summaries of the developments of ~ufism in the early

centuries of Islam, so when a new summary appears, the first question will be: what

does it have to offer that is new') In answering this question, Ahmet Karamustafa

highlights the problems that have arisen with many of these studies: they have been

essentialist and decontextualised. This is certainly true. Many studies on .sOfism chart

its developments as if they occurred in a self-contained vacuum unaffected by outside

events such as politics or war. Karamustafa sers out to make a historicist critique of

the early centuries of ~fifism, examining it within a social context. He says that the

'primacy of the "conditioning webs" of history and culture' must be acknowledged

(p. vii) . The statements endorsing this volume appear to confirm that Karamustafa has

achieved his aims: it 'strikes a balance between social and intellectual history',

'identifies questions of interest' and 'places Sufism within its broader cultural

context'; but has Karamustafa offered any fresh insights into the many received truths

that now make up the history of ~ufism?

The book consists of six chapters. The first examines the early renunciants and

the circumstances in which the tcrm ~ufT began to be used. then gives a survey of the

~ufTs of Baghdad, such as al-Kharraz (d. 277/890 or 286/899), ai-NOr] (d. 295/907)

and al-Junayd (d. 297/910) and a summary of their beliefs, visions and theories.

Chapter Two looks at mystics from areas other than Baghdad, such as fran and Central

Asia. It provides some social and political context, explaining why ~ufT claims, such

as al-TustarI's (d. 283/896), to direct communion with the divine came under

suspicion: 'this was, after all, the formative period of Islamic legal sciences and of

the legal schools (madhlwb), and the proponents of the legal interpretation of Islam

were negotiating their place within the Muslim polities through charged encounters

with, on the one hand, holders of political power and , on the other, other claims to

special authority among Muslims ' (p. 39). Karamustafa outlines al-TirmidhI's (d. 318/

936- 320/938) spiritual journey and works, and it is refreshing to see tbat he mentions

al-TirmidhI's wife who 'may have been his closest spiritual companion' (p. 44).

Karamustafa' s study of the MaIamatiyya (those adhering to the 'Path of Blame', based

in Nishapur, Khurasan), is interesting, if brief. He makes a comparative analysis of the

MalalllatI 'relentless monitoring of the lower self with the approach of other mystics

such as al-Tirmidh], who viewed it as a 'misguided preoccupation ' (p. 50). He also

enabies the reader to map links between mystics, so that the transferral of ideas and

practices may be better understood.

Chapter Three traces the spread of 'Baghdad Sufism' to these areas and also asks

whether there were mystics in the early years of the Andalusia polity. Here,

Kararnustafa is less idealistic, pointing out that 'Baghdad Sufis were far from being in

108 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

agreement with one another on all issues or homogenous in their approaches to Sufi

thought and practice ' (p. 56). He discusses how certain mystics and groups were

associated with the different schools of thought and how this affected the spread of

Sufism; for example, the Baghdad Suns were largely of the Shali'·f school, which

made it difficult for Sufism to enter the Hanafi territory of Transoxiana. However, his

exploration of whether there was Sufism in early Andalusia is too brief, and a

comprehensive understanding cannot really be gained from this.

After outlining the social circumstances of the spread of Sufism, Karamustara

moves on Lo study its inte]lectual development: Chapter Four discusses 'specialised

Sufi literature'. which developed' as pal1 of the construction of a Sufi tradition.

Karamustafa provides a useful list of the literature about Sufism and places the titles

under differel1l categories. He also presents a comparative analysis of the contellt allel

approaches among these titles and he makes some interesting points about how Sufism

merged with traditional scholarship: al-HujwfrI (el. 465/1 072-4691 L057), of the I:Ianafi

School, went so far as LO name even Abu Hanffa, al-Shafi cI and AI~mad ibn Hanbal as

Sufis and 'QushayrI and al-HujwIrf succeeded in aligning Sufism wiLh Shiifi CI-Ash"arI

and I:IanafI-MatundI scholarship' (p. 106), a pattern which has remained up to Loday.

Even so, Karamustafa does not really place these developments within any political

context. and his analysis remains somewhat shallow.

Karamustafa then moves back to examine Sufism's increasingly organised structures

in Chapter Five, where he traces the ' phenomenon of the awe-inspiring training

master surrounded by a community of disciples' (p. 125). He usefully differentiates

between the early training lodges where particular masters instructed their students,

which only lasted a few generations, and the growth of the !arlqa, where masters and

students were connected through spiritual lineages, something which enabled their

teaching methods to endure for the coming centuries. Karamustafa also notes a 'new

rhetoric of obedicnce' to one's shaykb. As al-TustarI said 'the servant is in the hands

of God like the corpse in thc hands of the washer', a phrase repeated by ' Abd ai-Qadir

al-JIlanf (d. 56111166). Karamustafa observes that this particular master-student

pattern developed under Seljuk rule, but does not connect it to the fact that the SeUuks,

on behalf of the C Abbasids, were intent on bringing the definitions, teachings and

practices of Islam under the control of the caliphate and developing a 'govelllment­

approved' form of Sufism.

Concluding the book with Chapter Six , entitled 'Sainthood Triumphant', which

culminates with a study of how the Sufi saint finally attained power and autonomy

within his or her society, Karamustafa makes a thoughtful analysis of the role of

emerging ·shrine communities' and highlights the fact that local saints in these shrine

communities, who were believed to protect the surrounding land and the people, were

not necessarily '~ufIs'. He also notes the difference between the popular image of

certain mystics and their actual

reversal between politics and m~

moral support of popular Sufi . . r:

leaders. Karamustafa also examin

the Mu ' tazili and ShI' I scholar<>.

making ' false claims' about perf

Some of Karamllstafa' s terms ;u;

piety ', which rightly implies tho 1 t

explains fall(/ ' (,annihilation in

covenant' (p. 17). However. it h.J.:

complete social and intellectual

Baghdad Sufism, portraying thaI c

any great detail the inAuences f

al_cAllar (d. 260/874), a MU ' ta7j

Baghdad), although he docs ad ./'

spiritual movements or those are ...

complete. either, without at 1 circumstances. While early :l S - o.­

rrum the corrupt temporal p \

neveltheless, affected by the p liL

Karamustara is also surprising l~ u

scholars have aJready made lin.k

theology and practice, sllch a~

column of light lor the Prophet '\ 1

merely presents al-TustarI in the:

work that may merit him being ~~

The subject of waliiya is key to an~

his Muslim COlllllUlllitie.\ oj" Gr I,

(New York: Columbia Uni\er. it\

exam.ined critique of how the C TIu.

Karamustafa explains this phcnom

In his portrayal of al-Junayd. he

Abdel-Kader's The Lile, Pen onc..

Memorial Trust, 1976). nen t1uf

lowhld as 'unification'. which in

meaning; other scholars have tr3.n I. see Early Islamic MysticislII. tr. anc

1996).

their approaches to Sufi

: ,tics and groups were

j, affected the spread of

the Shah'] school, which

Tmn<;Qxiana. However, his

U"IU is too brief, and a

thi ~.

Karamustafa

Fl'ur discllsses 'specialised

uon of a :,?liff tradition.

- fi"m und places the titles

. anJ.Iysis of the content and

= po ints about how Sufism

- 2-469/ 1(57), of the Banan­

. 3Ild .'\hmad ibn Banbal as

Jfi~m with ShaficI-Ash' arl

has remained up to today.

ments within any political

~ingl) organised structures

me awe-inspiring training

; . He usefully differentiates

instructed their students,

1C w rfqo. where masters and

thi ng which enabled their

....unustafa also notes a 'new

'{he servant is in the hands

..e repeated by C Abd ai-Qadir

partiClllar master-student

t to the fact that the Seljuks.

<: definitions , teachings and

j de \eloping a 'government­

cnthood Triumphant', which

nai ned power and autonomy

btfu l analysis of the role of

lal local saints in these shrine

ng land and the people, were

~t\'\een the popular image of

Book Reviews 109

certain mystics and their actual personalities . It is here that we see also the role

reversal between politics and mysticism, with Seljuk leaders seemingly relying on the

moral suppOl1 of popular ~ufis, rather than :,?ufis relying on the patronage of political

leaders. Karamustafa also examines the criticisms directed at certain ~Ofi practices by

the MuCtazilI and ShI' I scholars, who accllsed the suns of being anti-rationalist and

making 'false claims· about performing miracles.

Some of Karamustafa's telms are bealltiful and elegant: he calls Sufism a ' mode of

piety ' , which rightly implies that there are other modes within the Islamic tradition: he

explains faml' (,annihilation in the divine') as 'a re-enactment of the primordial

covenant' (p. 17). However, it has to be said that hi s claim that Chapter One 'draws a

complete social and inte llectual profile' of the ~Ofi movement in Baghdad is rather

baffling. In this chapter he follows more or less the conventional delineations of

Baghdad ~ufism, portraying that city as ~ufism's starting point, without examining in

any great detail tbe influences of Kufa and Basra (where the followers of Abo Batim

al- c A~lli.r (d. 260/874), a MU ' taziIT, were called ~on-s before the word was used in

Baghdad), although he does acknowledge some supeJiicial similarities between the

spiritual movements of those areas. A social and intellectual history cannot really be

complete, either, without at least some mention of the surrounding political

circumstances. While early ascetics and ~ufis made much of distancing themselves

from the corrupt temporal power of the Umayyads and C Abbasids, they were,

nevertheless, affected by the policies of the caliphate.

Karamllstafa is also surprisingly uncritical of the mystics that he does feature. Other

scholars have already made links between Sahl al-TustmT s mystici sm and Manichean

theology and practice, such as hi s vegetarianism and his use of the concept of a

column of light for the Prophet Mul~ammad's pre-existential essence, but Karamustafa

merely presents al-TustarI in the standard format: highlighting a few points of hi s

work that may merit him being called a ~ufl.

The subject of walaya is key to any study of ~ufism, but whereas Jamil Abun-Nasr. in

hi s MlIslim Communities of Grace: The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religio//S Life

(New York: Columbia University Press, 20(7), gives quite a specific and carefully

examined clitique of how the concept of wuWya was developed in early ~un- circles,

Karamustafa explains thi s phenomenon by saying that it was just 'ill the air ' (p. 6).

In his portrayal of al-Junayd, he draws heavily on an earlier work: Ali Hassan

Abdel-Kader's The Life, Personality and Writings of Al-Junayd (London: Gibb

Memorial Trust, 1976), even duplicating Abdel-Kader's translation of the word

/(lwhld as 'unification', which in itself is problematic since thi s is not its only

meaning; other scholars have translated it, more helpfully, as the 'affinnation of unity'

see Early Islamic Mysticism, tf. and ed. Michael A. Sells (New Jersey: Paulist Press ,

1996).

110 Joumal of Qur' anic Studies

Karamustafa also seems to have difficulty apprchending the essence of certain SufI

teachings. With regard to one of al-Junayd's profound instnlctions on how to tnlst thc

divine and detach oneself from materialistic thinking, where somc people ask him

'What is the solution then?' and he answers 'To ahandon (the idea oil a solution',

Karamustafa interprets this merely as 'fence-sitting' (p. 24) , which is hardly an

adequate explanation of the transcendental import of thc statement.

Overall, while this volume offers some new analyses of the social, intellectual

and demographical factors that contributed to the emergence of Sufism, much of the

content still demonstrates a somewhat conventional approach to the subject, very like

the works that Karamustafa has himself critiqued.

R. MASTERTOl'\

DOl: I 0.3366/EI4653591 09000461

The Role of the Q Inscriptions in th

Isfahan: The Sh­Khudabande

The year 70911309-10 marked the ~

' Ashar) ShI' ism from SunnI Islam. Cr' ~

of Shlcism as official state religion \ . .J.'

andr 'egulate sectarian doctrines in

an..

_

•

-

oi ~

Ih . .---"'.- hi' .1111pemtlves were t e textua modJti u l

political propaganda - the khlll/}u

rule and legitimacy. The basic tenet

modified shahiida: Ia ih7ha i{{ii ·/Iiil·

second, the names of the Ithnii

coinage struck from the year 709! 131 9­

is , the ShIel s/U//ulda and the namt'

replaced the ~tandard orthodox .I/iuh.­

the names of the Rashidun caliph,. -\

and marginal legends on Ilkhiinid

The adoption of ' AsharI Sbl'ism '-I::.

in the notion of the alzl a/-/}a\"{ be

MUI:Jammad's spiritual legacy and \\ (

themc embellished various media l(

throughout the empire. Visual. tex.tual

instruments of i~al propagand:l. ~

concepts of ShIel belief.

Textual sources with ShIel 11lUTali\'es \\e

even before the official conversion of the Kitab a/-al/uTr a/-h(/ljiyo ' ({II (1 /-111

Chronology of the Nations') dated - ,

investiture of the ShI"I Imam " AlI ibn

incident which, for the ShI"Is, con -lit .

Prophet MLI~al11mad 5 The painting de

resting upon cAlI's shoulder - the ph.

the intimate filial connection bem . n

suggested the endorsement of the Pro ph

i

The link to the original review is here

http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/E1465359109000461