Islamic Mysticism and Abu Talib Al-Makki

The Role of the Heart

Saeko Yazaki

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781135103965
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

Both in everyday language and religious metaphor, the heart often embodies the true self and is considered to be the seat of emotion in many cultures. Many Muslim thinkers have attempted to clarify the nature of Sufism using its metaphorical image, particularly in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

This book examines the work of Ab? T?lib al-Makk? and his wider significance within the Sufi tradition, with a focus on the role of the heart. Analysing his most significant work, Q?t al-qul?b ('The Nourishment of Hearts'), the author goes beyond an examination of the themes of the book to explore its influence not only in the writing of Sufis, but also of Hanbal? and Jewish scholars.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the world of al-Makk? and presenting extracts from his book on religious characteristics of the heart with selected passages in translation for the first time in English, this book will give readers a better understanding not only of the essential features of Sufism, but also the nature of mysticism and its relation to monotheistic faiths.

1 Abū

ālib al-Makkī: his life, intellectual formation and scholarship

The life of al-Makkī

Unfortunately, little is left for us to reconstruct his life story. Although al-Makkī appears in many biographical dictionaries, these reports are in general highly repetitive, and the weight of numbers does not count for a great deal in building up a picture of al-Makkī’s personal life. This section attempts to collate information which is currently scattered across modern research on al-Makkī¹ and various ṭabaqāt works.

The earliest extant book which mentions a personal account about al-Makkī seems to be Ta

rīkh Baghdād (‘The History of Baghdad’) by al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (d. 463/1071).² This famous work contains a short but valuable sketch of al-Makkī’s life, which is frequently quoted by later authors. Among other early accounts, al-Makkī is also mentioned in al-Ansāb al-muttafiqa (‘Homonymous Lineages’) by Ibn al-Qaysarānī (d. 507/1113),³ al-Ansāb (‘Lineages’)by al-Sam

ānī (d. 562/1166),⁴ al-Munta

am fī ta

rīkh al-duwal wa’l-umam (‘Systematic Arrangement in the History of States and Communities’) by Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1200)⁵ and the Wafayāt al-a

yān (‘Obituaries of Famous People’) by Ibn Khallikān (d. 681/1282).⁶ The Ta

rīkh, al-Munta

am and the Wafayāt can be said to be the key early sources for the life of al-Makkī, and their accounts are often cited in later literature. Ibn al-Qaysarānī uses al-Khaṭīb’s report almost verbatim and al-Sam

ānī copies Ibn al-Qaysarānī’s account virtually word for word. Neither of them adds anything new about al-Makkī unlike Ibn al-Jawzī and Ibn Khallikān.

In the Ta

rīkh, al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī includes al-Makkī among approximately eight thousand figures who had some connection with Baghdad. This famous preacher and

adīth scholar writes in an account of al-Makkī:⁷

Mu

ammad b.

Alī b.

Aṭiyya Abū

ālib is generally known as al-Makkī. He compiled a book entitled The Nourishment of Hearts in Sufi language, wherein he talked of objectionable and dishonourable (munkara wa mustashna

) matters concerning the attributes [of God]. He learned

adīth from

Alī b. A

mad al-Maṣīṣī,Abū Bakr al-Mufīd and others. Mu

ammad b. al-Mu

affar al-Khayyāṭ and

Abd al-

Azīzb.

Alī al-Azjī told me about him. Abū

āhir Mu

ammad b.

Alī b. al-

Allāf related to me that Abū

ālib al-Makkī was one of the people of Jabal, brought up in Mecca, entered Basra after the deat...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Notes on presentation
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī: His life, intellectual formation and scholarship
• 2. Qūt al-qulūb: Its religious context, contents and sources
• 3. Summary of Section 30 of the Qūt with commentary and selected passages in translation, part 1
• 4. Summary of Section 30 of the Qūt with commentary and selected passages in translation, part 2
• 5. Contemporaries of al-Makkī
• 6. The influence of al-Makkī, part 1
• 7. The influence of al-Makkī, part 2
• 8. Ibn Bāqūdā and al-Hidāya ilā farāʾiḍ al-qulūb
• 9. The Qūt and al-Hidāya: A Muslim–Jewish dialogue?
• Conclusion
• Select bibliography
• Index