An Appraisal of Early Tasawwuf Literature

Abstract

Tasawwuf is an acclaimed spiritual tradition of Islam, which is mostly based upon intuitive knowledge about reality and prophetic way of soul refinement through the principle of self-purification. The early practitioners of Tasawwuf, like al-Muhasisbi, in second century hijra, codified their teachings in the form of books, which have been passed on to the later generations. Some of them have survived till today. By the fourth century AH, the tradition of compiling books on Islamic Tasawwuf, evolved as an important movement, after passing through various stages. Great Sufis such as Abu Nasr Sarraj, Abu Bakr Kalabazi and Abu Talib al-Makki compiled comprehensive books on Tasawwuf. Tasawwuf flourished in the middle ages, especially and some ever-lasting books on Tasawwuf have appeared in Arabic, Persian and other languages. The following appraisal discusses systematically compiled pioneering books of Sufi literature, which contributed to flourish Tasawwuf, at the global level.