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The Way of Abu Madyan: The Works of Abu Madyan Shuayb (Islamic Texts Society)
This collection provides a unique opportunity to experience several of the most important genres of religious writing in the Islamic Middle Period. The Arabic text accompanies the English translation and is well-suited for use in advanced-level classes of Arabic.
- GenresIslam
190 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1996
About the author
أبو مدين شعيب الغوث
7 books34 followersAbū Madyan Shuʿayb Al Ghawth
Influent Andalusian Sufi master. "Master of Masters (Shaykh asshuyukh)" as referred to by Ibn Arabi.
هو عَلمٌ من أعلام الصوفية وقطب من الأقطاب الربانية، عُرف باسم سلطان الوارثين، وشيخ الشيوخ، وإمام الصديقين، إنه الشيخ الورع، العارف الزاهد، التقي النقي، المتواضع الحَيِيْ، سيدي "أبو مدين الغوت شعيب بن الحسن الأندلسي الفاسي البجائي...، ولد بقطنيانة"، من عمالة اشبيلية بالأندلس حوالي سنة 509ﮪ ".
عُرف الشيخ بالجد والمثابرة والكد، ورغم اليُتم والحاجة، اللذان عاشهما، فقد خرج من بلاده صبيا، ناشدا، باحثا، عن ضالة لم يُدرك كُنهها ولا سرها إلا بعد سنوات، فكانت أول محطة في سياحته لطلب العلم، مدينة طنجة، ثم سبتة، ومراكش، وبعدها فاس، حيث درس وتعلم هناك، ثم توجه إلى المشرق، وبعدها سكن ببجاية، فكان له شأن عظيم، أينما حل وارتحل.
(aljounaid.ma)
Influent Andalusian Sufi master. "Master of Masters (Shaykh asshuyukh)" as referred to by Ibn Arabi.
هو عَلمٌ من أعلام الصوفية وقطب من الأقطاب الربانية، عُرف باسم سلطان الوارثين، وشيخ الشيوخ، وإمام الصديقين، إنه الشيخ الورع، العارف الزاهد، التقي النقي، المتواضع الحَيِيْ، سيدي "أبو مدين الغوت شعيب بن الحسن الأندلسي الفاسي البجائي...، ولد بقطنيانة"، من عمالة اشبيلية بالأندلس حوالي سنة 509ﮪ ".
عُرف الشيخ بالجد والمثابرة والكد، ورغم اليُتم والحاجة، اللذان عاشهما، فقد خرج من بلاده صبيا، ناشدا، باحثا، عن ضالة لم يُدرك كُنهها ولا سرها إلا بعد سنوات، فكانت أول محطة في سياحته لطلب العلم، مدينة طنجة، ثم سبتة، ومراكش، وبعدها فاس، حيث درس وتعلم هناك، ثم توجه إلى المشرق، وبعدها سكن ببجاية، فكان له شأن عظيم، أينما حل وارتحل.
(aljounaid.ma)
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 28, 2014
The twelth century of the Common Era was a profound period of advancement for Islamic intellectual and spiritual development, if for no other reason than it produced the works of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, perhaps the greatest scholar in the history of Islam outside of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) himself. Add to this the work of Ibn Al-Arabi who was to come after Ghazali, and we have two of the most influential Islamic thinkers in both the exoteric and esoteric sciences.
Abu Madyan fits in between these two spiritual figures, both chronologically and arguably in his approach to Islam. He was born four years after the death of Ghazali, in 1115 CE, and is often referred to as the "Junayd of the West" after the famous Baghdad Sufi who made profound advancements in the crystallization of Sufi doctrine. Like Junayd, Madyan was "uniquely situated in both time and space to synthesize and transcend the Sufi traditions of his era within one formally articulated doctrine" (16). For this reason, he is known as the spiritual pole or axis (Qutb) of his age, with the Qutb being the perfect saint . The Qutb is the one directly connected to God and serves as a disseminator of the divine energy to the rest of the spiritual community. Ibn Al-Arabi himself referred to Madyan as the Qutb, and Arabi was heavily influenced by Madyan's life and work.
The "west" in "Junayd of the west" is the Maghrib/North Africa, and Madyan's influence in that region is a powerful presence to this day. His teachings heavily incorporated Ghazali's Ihya ulum al-din "Revival of the Religious Sciences" as he made it required reading for all of his students. Madyan emphasized the importance of orthodoxy in regards to strict observance of the Shariah, and placed a high priority on elimination of any possible distraction to the pious life, with an emphasis on asceticism as a means. In his own life this extended to the practice of celibacy, something which is actually discouraged in orthodox Islam. Yet his disciples were also known for ecstatic dhikr or "remembrance" gatherings where they would become intoxicated with the divine energy. But Madyan was adamant that only those prepared for such an event could even attend those gatherings, and this required strict methods of purification, retreat, observance of the Shariah and proven character.
The first part of the book spends a great deal of time covering the above mentioned history. The second part of the book contains some of Madyan's invocations, aphorisms, doctrinal statements (particularly written out of a need to prove his movement's orthodoxy in the face of exoteric authorities), and verses of poetry. Several passages are worth quoting:
"The ascetic in the ease of his asceticism is doctrinally more fundamental than the one who is scrupulous, for being careful consists in the preservation of a thing while asceticism means the elimination of everything" (136).
This passage is illustrative of the kind that jurists and exoteric scholars often attack in Sufi doctrine. However Madyan is not saying to disregard the law. On the contrary he's saying that an ascetic life will most enable fulfillment of the law and will go further in that it will fulfill the meaning of the law and enable realization of that meaning in the disciple.
"Asceticism means abstaining from the material world, avoiding it because of its vileness, abandoning it because of its pettiness, and perceiving its lowliness" (140)
"The price of Sufism is the total surrender of yourself " (138)
In relation to this total surrender, Madyan says the following:
"One who is negligent in maintaining the requirements of religion has squandered himself" (130)
Yet after a person has practiced the requirements of the religion and seen the concomitant internal change, the ground is prepared for further advancement within the law:
"The veils are not lifted for one who does not abandon restraint" (128)
"The heart has no more than one aspect at a time, such that when it is occupied with a particular aspect, it is veiled from another. So take care that you are not drawn toward anything but God, lest He deprive you of the delights of intimate converse with Him" (118)
"Discipline in personal behavior means ceasing to be overly attentive to one's actions" (130)
"Restrain your passional soul with the shackles of scrupulousness and let that which is other than you loose in the field of knowledge" (140)
Madyan's "way" then becomes the quest for unity with The Real, which is the way of all of Sufism:
"Say: 'Allah!' and let go of existence with all it contains, if you desire the attainment of perfection. For everything other than God, were you to realize it, is nothing, whether in part or as a whole." (168)
Abu Madyan fits in between these two spiritual figures, both chronologically and arguably in his approach to Islam. He was born four years after the death of Ghazali, in 1115 CE, and is often referred to as the "Junayd of the West" after the famous Baghdad Sufi who made profound advancements in the crystallization of Sufi doctrine. Like Junayd, Madyan was "uniquely situated in both time and space to synthesize and transcend the Sufi traditions of his era within one formally articulated doctrine" (16). For this reason, he is known as the spiritual pole or axis (Qutb) of his age, with the Qutb being the perfect saint . The Qutb is the one directly connected to God and serves as a disseminator of the divine energy to the rest of the spiritual community. Ibn Al-Arabi himself referred to Madyan as the Qutb, and Arabi was heavily influenced by Madyan's life and work.
The "west" in "Junayd of the west" is the Maghrib/North Africa, and Madyan's influence in that region is a powerful presence to this day. His teachings heavily incorporated Ghazali's Ihya ulum al-din "Revival of the Religious Sciences" as he made it required reading for all of his students. Madyan emphasized the importance of orthodoxy in regards to strict observance of the Shariah, and placed a high priority on elimination of any possible distraction to the pious life, with an emphasis on asceticism as a means. In his own life this extended to the practice of celibacy, something which is actually discouraged in orthodox Islam. Yet his disciples were also known for ecstatic dhikr or "remembrance" gatherings where they would become intoxicated with the divine energy. But Madyan was adamant that only those prepared for such an event could even attend those gatherings, and this required strict methods of purification, retreat, observance of the Shariah and proven character.
The first part of the book spends a great deal of time covering the above mentioned history. The second part of the book contains some of Madyan's invocations, aphorisms, doctrinal statements (particularly written out of a need to prove his movement's orthodoxy in the face of exoteric authorities), and verses of poetry. Several passages are worth quoting:
"The ascetic in the ease of his asceticism is doctrinally more fundamental than the one who is scrupulous, for being careful consists in the preservation of a thing while asceticism means the elimination of everything" (136).
This passage is illustrative of the kind that jurists and exoteric scholars often attack in Sufi doctrine. However Madyan is not saying to disregard the law. On the contrary he's saying that an ascetic life will most enable fulfillment of the law and will go further in that it will fulfill the meaning of the law and enable realization of that meaning in the disciple.
"Asceticism means abstaining from the material world, avoiding it because of its vileness, abandoning it because of its pettiness, and perceiving its lowliness" (140)
"The price of Sufism is the total surrender of yourself " (138)
In relation to this total surrender, Madyan says the following:
"One who is negligent in maintaining the requirements of religion has squandered himself" (130)
Yet after a person has practiced the requirements of the religion and seen the concomitant internal change, the ground is prepared for further advancement within the law:
"The veils are not lifted for one who does not abandon restraint" (128)
"The heart has no more than one aspect at a time, such that when it is occupied with a particular aspect, it is veiled from another. So take care that you are not drawn toward anything but God, lest He deprive you of the delights of intimate converse with Him" (118)
"Discipline in personal behavior means ceasing to be overly attentive to one's actions" (130)
"Restrain your passional soul with the shackles of scrupulousness and let that which is other than you loose in the field of knowledge" (140)
Madyan's "way" then becomes the quest for unity with The Real, which is the way of all of Sufism:
"Say: 'Allah!' and let go of existence with all it contains, if you desire the attainment of perfection. For everything other than God, were you to realize it, is nothing, whether in part or as a whole." (168)
May 1, 2024
Madyan kom till min kännedom som en mystiker som förklarade danstraditionerna i egypten. När jag läste på om honom, framstod han som en av de spansk-muslimska intellektuella från tiden innan reconquistan, och som sådan kände jag att jag borde undersöka honom. Denna samlingsvolym är underlägsen personer som Theresa av Avila, men fortfarande bra. Jämngod med flera kyrkofäder. Den förklarar vilka världsliga beteenden och attityder som skapar botfärdighet och möjlighet att nå Gud.
Jag är ödmjuk nog att inse att det finns en intellektuell kontext som jag saknar, eftersom jag inte varesig är muslim eller islamolog, och att orden kan ha flera betydelser, men i det jag kan avkoda, finns det värde. Detta sagt finns det element som är frånstötande. Det jag främst stör mig på, är idén om världslig attityd som nödvändigt för möjligheten till kontemplation, och den förväntan om världslig välgång som finns i texten - som om naturtillståndet var överdåd, och mystikern vände sig ifrån detta. Med mina ögon, formade av den tradition jag är i, där syndafallet faktiskt spelat roll, är detta förmätet, och föraktfullt inför den omvärld författaren står. Det finns passager som konstaterar att en människa kan ha en furstesjäl och en slavs samhällsroll, och detta kontrasterar naturligtvis till författarens fördel, men helheten i dessa passager skorrar fortfarande illa i mina öron. I och för sig är författaren en självutnämnd gnostiker, så i någon mån kunde dessa förenas i idén om världen som fallen, men inte heller då blir verket konsistent.
Sammanfattningsvis: Läs boken. Den är inte fläckfri, eller en självklar guide till kontemplation, men den är lika god som väldigt många.
Jag är ödmjuk nog att inse att det finns en intellektuell kontext som jag saknar, eftersom jag inte varesig är muslim eller islamolog, och att orden kan ha flera betydelser, men i det jag kan avkoda, finns det värde. Detta sagt finns det element som är frånstötande. Det jag främst stör mig på, är idén om världslig attityd som nödvändigt för möjligheten till kontemplation, och den förväntan om världslig välgång som finns i texten - som om naturtillståndet var överdåd, och mystikern vände sig ifrån detta. Med mina ögon, formade av den tradition jag är i, där syndafallet faktiskt spelat roll, är detta förmätet, och föraktfullt inför den omvärld författaren står. Det finns passager som konstaterar att en människa kan ha en furstesjäl och en slavs samhällsroll, och detta kontrasterar naturligtvis till författarens fördel, men helheten i dessa passager skorrar fortfarande illa i mina öron. I och för sig är författaren en självutnämnd gnostiker, så i någon mån kunde dessa förenas i idén om världen som fallen, men inte heller då blir verket konsistent.
Sammanfattningsvis: Läs boken. Den är inte fläckfri, eller en självklar guide till kontemplation, men den är lika god som väldigt många.
March 30, 2007
This is a great book about poems and aphorisms by the late Abu Madyan. Born near Seville, Abu Madyan was a poet, teacher, and Sufi mystic who learned from the greatest Sufis of Morocco. If you like quotes, poetry, and aphorisms, you'll absolutely love this book.
"No one attains true freedom as long as he remains under the influence of the slightest portion of his ego." Abu Madyan
"No one attains true freedom as long as he remains under the influence of the slightest portion of his ego." Abu Madyan
March 30, 2021
All I can say is that this was a major, MAJOR book in my life. My copy is worn out from rereadings.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews