Volume Eleven
The Book of Sufism
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon him after whom there is no prophet.
Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah sanctify his soul—was asked about the various categories of “Sufis” and “fuqarā’” (the poor): What characterizes each category? What is obligatory for its members, and what path is recommended for them to follow?
He replied:
Praise be to Allah. The term “Sufis” was not widely known during the first three generations; its use became widespread only afterward. Its use has been reported from several imams and shaykhs, including Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī, and others. It has also been related that Sufyān al-Thawrī used it, and some attribute its use to al-Hasan al-Basrī. They disagreed about the “meaning” to which