The Doctrine of the Sufis - Hardcover

This is a traditional Sufi (Sunni) work written by the Sufi master Abu Bakr Al-Kalabadhi, known and respected by the Sufis for 1000 years. This work mentions the disagreements in doctrine within the different Sufi Tariqahs. In general the translation is spot on, non-literal - as it cannot be when dealing with the esoteric, and in my opinion Arberry does it justice. --By A. S. Abdulbari 27 June 2011

This 1935 English translation of a classic Arabic text in S f sm, the mystical aspect of Islam, by A. J. Arberry preserves the beauty and simplicity of the original without departing from a literal translation. Little is known of the author of this treatise Ab Bakr al-Kal b dh , except that he was a lawyer and died in Bukh r in about AD 990. This book is the work on which his fame rests, and is important because it is the earliest extant text to reconcile the position of S f sm and orthodox Islam. The book consists of five parts: a general introduction to the term S f and an enumeration of the names of the great S f s; a statements of the tenets of Islam, as accepted by the S f s; a discussion of the various 'stations' of the S f s; and a discussion of the various phenomena of S f sm. This is a superb English introduction to S f sm.