other early Sufi authors, he insisted upon linking the practice of Sufism
with the legal and ethical observances of Islam. But he was convinced that
a Sufi master occupied a level much higher than any of the legal scholars,
and maintained that spiritual advancement was generally impossible without
a master. A master’s duty was to instruct his disciples, taking into account
their individual temperaments, intelligence and perseverance. At the same
time, he stated again and again that the study of books and theoretical
learning alonewere not particularly useful for spiritual advancement. Instead,
he recommended numerous practices that aimed at curbing the ego, as he
considered that the first and last step in attaining God’s presence.
Qushayri’s
Al Risala
exerted great influence on the practice and
philosophy of many generations of Sufis.Written inArabic, it was translated
into Persian during the author’s lifetime.
The most famous and most widely read of them all was
Kashf al Mahjub
18
(
Revelation of theVeiled
) written by
‘Ali ibn ‘Uthman al Hujweri
(d. 1074).
Hujweri was born in Ghazna and studied under many Sufi masters.What
is known of his life comes mostly from autobiographical references in his
own work. For many years he led an itinerant life but, in the end, settled in
Lahore and it was there that he died. After his death he was revered as a
saint and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. He must have interceded
for many of his followers, for he became known as Data Ganj Bakhsh or
‘Distributor of Treasure’. Among the early mystics who visited his tomb
was Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, the founder of the Chishti order.
While all the above mentioned works were in Arabic, Hujwiri’s manual
was written in Persian, making it one of the oldest Sufi works in that language.
18
The Kashf al Mahjub by Al Hujwiri, ed. and tr. R.A. Nicholson, London, 1967
T owar d s Mys t i c i sm 46
