The IIS is pleased to announce the publication of Sufi Master and ϳܰ’a Scholar: Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri and the ٲ’i al-isharat by Martin Nguyen. This volume, the eighth in the ϳܰ’aic Studies Series, examines the ϳܰ’aic commentary (tafsir) entitled, ٲ’i al-isharat (Subtleties of the Subtleties), written by Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri, a scholar from Nishapur (KhorasanThe northeastern region of early Islamic Persia, immediately south of Transoxania and west of Badakhshan.) who lived in the 11th Century CE. Sufi Master and ϳܰ’a Scholar is the first extensive study in English of the ٲ’i al-isharat and provides the first detailed biography of Qushayri’s life.
Qushayri has long been recognised as an important Sufi intellectual. Martin Nguyen, however, demonstrates that while Qushayri’s Sufism is indeed fundamental to his thought, this Persian scholar can be better understood by analysing the multiple fields of knowledge with which he engaged. Thus, he was not only a Sufi but also a ϳܰ’aMuslims believe that the Holy ϳܰ’a contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More commentator, a Shafi‘i jurist, an ‘Ashari theologian and a hadith scholar. The book covers these wide-ranging traditions and demonstrates the importance of the ٲ’i for understanding both Qushayri’s thought and his intellectual and religious context.
This volume also examines Qushayri’s hermeneutical methods, his use of hadith, parallels with other exegetical traditions, and the tafsir’s legal and theological content. It culminates with an analysis of Qushayri’s mystical exegesis of the ϳܰ’a, focusing on the theological discussions of miracles and the identity of the “Friends of God” (Awliya’ Allah).
Sufi Master and ϳܰ’a Scholar: Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri and the ٲ’i al-isharat by Martin Nguyen would appeal to scholars and students of both Sufism and ϳܰ’aic exegesis.
Related Pages on the IIS Website:
- Publication Content: An Anthology of ϳܰ’aic Commentaries – Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine
- Publication Content: Sufi Hermeneutics: The ϳܰ’a Commentary of Rashid al-Din Maybudi
