Hilyat al-Awliya' wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya' () is a

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

encyclopaedic book authored by

Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani Abu Nuʿaym al-Isfahani (; full name: ''Ahmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ahmad ibn Ishāq ibn Mūsā ibn Mahrān al-Mihrānī al-Asbahānī'' (or ''al-Asfahānī'') ''al-Ahwal al-Ash`arī al-Shāfi`ī'', died 1038 CE / AH 430) was a medieval Persian S ...

. It provides a glance of the lives of more than 200

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

from the first three generations of Muslims ( pious predecessors).

Content

The Hilyat al-Awliya' is recognized as one of the most important sources for the early development of Sufism, as it contains the largest known collection of biographies of

Sufis Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

. It consists of 689 biographies in ten volumes (approx. 4,000 pages). They include, in roughly chronological order: the first generation of Muslims specifically the four rightly guided caliphs, the first six Imams according to the

Shia theology Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

, the eponymous founders of the three of the four major Sunni schools of jurisprudence,

theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and pious people known for their ascetism, piety and mysticism. This book also collects

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

from the companions and has become an important reference for the later

hadith scholars Hadith studies is the academic study of hadith, a literature typically thought in Islam, Islamic religion to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. A major area of ...

. The author gets involved in sensitive subjects and refutes heresy that contradict the tenets of the Islamic faith.

Abridgement

Ibn al-Jawzi Abu al-Faraj Jamal al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hasan Ali Al-Jawzi also known as Ibn al-Jawzi (16 June 1201) was a Muslim jurisconsult, preacher, orator, heresiographer, traditionist, historian, judge, hagiographer, and philologist who played ...

criticized the author for including the

Companions of the Prophet The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

, so then he went on to make his own version of book in two volumes entitled ''Sifat al-Safwa;'' in it, he attempts to avoid the words using "Sufi" or "Tasawwuf."

Reception

Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

said: "We have never written such a book as Hilyat al-Awliya'". It was related that Hilyat al-Awliya was among one of Imam Taqi al-Din al-Subki's favourite books.

References

{{Authority control 11th-century Arabic-language books Books of Sunni Rijal Sufi literature Sunni literature Encyclopedias Books of Islamic biography

Content

Abridgement

Reception

See also

References