Sufism: the Formative Period

Sufism: the Formative Period

Karamustafa bases this study on a fresh reading of the primary sources and, by integrating the findings of recent scholarship on the subject, presents a unified narrative of Sufism's historical development. His innovative analytical framework reveals the emergence of mystical currents in Islam during the ninth century and traces the rapid spread of Iraq-based Sufism to other regions of the Islamic world, providing an integrated, comprehensive understanding of one of the most compelling aspects of late antique, early medieval Islamic religious history.--From publisher description.

Ahmet T. Karamustafa

Edinburgh : University Press

Series: New Edinburgh Islamic surveys

The Sufis of Baghdad -- Renunciants, the inward turn and the term ṣūfī -- Prominent Sufis of Baghdad -- Major characteristics of the Sufis of Baghdad -- Mystics outside Baghdad -- Lower Iraq: Sahl al-Tustarī -- Iran and Central Asia -- The spread of Baghdad Sufism -- Western Iran and Arabia -- Khurāsān and Transoxania -- Mystics in al-Andalus? -- Specialised Sufi literature -- Sufism among traditionalists -- Sufism in the bosom of fiqh and kalām -- Formation of communities -- The training master and Sufi lineages -- The master as patron and the cult of saints -- Sainthood triumphant -- Social spread and political influence -- Antinomians and nonconformists.

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