The Spiritual Ascent – A Discussion on the Treatise of Al-Qushayriya
(Al-Risala Al-Qushayriya by Abul Qasim Al-Qushayri) 

Commencement Date:  Monday 26 October 2015
Time: 8 pm to 10 pm
Venue: SimplyIslam (152 Still Road, Singapore 423991)
Frequency: Once a Month, 7 lessons
Teacher: Shaykh Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari
Course Fee:  $100 per person

Dates:                                  
(1) Monday 26 October 2015
(2) Monday 23 November 2015
(3) Monday 25 January 2016
(4) Monday 15 February 2016
(5) Monday 21 March 2016
(6) Sunday 10 April 2016 (10AM - 12:30PM)
(7) Monday 11 April 2016

 * dates specified above are subject to change

Course Description

The lexical root of the Arabic word Tasawwuf is commonly traced to safa (صَفا), which in Arabic means "purity".   Shaykh Muhammad Amin Al-Kurdi, a renowned Islamic scholar, explained that Tasawwuf is a knowledge through which one knows the states of the human soul, praiseworthy or blameworthy, how to purify it from the blameworthy and ennoble it by acquiring the praiseworthy, and to journey and proceed to Allah Most High, fleeing unto Him. 

The way of Tasawwuf is based on five principles: having godfearingness privately and publicly, living according to the Sunna in word and deed, indifference to whether others accept or reject one, satisfaction with Allah Most High in dearth and plenty, and returning to Allah in happiness or affliction.  Imam Shafi’i said: “Three things in this world have been made lovely to me: avoiding affectation, treating people kindly, and following the way of Tasawwuf.” 

This short course will be taught in reference to the well-known Al-Risala Al-Qushayriya by Abul Qasim Al-Qushayri, written in 437H/1045, Al-Qushayri's treatise on Sufism has served as a primary textbook for many generations of Sufi novices, down to the present. The book gives an illuminating insight into the moral and ethical dilemmas Sufis face in trying to strike a delicate balance between their ascetic convictions, and the exigencies of life in a society governed by rank, wealth, and military power.

About Shaykh Abul Qasim Al-Qushayri

'Abd al-Karīm ibn Hūzān Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī was born in 986 CE (376 AH) in Nishapur which is in Khorasan Province in Iran.  This region was widely known as a center of Islamic civilization up to the 13th Century CE.  He is a great muhaddith who transmitted hadith to pupils by the thousands in Naysabur, in which he fought the Mu`tazila until he flew to Mecca to protect his life, al-Qushayri was the student of the great Sufi shaykh Abu `Ali al-Daqqaq.  He was also a mufassir who wrote a complete commentary of the Qur'an entitled Lata'if al-isharat bi tafsir al-Qur'an (The subtleties and allusions in the commentary of the Qur'an).  His most famous work, however, is his Risala ila al-sufiyya or Epistle to the Sufis, which is one of the early complete manuals of the science of tasawwuf.

Lesson Outline

Shaykh Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari will share aspects of the Al-Risala Al-Qushayriya from the following main topics and subjects:

• Masters of the path and their deeds and sayings.
• An explanation of the expressions used by the Sufi community.
  • o   Waqt, maqam, hal, fana’, baqa’, hudur, dhawq, tajalli, muhadara, mukashafa, mushahada,
  • o   The [Divine] Law (shari’a) and the True Reality (haqiqa)
  • o   Nafas, khawatir, ‘ilm al-yaqin, ‘ayn al-yaqin, haqq al-yaqin
  • o   Warid, shahid, nafs, ruh, sir
• The Mystical Stations (maqamat).
  • o   Repentance (tawba), Striving (mujahada), Retreat (khalwa), seclusion (‘uzla)
  • o   Fear of God (taqwa), Scrupulousness (wara’), Renunciation (zuhd), Silence (samt), Fear (khawf), Hope (raja’), Sadness (huzn), Hunger (ju’) and the abandonment of [carnal] desire (shahwa)
  • o   Humility (khushu’) and modesty (tawadu’)
  • o   Opposing the soul (mukhalafat al-nafs) and remembering its faults (dhikr ‘uyubiha)
  • o   Envy (hasad), Backbiting (ghiba), Contentment (qana’a), Trust in God (tawakkul), Gratitude (shukr), Certainty (yaqin), Patience (sabr), Awareness [of God] (muraqaba), Satisfaction (rida), Servanthood (‘ubudiyya), Desire (irada), Uprightness (istiqama), Sincerity (ikhlas), Truthfulness (sidq), Shame (haya), Freedom (hurriyya), Remembrance (dhikr), Chivalry (futuwwa), Spiritual insight (firasa), Moral character (khuluq), Munificence (jud) and generosity (sakha’), Jealousy (ghayra), Friendship with God (wilaya), Supplicatory prayer (du’a), Poverty (faqr), Sufism (tasawwuf), Good manners (adab), The rules of travel (safar), Companionship (suhba), The Oneness of God (tawhid)
  • o   How some Sufis [of old] behaved at the time of their departure from this world
  • o   Divine gnosis (al-ma’rifa [bi-llah]), Love (mahabba), Passionate longing (shawq), On how [God] protects the hearts of Sufi masters and on [the necessity of] not opposing them [in anything they do], Listening to music (sama’), Miracles of God’s friends (karamat al-awliya’), The vision of the Sufis (ru’yat al-qawm), Spiritual advice for Sufi novices (wasaya li ‘l-muridin)