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The Way of Sufi Chivalry
A highly respected Sufi saint and scholar of the 10th century, Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami compiled this book as a guide to enlightened behavior for the spiritual aspirant. In its pages, he records the teachings of renowned spiritual masters (available for the first time in English translation) as well as tales and quotations from the Koran and Hadith. The teachings reveal the true meaning of compassion, love, friendship, generosity, and hospitality, as well as the right actions associated with these virtues. According to the Sufis, Futuwwah is a code of honorable behavior that follows the example of the prophets, saints, and sages. By adhering to its precepts, the student learns detachment from the ego. The Way of Sufi Chivalry addresses the reader directly, providing the aspirant of today with living guidance on the path of perfection and the way of Sufism.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1983
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January 4, 2021
The way of Sufi Chivalry by Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami
Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami was a highly respected scholar of the 10th Century C.E. He was born in Nishapur in 325 AH and passed away in 412 AH. Before diving into the main concept of this book, simply put this is essentially a guide for the spiritual aspirant and for those looking to change/improve on their character. He lays forth the teachings of renowned scholars as well as tales, ayas and quotations from the Holy Quran and Hadith; all revealing the true, fundamental meanings of love, generosity, brotherhood, hospitality and compassion. I wouldn’t say it’s an easy read but nonetheless a crucial one.
ESSENCE OF THE BOOK:
“Futuwwah is the way of the fata. In Arabic, fata literally means a handsome brave youth. After the enlightenment of Islam, following the use of the word in the Holy Quran, fata came to mean the ideal, noble, and perfect man whose hospitality and generoisty would extend until he had nothing left for himself; a man who would give all, including his life, for the sake of his friends”.
Futuwwah is a code of honourable conduct that follows the examples of Prophets and Saints. A prime example of futuwwah is Prophet Ibrahim (AS); who not only readily accepted the command to sacrifice his son for the sake of Allah (SWT) but was referred to as a fata in Surah al-Anbiya, verse 60, when mentioning how he had just destroyed the idols worshipped by his people and was about to be cast into the furnace by the non-believers.
قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا فَتًى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُۥٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ
They said, “We heard a young man mention them who is called Abraham.”
Inspired by this Quranic verse, one of Sulami’s direct disciples defined fata (in Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya) as “he who breaks the idol”, Qushayri immediately adds - thus leading us to the crux of what of Futuwwah focuses on - “and the idol of each man is his ego”
The word fata - on which the concept of Futuwwah is built - refers to those young people whom Allah (SWT) has blessed with piety, excellence in religion and upright character, and in some instances, Prophethood.
Further, the four divinely guided Caliphs were guardians of futuwwah; the loyalty and generosity of Abu Bakr, the Justice of Umar, the Modesty of ‘Uthman and the bravery of Ali, May Allah (SWT) be pleased with them.
An all encompassing symbol of futuwwah, of the way of spiritual chivalry, is the final prophet (PBUH). The aim of Futuwwah is to abandon all improper behaviour, refrain from nitpicking at people’s mistakes and understanding and holding yourself accountable for your faults. It's a state in which one seeks to reach a high degree of spiritual refinement; living for the sole purpose of consciously worshipping Allah (SWT). The state of Futuwwah is the personification of the Quran and Sunnah.
This book is not one to be read once and forgotten about, but rather a book you keep going back to for practical guidance; for it highlights the right actions we should take that are associated with the aforementioned virtues. Therefore, it is difficult to categorise the entire book into themes per se simply because every piece of advice is intertwined with another, like pieces in a puzzle, you cannot implement one without understanding and implementing the other - otherwise you’ll have an incomplete image! I have mentioned one “theme” that really stood out to me and will be focusing on that for now - simply because i don’t want to turn this into a thesis lmao (i might share some more reflections in the future insha’Allah)
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES:
Living in a hyper-capitalist society it is easy to lose sight of what truly matters. Easily losing ourselves in the whirlwind of everyday life, our jobs, kids, studies, family, yearning for financial stability. Our perception of reality becomes blurred and we, in the process, become disoriented. We lose sight of our priorities.
Al-Sulami writes:
“It is from Futuwwah to view what remains from one’s wealth as what was spent in charity and not what was withheld”
“Understand that what you really own is not what you keep for your property, but that which you spend for your brethren. It is reported through ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali and ‘Amr ibn shurahbil that ‘A’ishah recounted that someone presented a lamb as a gift to the Messenger og Allah. He distributed the meat. ‘A’ishah said ‘Only the neck is left for us’, The Prophet said, ‘No all of it is left for us except the neck’.
Oftentimes when we speak of the afterlife, we speak of it as being a secondary reference point, and thus, this life being the primary reference. For example - a piece of fruit - we usually say that this piece of fruit will taste better in Jannah; this essentialises this life as the primary one. However, the true existence is the everlasting one: the afterlife (the akhira). The fruits we taste HERE are worse versions of the real fruits; the ones that we shall taste in Jannah Insha’Allah.
This can be extended to wealth or the money that we save. The money that we save in this life is not actually saved, but rather “wasted”. And the money you “waste” (i.e. spend) in this life is actually saved - given that you spend it on your education, charity, and providing for your family etc. So long as the thing that you spent your money on is done as a means to (re)establish/improve your relationship with Allah (SWT), then it is money saved. It becomes saved for you in terms of reward in the afterlife.
Why is this important? Isn’t this a little too deep? Simply put, No.Our choice of words define the way in which we view time, the way in which we perceive reality. If we start seeing it from the perspective of this dunya is the primary one - then we will easily lose sight of our goal, of our purpose. But, if we switch our perspective to a faith based perspective, a perspective that gives more weight to the akhira, then it becomes much easier to live, the trials of this life will not affect us as much if we constantly recall that faith based perspective. It reorients us to do things for the sake of Allah (SWT).
Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami was a highly respected scholar of the 10th Century C.E. He was born in Nishapur in 325 AH and passed away in 412 AH. Before diving into the main concept of this book, simply put this is essentially a guide for the spiritual aspirant and for those looking to change/improve on their character. He lays forth the teachings of renowned scholars as well as tales, ayas and quotations from the Holy Quran and Hadith; all revealing the true, fundamental meanings of love, generosity, brotherhood, hospitality and compassion. I wouldn’t say it’s an easy read but nonetheless a crucial one.
ESSENCE OF THE BOOK:
“Futuwwah is the way of the fata. In Arabic, fata literally means a handsome brave youth. After the enlightenment of Islam, following the use of the word in the Holy Quran, fata came to mean the ideal, noble, and perfect man whose hospitality and generoisty would extend until he had nothing left for himself; a man who would give all, including his life, for the sake of his friends”.
Futuwwah is a code of honourable conduct that follows the examples of Prophets and Saints. A prime example of futuwwah is Prophet Ibrahim (AS); who not only readily accepted the command to sacrifice his son for the sake of Allah (SWT) but was referred to as a fata in Surah al-Anbiya, verse 60, when mentioning how he had just destroyed the idols worshipped by his people and was about to be cast into the furnace by the non-believers.
قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا فَتًى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُۥٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ
They said, “We heard a young man mention them who is called Abraham.”
Inspired by this Quranic verse, one of Sulami’s direct disciples defined fata (in Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya) as “he who breaks the idol”, Qushayri immediately adds - thus leading us to the crux of what of Futuwwah focuses on - “and the idol of each man is his ego”
The word fata - on which the concept of Futuwwah is built - refers to those young people whom Allah (SWT) has blessed with piety, excellence in religion and upright character, and in some instances, Prophethood.
Further, the four divinely guided Caliphs were guardians of futuwwah; the loyalty and generosity of Abu Bakr, the Justice of Umar, the Modesty of ‘Uthman and the bravery of Ali, May Allah (SWT) be pleased with them.
An all encompassing symbol of futuwwah, of the way of spiritual chivalry, is the final prophet (PBUH). The aim of Futuwwah is to abandon all improper behaviour, refrain from nitpicking at people’s mistakes and understanding and holding yourself accountable for your faults. It's a state in which one seeks to reach a high degree of spiritual refinement; living for the sole purpose of consciously worshipping Allah (SWT). The state of Futuwwah is the personification of the Quran and Sunnah.
This book is not one to be read once and forgotten about, but rather a book you keep going back to for practical guidance; for it highlights the right actions we should take that are associated with the aforementioned virtues. Therefore, it is difficult to categorise the entire book into themes per se simply because every piece of advice is intertwined with another, like pieces in a puzzle, you cannot implement one without understanding and implementing the other - otherwise you’ll have an incomplete image! I have mentioned one “theme” that really stood out to me and will be focusing on that for now - simply because i don’t want to turn this into a thesis lmao (i might share some more reflections in the future insha’Allah)
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES:
Living in a hyper-capitalist society it is easy to lose sight of what truly matters. Easily losing ourselves in the whirlwind of everyday life, our jobs, kids, studies, family, yearning for financial stability. Our perception of reality becomes blurred and we, in the process, become disoriented. We lose sight of our priorities.
Al-Sulami writes:
“It is from Futuwwah to view what remains from one’s wealth as what was spent in charity and not what was withheld”
“Understand that what you really own is not what you keep for your property, but that which you spend for your brethren. It is reported through ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Ali and ‘Amr ibn shurahbil that ‘A’ishah recounted that someone presented a lamb as a gift to the Messenger og Allah. He distributed the meat. ‘A’ishah said ‘Only the neck is left for us’, The Prophet said, ‘No all of it is left for us except the neck’.
Oftentimes when we speak of the afterlife, we speak of it as being a secondary reference point, and thus, this life being the primary reference. For example - a piece of fruit - we usually say that this piece of fruit will taste better in Jannah; this essentialises this life as the primary one. However, the true existence is the everlasting one: the afterlife (the akhira). The fruits we taste HERE are worse versions of the real fruits; the ones that we shall taste in Jannah Insha’Allah.
This can be extended to wealth or the money that we save. The money that we save in this life is not actually saved, but rather “wasted”. And the money you “waste” (i.e. spend) in this life is actually saved - given that you spend it on your education, charity, and providing for your family etc. So long as the thing that you spent your money on is done as a means to (re)establish/improve your relationship with Allah (SWT), then it is money saved. It becomes saved for you in terms of reward in the afterlife.
Why is this important? Isn’t this a little too deep? Simply put, No.Our choice of words define the way in which we view time, the way in which we perceive reality. If we start seeing it from the perspective of this dunya is the primary one - then we will easily lose sight of our goal, of our purpose. But, if we switch our perspective to a faith based perspective, a perspective that gives more weight to the akhira, then it becomes much easier to live, the trials of this life will not affect us as much if we constantly recall that faith based perspective. It reorients us to do things for the sake of Allah (SWT).
September 1, 2016
This was a great read. My only concerns are that the translation is sometimes off and that some of the quotes require some context so that they are not misunderstood. Other than that, it was a great read and I would definitely revisit it again in the future inshallah.
September 17, 2022
A classic masterpiece on Islamic manners, chivalry, and masculinity.
May 12, 2014
Not about martial codes, but more of a guidebook on proper etiquette (adab) in Islam. The biggest focus was on the virtue of generosity. True generosity is giving before your brother is forced to ask, because in asking, the needy one is humiliated by his need. A poem is related:
"The one in embarrassment asked but received nothing,
For when he weighed what he had received,
His pain was heavier than what had been given to him."
The Islamic ideal of generosity is then that much harder to attain for those of us who come from "ask" cultures, as opposed to "guess" cultures, an interesting way of thinking about cultural differences that is discussed here.
I enjoyed the book, but would recommend Ghazali's On the Duties of Brotherhood as a better first book on the topic of adab.
"The one in embarrassment asked but received nothing,
For when he weighed what he had received,
His pain was heavier than what had been given to him."
The Islamic ideal of generosity is then that much harder to attain for those of us who come from "ask" cultures, as opposed to "guess" cultures, an interesting way of thinking about cultural differences that is discussed here.
I enjoyed the book, but would recommend Ghazali's On the Duties of Brotherhood as a better first book on the topic of adab.
July 16, 2008
A delightful companion to my shelves since I was in my teens (the printing above is a slightly newer reprint of the one I have). This book was one of the first treatises on Sufism I had ever picked up and its contents have made a great impression on me as I have aged and matured.
Al-Sulami's Kitab al-Futuwwah was one of my primary educators in the arts of friendship and its sacrifices as well as the arts of hospitality and generosity. Actually, the only thing I really have never liked about the handbook (and this is true of most religious work that is Abrahamic in origin) is its occasional but repeated emphasis on fearing God.
Al-Sulami's Kitab al-Futuwwah was one of my primary educators in the arts of friendship and its sacrifices as well as the arts of hospitality and generosity. Actually, the only thing I really have never liked about the handbook (and this is true of most religious work that is Abrahamic in origin) is its occasional but repeated emphasis on fearing God.
March 21, 2015
من أروع و اجمل ما رأت عيني في تزكية النفوس ... الفتوة طريق الرسل و الأولياء من أجل إتمام مكارم الأخلاق
February 4, 2021
The beautiful and noble Way of Sufi Chivalry is exactly the medicine our broken world needs, in my opinion. Sufi Chivalry, the prophetic Way of Being, can and will save and heal the world. It inspires me and resonates very much with the deepest core of my heart. I like this summary of the Futuwwah philosophy at the beginning of the book:
“Futuwwah is a code of honorable conduct that follows the example of the prophets, saints, sages, and the intimate friends and lovers of Allah [...] Futuwwah is a state of mind. It means placing other people above oneself. It is being generous and altruistic. It is self-denial, immunity to disappointment, indulgence toward other people's short-comings. It is a fearless struggle against tyranny, and above all, it is love. Love is the essence of Futuwwah; love of God, love of His creation, love of Love.”
May we all attain the station of the intimate friends and lovers of the Divine and serve all beings with fearless and courageous compassion, love and wisdom in the Spirit of Unity.
“Futuwwah is a code of honorable conduct that follows the example of the prophets, saints, sages, and the intimate friends and lovers of Allah [...] Futuwwah is a state of mind. It means placing other people above oneself. It is being generous and altruistic. It is self-denial, immunity to disappointment, indulgence toward other people's short-comings. It is a fearless struggle against tyranny, and above all, it is love. Love is the essence of Futuwwah; love of God, love of His creation, love of Love.”
May we all attain the station of the intimate friends and lovers of the Divine and serve all beings with fearless and courageous compassion, love and wisdom in the Spirit of Unity.
January 22, 2022
A book best read over a period of months. It is very dense in its lessons, and although short, flying through it won’t allow you to put what you learn into practice. At times I felt as if the author advised generosity and self abnegation to an unreasonable extent. Islam is the middle path. Extremes in anything is not part of the seen. My opinion however on this subject may well be incorrect. God knows best.
July 19, 2018
Educational! The book is about code of conduct, the sufi exercises. Extraordinary qualities that lays the foundation of sacred brotherhood in sufism.
A strongly recommended read for the people in the path of sufism.
A strongly recommended read for the people in the path of sufism.
January 6, 2008
This is a manual of the Path, and I imagine reading it without the need of translation would allow me to give it five full stars. Even in translation, however, it is amazing and useful. The anecdotes alone make the story worth it, chosen from among Persian and Arabic Sufi sources primarily. The discussion of Futuwwah, translated variously as chivalry, virtuous behavior, or my favorite "heroic generosity," is invaluable.
April 26, 2012
Remarkable translation of a primary source from the turn of the 10th-11th century, this small book is packed full of practical spiritual wisdom and beautiful anecdotes. Sayings about loving one's neighbor and one's enemies, and of the "poor and lonely who have nothing but their religion" being brought before Jesus son of Mary at the day of Last Judgment made it connect that much more strongly to the earlier traditions on which it builds.
February 15, 2011
Excellent primary source on medieval Sufism, translated by Tosun Bayrak - himself a Sufi sheikh. In my opinion that fact makes all the difference as its translation allows it to act as more of an actual practical manual than an academic work, which there is no dearth of in relation to sufism
January 13, 2016
Un tres bon livre a lire... L'ensemble Des points à suivrge, sont bien expliqués, accompagnés des exemples de la realité... Vraiment c'est un bouquin qui traite le sens de la futuwah d'une maniere et spirituelle et scientifique en même temps.
Je conseille vivement à le lire.
Je conseille vivement à le lire.
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