The Works of Shams al-Dn al-Dailam

Author(s): A. J. Arberry and Shams al-Dn al-Dailam

Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 29,
No. 1 (1966), pp. 49-56
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/611092
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THE WORKS OF SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DAILAMI
By
A. J. ARBERRY
Brockelmann mentions once a certain Shams al-Din Ab-i Thabit
Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Malik al-Dailami as author of a treatise entitled
Mir'Jt
al-arwah wa-sfirat al-aujah, 'Erliuterung
einer
Figur,
welche
die
Einteilung
der Welt nach den
Vorstellungen
der
Sfifis
von der h6chsten
Region
'dlam al
haira wal
'ilm al
mahi2l
bis zur tiefsten
mahall
ats' saitdn taht
al ard
darstellt
'.1
The
unique copy
of this curious work is
preserved
in
Gotha;
and
W. Pertsch when
cataloguing
it,
having
seen the
entry
in
Hajji
Khalifa in which
it is stated that this al-Dailami
composed
al-Jam' bain
al-tauh.id
wa
'l-ta'zTm
during
the
year
899
(1493),2 very reasonably gave
that date as his
floruit.
In this Brockelmann
duly
followed Pertsch.
In the new
(Istanbul, 1941-3)
edition of
HI.ajji
Khalifa
the
entry
in
question
is rather
differently
worded:3
3
"J
j
Ji d
.
,.
This
provides
a more reliable terminus ante
quem
for
al-Dailami,
two centuries
earlier than hitherto
supposed.
Nor is this
all;
in the
entry
for the
Muhimmdt
al-wdsilin,
here confirmed as of
al-Dailami,4
we are now
given
the additional
information
oAA
A
u
j-I1,
a terminus
post quem
more than a
century
earlier still. In
my
Handlist of the Chester
Beatty
Arabic
manuscripts
I have
been able to confirm this
dating,5
which
places
al-Dailami in a much more
interesting period
in the
history
of
.Sifism. Chester
Beatty
MS 4142 contains two
separate
works of
al-Dailami,
together
with
quotations
from a third book of his. Both texts were transcribed
by
the
same
copyist
in the same
year.
The
colophon
of the first of the
two,
the
Muhimmat
al-wJsiltn,
reads
(fol. 23b)
:
The
colophon
of the second
text,
the
Sharh
Kitib
al-Anfds,
is
longer
and
much more informative
(fol. 88a)
:
lb
&4
~L ~~pl C~J4Ui4~ 4cxi it~ i
? JP
1
GAL,
II,
207.
2
Kashf al-zun? in (ed. Flhigel), 11, 622,
no. 4183. The
entry
for the Mir'dt al-arwdii names no
author.
3
Col. 351.
4
Col.
1916; cf.
Fliigel,
vi, 280,
no. 13479.
5
See Vol.
v, p.
47.
VOL. XXIX. PART 1. 4
50 A. J. ARBERRY
kU iw
-
JW
I j
La -4 ~. L IL
Evidently
it was from a
copy containing
a
transcript
of
al-Dailami's
own
colophon,
as
quoted
in the
foregoing copyist's colophon,
that
H.jji
Khalifa as
now edited derived the information that al-Dailami died after
588/1192.
The
Chester
Beatty manuscript
was
completed by
one 'Umar b.
Dawud
b.
Ahmad
al-Sakhrawi
al-Qubaibati
al-Dimashqi
on
Saturday,
8 Sha'ban
863/10
June
1459.
Al-Sakhawi
6 mentions a certain 'Umar b. Dawud b.
Ahmad
al-Sha'mi
as
having
been in his class at
Mecca,7
and it is
possible
that he and the
copyist
of Chester
Beatty
4142 were the same man.8
This
paper
is a brief
exploratory study
of the two books contained in this
precious manuscript;
but first we
may
list the titles of works now known to
have been written
by
Shams al-Din
al-Dailami.
From
Hajji
Khalifa:
(1) Usfil
madhdhib
al-'ulama'
bill/h.
Fliigel,
I, 340,
no. 865.
(2)
al-Tajrid
fi
radd
Maqdsid al-faldsifa.9 Fliigel, 11,
204,
no. 2454.
(3)
al-Jam' bain
al-tauhid
wa
'i-ta' zim.
Fliigel,
II, 622,
no. 4183.
(4) Jawdhir
al-asrdr.
Fliigel, 11,
640,
no. 4263.10
(5)
Nusrat
al-milla.
Fliigel,
vI,
349,
no. 13819.
From Pertsch-Brockelmann :
(6)
Mir'&t
al-arwdh wa-sgrat al-auj'ah.
From Chester
Beatty
4142:
(7)
Muhimmat
al-wasilin.
Contained in fols. 1-23.
(8) Sharh
Kitdb
al-Anfds.
Contained in fols. 29-88.
(9) al-Najdt.
Mentioned on fol. 2a.
(10) Isldh al-akhldq. Mentioned
on fol. 2b.
(11)
'Uyltn
al-ma'irif.
Mentioned on fols.
3b,
27a.
(12) Tasdiq al-ma'arif.
Mentioned on fols.
3b,
10a.
(13) Makayid
al-shait.n.
Mentioned on fol. 7b.
(14) 'Ajd'ib al-ma'drif.
Mentioned on fol. 19a.
(15) al-Ma'drij.
Mentioned
on fol. 20a.
(16) Mihakk al-nufits.
Mentioned on fol. 23a.
(17) al-'Aql
wa
'l-'dqil.
Mentioned on fol.
23a,
b.
On fol. 8b there is a
solitary
reference to
>L
y.]
~CyJ3l
~
presumably
al-Dailami's
teacher,
whom it has not been
possible
so far to
identify.
6
al-Dau' al-ldmi', vI, p.
85.
For details of this visit in
885-7/1480-2
see
my Sakhawiana, pp.
3-13.
8 The nisba
al-SakhrwlI
is
perhaps
a variant of
al-Sakhr? bhdi,
see
al-Sam'Ani, al-Awnsb,
fol. 350a. For
al-Qubaiblti
see
al-Dau'
al-l1mi',
xii, p.
220
; Y&qfit, Mu'jam al-bulddn, vii, p.
30
(various places, including
a
large quarter
of
Damascus).
9 Extracts in Chester
Beatty 4142,
fols.
24-7,
88.
10 Cited
ibid.,
fol.
23b,
as
al-Tajrfd
min Maq&sid al-faldsifa.
THE WORKS OF SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DAILAMI 51
It is
noteworthy
that
al-Dailami
does not once refer to such well esteemed
and
widely
read textbooks of
Siifism
as
the
Ta'arruf
of
al-Kalabadhi,
the
Qit al-qulfb
of
al-Makki,
the
Tabaqdt
al-S.fitya
of
al-Sulami,
the
Hilyat
al-
auliyd'
of
Abfi
Nu'aim,
the Risela of
al-Qushairl,
or the
Kashf al-mahjfib
of
Hujwiri;
neither does he
quote
from the numerous works of such
recognized
masters as
al-Muh~sibi
or al-Tirmidhi. On the other
hand,
as will be seen
below,
he
appears
to have been familiar with the
poetry
of
Sand'i,
and was
well aware of the brothers
al-Ghaz~li.
The conclusion seems
inescapable
that
al-Dailami was
something
of a lone
wolf;
and this would account for the
oblivion into which his voluminous
writings
have fallen.
A
Muhimmat al-wasilin
Beginning (fol. ib):
This
work,
as
Hajji
Khalifa
states,"
is divided into a series of untitled and
unnumbered
fuisl,
each
dealing
with a
qualification,
or an
aspect
of
theological
doctrine or
mystical practice, thought
to be
indispensable
to the advanced
Salfi
aspiring
after
complete
attainment to God. The
preliminary
conditions of
the
mystical
life are
(1)
the
possession
of
'aql, (2)
the
profession
of
Islam, (3)
the
observance of the commands and
prohibitions
of the
faith, (4) progress through
the
maqdmat, (5)
the avoidance of the errors of
tashbih,
ta't~l,
hulil,
tajsim,
and ibaha.
Next follows
(fol. 3b)
a section
dealing
with the true doctrine of the vision
of God
(ru'yat Alldh) ;
al-Dailami holds
(with
most of the
Sfifis)
that believers
may
see God in this world with the
eyes
of the heart.
J
! i
rl
1
J ; ? 1
Ji W
I
j3i
LC I
jILP
The form in which God is seen is that of a
spiritual light (ntir
r.hani)
which is
itself a veil
(hijab),
and is variable. The
Siifi
must also believe
(fol. 6a)
that it
is
possible
to converse with God
(mukhlama, munajat).
He must realize
(fol. 7a)
that the satans and
jinns, presided
over
by Iblis,
are the enemies of the
mystic,
" Istanbul edition,
col. 1916:
~"J.Jl
J
4 2
J
~
.?
52 A. J. ARBERRY
and that the
phenomenon commonly
known as madness
may
have a satanic as
well as an
angelic origin;
the cure of such madness lies in the hands not of
physicians
but of
Siafi
shaikhs. If such
phenomena
as
firasdt
and
kardmdt
occur
along
with
the commission of
major
sins,
this is a
proof
of their demoniac nature.
A comment on the
'Light
Verse'
(Qur'an xxIv, 35)
is the occasion for
al-Dailami to
quote
Hebrew
(fol. 10a)
:12
IT 3L
.
i
"
S
Ji

5jl
4
W1^
41
J'
5
.
.3n
3.
I
.,.,
,.
9

'-.-
L:.
".s...
This
leads on to a
general
condemnation of
tajsim,
and
the Christian
doctrine
of
ikhtilat
and
hulil
which
is stated to be of
philosophical origin.
The notion of
ibcaha
is
roundly
condemned
(fol. lb),
as well as
the
love of
firasat
and karamat for
their
own sake
(fol. 12b). The mystic
should combine
tauhi;d with ta'z;im,
if
he
is to avoid
the pitfall
of
ta't~il
and so become a
mulhid
(fol. 13b).
This is
particularly apposite
to the
aspirant
after
spiritual
ascension
(mi'raj),
who must learn to observe
good
manners
(fol. 14a).
He must realize
that he is a weak slave,
and that
'ub~idya
is an attribute
attaching
to
him
both
in
this world and the next
(fol. 14b). This
is
the only safeguard against
shirk.
One of the most
dangerous
defects
against
which the
.Smifi
has to
guard
himself is infatuation
with eloquence
and
poetry,
a vice which affected a
number of famous men. Those
specifically
named are
al-San5',1'3 al-Mutanabbi,
al-Ftramadhi,14 Yahyk
b.
Mu'adh
al-Razi,'5
al-Hasan
al-Basri,16
and
al-Ghazi
(fol. 20b).
12
A somewhat
garbled
version of Genesis
i,
27.
13 This is
surely
the earliest reference to
San&'i
in Arabic
writing.
14
Pupil
of
al-Qushairi
and teacher of
al-Ghazli,
d.
477/1084.
15
Famous
preacher,
d.
258/872.
16
D.
110/728.
THE WORKS OF SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DAILAMI 53
The criticism of Sana'I is
repeated
and detailed
(fol. 21a-b).
Anticipating
a tu
quoque,
al-Dailami defends his own
activity
as an
author,
and explains why he is superior to those whom he has condemned.
Another o~
f
the dangerous defects for Sifis consists (fol. 22b) in khayal,
takhaiyul,
and
takhy~l
which lead to
imagined
visions of God and the
angels. It is for
the
shaikh to
trea
such
reported
experiences
on the
part
of his
disciples
with all reserve.
The final
requirement enunciated concerns the nature of the human soul;
here
(fol. 23b)
al-Dailami denounces
(without naming names)
those
Siffis
who
have been influenced in their beliefs
by
the
philosophers, notably
Ibn
Sink.
? 1
-%,1
%
1 1 t
17 Doubtless A1lmad
al-Ghazili,
famous for his
Sawdnih
on
mystical love,
d.
517/1123.
18
Qur'&n xxvI,
224.
19
Sc.
skill in admonition and wise
sayings.
54 A.J. ARBERRY
1 L4 L Jj 4I ) JWI JII3 I 4C
?
.3i
J1
4A

ic:
r3.
"Jt;i
4

U.i
y
B
Sharh
Kitab
al-Anfas
In a
paper
written
nearly
30
years ago
20 a brief reference was made to a
Cairo
manuscript containing
a work ascribed to the famous
.Sifi
al-Junaid
entitled
al-Sirrflf anfs
al-S~ifiya.21
It was
conclusively
demonstrated that the
attribution was
erroneous,
and the
promise
was
given
that an edition of this
nevertheless
interesting
treatise would be
prepared.
Meanwhile the
discovery
of Chester
Beatty
4142 has thrown
important
new
light
on the contents of the Cairo
manuscript.
The second of the two works
comprised
in Chester
Beatty
4142 is a
commentary by
al-Dailami on this
text,22 now
described
by
the commentator as a
compilation
of al-Junaid and
his
contemporary
Ibn
'Atd'.
This attribution
proves
to be
equally suspect;
but at least we can now be certain that the text was
composed
before
588/1192,
the date of
completion
of the
commentary.23
Internal evidence
suggests
that
it
may
have been
compiled
as
early
as the second half of the
fourth/tenth
century.
Beginning (fol. 29b)
:
24
Ct.Cj
I
A-Y J1 y-I
J-1 t
II
I2 ~ t;
..G
4? &I }L
LL0
20
JBBRAS, NS, xiII, 1937,
1-5.
21
Brockelmann, I, 199, Suppl., I,
354.
22
My pupil Mr.
Gaafar informs
me that another
copy
of this
commentary
is
preserved
in the
library
of the Azhar in Cairo.
23
The Cairo
manuscript
is
undated,
but looks to be not later than the
ninth/fifteenth century.
24
The author seems to have been careless sometimes in his
grammar.
His solecisms have
been left uncorrected.
THE WORKS OF SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DAILAMI 55
Lt;r-
I
I JJ4"P
1
- L+
*
? T IW3 LW
I L
}
From this introduction it is seen that al-Dailami attributes the
compilation
of this
anthology
of
mystical aphorisms
to two celebrated
Safifs
of the classical
Baghdad
school,
al-Junaid who died in
298/910
and his
companion
Abu
'l-'Abbas
Ahmad
b.
'Ata' (his
full name was
Ahmad
b.
Muhammad
b. Sahl b.
'Ata' al-Adami),
who
died in
309/921
or
311/923.25 Unfortunately
this
attribution,
like that to al-Junaid alone in the Cairo
manuscript
referred to
rabove,
is invalidated
by
the fact that
amongst
the S-afis cited in the course of
the
anthology
are some who
belonged
to the
generation
after these two
masters,
like
Ab-f
'Ali
al-Ridhabirl
who died in
322/934,
and al-Shibli who died
in
334/945.
The
commentary
is
preceded by
a
preliminary
discussion of the
meaning
of
the term
anfis (sing. nafas)
in relation to
S-dfi
psychology.
The
exposition proper
begins
on fol. 34b :
.j
s.,
/ ~,)i >JU
Ij
AAT
*.4..;
J..b
4-L.,
.
....
Thereafter each
saying (and
the
sayings
are
grouped
in
chapters according
to
topics,
see
below)
is
explained
at
length according
to al-Dailami's under-
standing.
The final
quotation
in the Cairo
manuscript
occurs at the
top
of
fol. 87b and is followed
by
a few more not
present
there.
End:
Then follows the
transcript
of
al-Dailami's
colophon
as
reproduced
at the
beginning
of this
paper.
In
conclusion,
the
following
is the text of the
opening
lines of the Cairo
manuscript
of the so-called Kitab al-Sirr
f anfas
al-Siiftya.
25
See
al-Sulami, Tabaqiit al-Si~fiya (ed. Nfir
al-Din
Shuraiba), p.
265 for references.
56 THE WORKS OF SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DAILAMI
4 i
4J
.1i
t
di
0 J
j
I I L
It is evident that the title and exordium were
supplied by
an editor of the
anthology, probably
some time after al-Dailami
composed
his
commentary.
We
may speculate
that the
original
text as available to
al-Dailami,
and to the
editor of the Cairo
manuscript,
was in fact a
fragment
of an extensive
anthology
of
Sflfi sayings, arranged
in
chapters by topics.
This
fragment
would seem to
have lacked both
beginning
and end. It was
presumably
the accident of the
occurrence of al-Junaid's name at the
opening
of the
fragment
that
suggested
the idea that the whole text was
composed by
him,
or
by
him and Ibn
'At.' whose name comes second.
The titles of the
chapters
into which the text is divided in both
recensions,
as listed
below,
show further that in
reality only
the first section deals with the
theme of
nafas
and
anfds,
and that therefore the title
given
to the work is
entirely supposititious.26
CB Cairo
fol. 34b
page
2
e
AA
b.A fol. 43a
page
8
0

fol. 49b
page
11 4f
,,
0
4.
fol. 56a
page
15
aAL
I A
.A
.
fol. 62a
page
20
1
,
.
.o.
O .
fol. 70b
page
24
A-
fol. 74b
page
26
fol. 81a
page
30
4'
0
fol. 83b page 32 .-01 ~
.b
fol.
85a page
33 ~.L
v..
26 The
chapter headings
are as
given
in CB
4142;
the
wording
in the Cairo
manuscript
is
occasionally slightly
different.