Knowra Al-Qushayri Al-Qushayri Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (986–1072) was a Persian Sufi theologian and author of the influential Epistle on Sufism , a defense and explanation of Sufi teachings.
Sufism : An Islamic tradition centered on spiritual discipline, ethical refinement, and the pursuit of closeness to God. The spiritual tradition whose teachings and practitioners al-Qushayri explains.
Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya : Al-Qushayri's eleventh-century manual explaining Sufi doctrine, terminology, biographies, and spiritual practice. This is the work through which his teachings became most influential.
Abu Ali al-Daqqaq : An influential Sufi master and preacher who taught in Nishapur in the eleventh century. Al-Daqqaq was al-Qushayri's Sufi teacher and father-in-law.
Nishapur : A major medieval city in Khorasan, in present-day northeastern Iran, and a center of Islamic scholarship. Al-Qushayri lived and taught in this important intellectual center.
Orthodox Sufism : Forms of Sufism presented as compatible with established Sunni doctrine and religious law. Al-Qushayri's Epistle became a prominent defense of this compatibility.
Ash'arism : A Sunni theological tradition associated with Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari and systematic defense of Islamic doctrine. Its theological framework shaped al-Qushayri's defense of Sufi beliefs.
Sufi adab : The ethical conduct and disciplined manners expected of Sufi practitioners within spiritual communities. The Epistle presents proper conduct as essential to authentic Sufi practice.
Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari : A ninth- and tenth-century Muslim theologian whose teachings founded the Ash'ari school of Sunni theology. His theological tradition informed al-Qushayri's defense of Sunni Sufism.
Khorasan : A historical region of northeastern Iran and adjoining lands that became a major center of Islamic learning. Its religious and scholarly networks shaped al-Qushayri's intellectual world.
Sufi literature : Writing that conveys Sufi teachings, practices, spiritual experiences, and exemplary lives. His Epistle became a durable model within the wider Sufi literary tradition.
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