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In the figure of ʿAbdallāh b. al-Mubārak (118–

The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety

The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunnī Scholasticism

Feryal Salem,
PhD (University of Chicago, 2013) is
Assistant Professor of Islamic Scriptures
and Law at the Macdonald Center for the
Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim
Relations at Hartford Seminary.
Feryal Salem
181/736–797) we find a paragon of the fields of
ḥadīth, zuhd, and jihād, as attested to by the large
number of references to him in the classical Islamic
texts. His superior rank as a ḥadīth transmitter
and Sunnī Scholasticism
earned him the title “commander of the faithful” in
ḥadīth. He contributed to Islamic law at its early ʿAbdallāh b. al-Mubārak
phases of development, practiced jihād, composed
poetry, and participated in various theological dis- and the Formation of Sunnī Identity
cussions. In addition, Ibn al-Mubārak was a pioneer
in writing on piety and was later regarded by many in the Second Islamic Century
mystics as one of the earliest figures of Sufism. Ibn
al-Mubārak’s position during the formative period
of Islamic thought illustrates the unique evolution
of zuhd, ḥadīth, and jihād; these form a junction in
the biography of Ibn al-Mubārak in a way that dis-
tinctively illuminates the second/eighth-century
dynamics of nascent Sunnī identity. Furthermore,
Ibn al-Mubārak’s status as a fighter and pious figure
of the Late Antique period reveals a great deal
about the complex relationship between the early

ISLAMIC HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION. STUDIES AND TEXTS

Muslim community and the religiously diverse set-
ting which it inhabited. This critical and compre-
hensive monograph of ʿAbdallāh b. al-Mubārak sit-
uates him within the larger context of the social
and religious milieu of Late Antiquity. It explores
the formation of Sunnī identity in the second
Islamic century and demonstrates the way in which
it manifested itself through networks of pious
scholars who defined, preserved, and passed on
what they understood to be normative Islamic
practice and beliefs from one generation of Muslim
intellectuals to another.
by
Feryal Salem
isbn 978-90-04-31029-2

*hIJ0A4|TRQSZs
Islamic History and Civilization. Studies and Texts straddles
the wide world of Islam, from its earliest appearance until ihc
pre-modern times, and from its western to its eastern
boundaries. The series provides space for diachronic studies 125
of a dynasty or region, research into individual themes
or issues, annotated translations and text editions, and
conference proceedings related to Islamic history.

issn 0929-2403 brill.com/ihc BRILL BRILL