Volume 17, Issue 1 (2026 2026)
JIM 2026, 17(1): 123-144 |
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Zurvani M, Sheikh M. (2026). Sufi Adab: Historical Evolution of the Concept and Its Place in the Ethical System of Sufism (4th–7th Centuries AH). JIM. 17(1), 123-144. doi:10.22034.17.1.8
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1783-en.html
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1783-en.html
University of Tehran
Abstract: (151 Views)
This article employs a historical-comparative approach to examine the evolution of the concept of adab in classical Sufi texts from the fourth to the seventh centuries AH. The texts analyzed were selected on the basis of their historical significance and influence, encompassing the works of al-Sarrāj, al-Sulamī, al-Qushayrī, al-Ghazālī, Ibn ʿArabī, and al-Kāshānī. Drawing on a fourfold distinction within the dimensions of human existence—belief, emotion, volition, and conduct—this study demonstrates that adab pertains primarily to the behavioral dimension and is thereby distinguished from neighboring concepts such as virtues (faḍāʾil), vices (radhāʾil), spiritual stations (maqāmāt), and spiritual states (aḥwāl). This behavioral definition does not entail a disregard for the inner dimensions of human existence; rather, adab is understood in this study as the outward manifestation of inner virtues, whereby virtuous conduct both reflects the inward spiritual state and serves as the ground for its realization. The findings reveal that the definition of adab in early Sufism (al-Sarrāj, al-Qushayrī) was accompanied by conceptual ambiguity; al-Ghazālī was the first to offer a more coherent framework by situating adab clearly within the domain of conduct; and in the works attributed to Ibn ʿArabī, the concept acquired deeper metaphysical dimensions, becoming a station (maqām) that encompasses all other stations and states. The originality of this research lies in its use of comparative textual analysis of primary Sufi sources to trace the historical transformation of adab and to demonstrate why Islamic mystical ethics, in contrast to philosophical ethics grounded in virtues and vices, adopts a practice-oriented approach in which transformative conduct precedes and facilitates spiritual growth.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
تصوف و عرفان
Received: 2026/02/11 | Accepted: 2026/02/27 | Published: 2026/02/27
Received: 2026/02/11 | Accepted: 2026/02/27 | Published: 2026/02/27
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