Sharh al-Ta?arruf li-madhhab al-tasawwuf

The Kitab al-ta?arruf li-madhhab al-tasawwuf by Abu Bakr b. Ishaq al-Kalabadhi (d. 380-85/990-995) is one of the most famous early manuals on Sufism. Written in Bukhara under the strongly orthodox Samanids, it consists of four parts: an explanation of the term sufi and a listing of famous Sufis with a typology of their writings, an exposition of the Sufi creed and its conformity with orthodox Islam, an explanation of the spiritual path of the Sufi with accompanying terminology, and a description of Sufi conduct and of their special relation with God. The work saw four commentaries, the present one by Isma?il Mustamli Bukhari (d. 434/1043) being one of them. Starting each time with a brief quotation from the original Arabic, the commentary in Persian. This is a facsimile edition of a manuscript from the Bhiravi collection in the National Archives of Pakistan, dated 473/1081. The manuscript is incomplete, with about half of the commentary missing.