al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahidin li-Ibn al-Arabi

al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahidin (Renunciation and the Description of the Ascetics) is a specialized treatise on Islamic asceticism compiled by the hadith master and Sufi Abu Sa'id Ibn al-Arabi (246–340 AH / 860–952 CE) al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+1. The work compiles early definitions, traditions, and maxims concerning the nature of renunciation (zuhd) and the spiritual conduct of early ascetics al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+1.

Author and Transmission

The author, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad ibn Bishr ibn Dirham al-Basri, known as Abu Sa'id Ibn al-Arabi, was a native of Basra who associated with al-Junayd before settling in Mecca, where he served as the Shaykh of the Sacred Mosque until his death in 340 AH (with another report placing his death in 341 AH) al-Alam lil-Zirikli.

The extant text of the book was transmitted on his authority by his student Ibn al-Nahhas (Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Umar al-Bazzaz, 323–416 AH), who read the work back to Ibn al-Arabi in Mecca in the year 340 AH al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+1. In classical and bibliographic literature, the text is also recorded under variant descriptive titles, such as Ma'ani al-Zuhd wa Aqwal al-Nas Fihi wa Sifat al-Zahidin and Ma'ani al-Zuhd wa al-Mu'amalat wa Sifat al-Zahidin al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Contents and Methodology

In the prologue, Ibn al-Arabi notes that scholars both in earlier and later times differed regarding the definition and scope of asceticism, and states his intention to record and clarify what had reached him of their positions al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid….

The work is organized sequentially around numbered statements and doctrines regarding zuhd, supporting each with narrational chains (asaneed) tracing back to prominent early authorities, including:

• Al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and Bakr ibn 'Abd Allah al-Muzani al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+2.
• Ibrahim ibn Adham, Dawud al-Ta'i, and Fudayl ibn 'Iyad al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid….
• Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Abu Sulayman al-Darani, and Bishr al-Hafi al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+2.

Ibn al-Arabi regularly relies on intermediate transmitters and hadith scholars with whom he studied, particularly Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, and 'Abd al-Samad ibn Yazid Mardawayh al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+1.

Beyond reporting texts, Ibn al-Arabi adds his own analytical remarks and definitions to reconcile differing viewpoints al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+1. He classifies asceticism into practical dimensions such as humility, casting away social prominence (isqat al-jah), relinquishing the desire for company, and renouncing superfluous worldly rest so that one's time remains occupied with worship and remembrance al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid…+2. He also records the tripartite categorization attributed to Ibrahim ibn Adham: obligatory renunciation (abstaining from the forbidden), meritorious renunciation (abstaining from the excess licit), and safe renunciation (abstaining from doubtful matters) al-Zuhd wa Sifat al-Zahid….

Editions

The work was edited by Majdi Fathi al-Sayyid and published in a single volume by Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath in Tanta, Egypt, in 1408 AH (1988 CE) al-Balagha al-Umariyya+1.