Pascal Held (NELC), “ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī’s Theory on the Origin of the Term ‘ṣūfī’”

Abstract:  This presentation aims to examine the interpretation of the origin of the word ‘ṣūfī’ by the well-known ḥanbalī mystic ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (d. 1166), as set out in his work al-Ghunya li-Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq. The theory most commonly accepted in the medieval Islamic world as well as in modern scholarship holds that ‘ṣūfī’ derived from ‘ṣūf’, meaning ‘wool’, which originally designated individuals in early Islam who adopted woolen clothes as part of their ascetic lifestyle before the term would come to be applied generally to mystically inclined Muslims.  ʿAbd al-Qādir’s theory diverges fundamentally from this as he perceives ‘ṣūfī’ to originally stem from the verb ‘ṣūfiya’ based on the root ṣ-f-ā rather than ṣ-ā-f, as in the case of the prevailing opinion. Instead of identifying a person donning a woolen dress, it represents, according to his interpretation, a person characterized by inner purity. ʿAbd al-Qādir was not the first individual to make use of this etymology. It appears to have been floating around in mystical circles beforehand; allusions to it are found in major works such as by Kalābādhī (d. 990s) and Hujwīrī (d. 1070s). More recently, Louis Massignon and Alexander Knysh have pointed to it. That said, ʿAbd al-Qādir is perhaps the first mystic to take a definite and well-elaborated stand for this etymology. What’s more, his viewpoint in this matter ties in with his broader ideas and therefore opens a window to trace the major stages of his proposed mystical path. Beyond adding an important contribution to the discussion on the origins of the term ‘ṣūfī’, ʿAbd al-Qādir’s theory also provides us with a valuable glimpse into the contemporaneous evaluation of ṣūfīs and Sufism as a whole.

Hope to see you there!

Francesca Chubb-Confer

Graduate Student Coordinator

Islamic Studies Workshop