Hakm Tirmidh and the Malmat Movement in Early Sufsmby Sara SviriThis article is kindly reproduced with permission from the publisher, Oneworld Publications. It can be found in the book The Heritage of Susm vol. I, ed. !. !ewisohn, O"ford, Oneworld Publications #$$$. %ou can reach the publisher at www.oneworld&publications.com.I. INTRODUCTIONThe history of the formative years of Sufsm has yet to be written. Much of our knowledge and understanding concerning the early spiritual centres, teachers and teaching, their interaction and the formation of their mystical vocabulary hasbeen shaped by the compilations of later generations. These compilations have become a treasure trove not only of information, but also, and more importantly, of accumulative wisdom, insight and imagery of the mystical tradition of Islam. Yet the main obect of the Suf compilers from the end of the tenth century onwards, both e!plicitly and implicitly, has been to present a picture of a uniformspiritual tradition, based on the reconciliation of the normative e!troverted religious aspect of Islam "shari'a# with the individualistic, e!periential vision of its$eality "ha()(a#. In this endeavour, the didactic and practical implications of which have become the bone and marrow of Sufsm, the compilers have deliberately ironed out the dynamic multifaceted dialogue which had taken placebetween the various centres and teachers of the frst few generations. Yet hints and allusions to this dialogue have been sown in abundance in the fertile soil of the Suf compilations, and it is the purpose of this study to trace some of them inorder to reconstruct, albeit in a preliminary manner, the outlines of a chapter in the history of the early mystical movements of Islam.%ne of the most fascinating and illuminating chapters in the history of these formative years is that of the &ish'p(r) *+ath of ,lame*, the *al+matiyya. In any attempt to draft the early history of Islamic mysticism, the *al+matiyya movement is indispensable.Yet it is also, and to a no lesser degree, an invaluable phenomenon in the -istoryof $eligion at large, especially for its attentiveness, its insights and its formulations pertaining to the psychological obstacles which confront any sincereseeker on the path of the spiritual .uest. In the *al+mat) teaching the dialectic between the nafs "the *lower self* and the centre of ego/consciousness# and the sirr "the innermost recesses of one*s being#0the paradigmatic dialectic referred to by all mystical traditions0is carried almost ad absurdum. The *al+matiyya represent an e!tremely introverted reaction to e!troverted and ascetic forms of spirituality ",uhd#. In the course of time this reaction took various shapes and forms, some of them utterly outstripping all religious and social norms "as, for instance, the 1alandariyya#. Yet in the ninth century, the formative period with which this essay is concerned, the *al+mat) teachers seem to have proposed a system in which sincere self/scrutiny and self/criticism were interwoven into a highly acclaimed social code based on chivalry and altruism "as e!emplifed by the futuwwa fraternities#, and in which the call for abandoning any outward marks of distinction or any inward claim to spiritual superiority meant in practice a strict adherence to the Islamic shari 'a. II. NSHPRThe activity of the early mal+matiyya takes place in the 2hur's'n) town of &)sh'p(r in the third3ninth0fourth3tenth century against the background of varied religious activity, especially on the part of circles with a distinctly ascetic and mystical 4avor.5uring this period &)sh'p(r"6#, together with Merv, -erat and ,alkh, was one of the four main cities of 2hur's'n. It stood at an important crossroads from which several main routes spread out7 the westward route to $ayy and hence ,aghdad8southwest to Shira9 and the +ersian :ulf8 southeast and then northeast to -erat, ,alkh, Tirmidh, ,ukh'r' and India8 and northeast to T(s, Mashhad, Merv, Samar.and, ;entral C366AD# in his 3it+b al&0ar( bayna 'l&ra(, and especially by al/Subk) in his Taba(+t al&Sha'iyya al&kubr+. The frst manuscript in Brye*s collection is an abridged version of the Ta'r)kh 5ays+b1r in +ersian, entitled /hw+l&i 5ish+p1r. This abridged version covers the period which concerns us, the third3ninth and fourth3tenth centuries, and ends with contemporaries of -ak)m al/&ays'b(r)."6C# The /hw+l&i 5ish+p1r contains, as e!pected, biographical lists of the eminent scholars "'ulam+'# and Shaykhs of &)sh'p(r in the third3ninth and fourth3tenth centuries. It mentions appro!imately ffty of the renowned mystics of the town. They are referred to neither as GSufsG nor as G*al+mat)sG but rather as ,uhh+d "ascetics#, *ubb+d "worshippers#, wu''+, or mudhakkir1n "preachers#. The epithet GSufG comes up for the frst time in this source as the attribute of 6#These manuscripts have been the basis for $.N. ,ulliet*s enlightening socio/historical study on the distinguished families of &ish'p(r during the period between the third3ninth0si!th3twelfth centuries. Its title7 The Patricians of 5ishapur, a Study in *edieval Islamic Social History, speaks for itself.">>#3) H#5) >#. -owever, ,ulliet*s interpretation of the statistical data, that Gfrom the ninth3third century to the twelfth3si!th, there was a late starting but e!tremely rapid growth in the specifcally mystic Suf current which absorbed to some degree the earlier ascetic and pietistic currentsG "pp.D>/DA# is based on the understanding that GSufG was the only epithet designating a Muslim *mystic*. %n the evidence from the &)sh'p(r) groups which calls for a modifcation of such an interpretation, see sections IP/PI below.">># The last two decades have seen a growing interest in the study of the religiousgroups in mediaeval 2hur's'n7 Ma.ueline ;habbi has used the above as well as other sources in her wide/ranging and profound analysis, written primarily from the point of view of social history7 G$emar.ues sur le developpement histori.ue des mouvements asceti.ues et mysti.ues au 2hurasan.G* in Studia Islamica, Pol.DH "6C@@#8 Mosef Pan Lss has published the frst three volumes of his encyclopedic work7 Theologie und Gesellschaft im H. und I. @ahrhundert Hidschra, ",erlin3&ew York 6CC?/C>#, and Nilfred Madelung has published his -eligious Trends in 2arly Islamic Iran, ;olumbia Oectures on Iranian Studies D, "&ew York7 SK&Y +ress 6C==#. %n works concerning the 2arr'miyya, see below7 note7 D@.">A# See above, note D.">D#H# HH8 cf. the passage .uoted above from entitled G,agdader Mu *ta9ilitenG "this reference accords with the contents given in Pol.6 of the op. cit.#."AE# %f all the &)sh'p(r) teachers it is -amd(n al/1ass'r alone who is accorded theattribute *al+mat) by all of the following hagiographers7 Sulam) "Taba(+t, pp. 6>A, 6>C#8 /C#, where he says7 GThe doctrine of ,lame was spread abroad in this sect by the Shaykh of his age -amd(n 1ass'r "p.HH#8 likewise he dedicates a separate section to the G1ass'risG or followers of -amd(n 1ass'r "pp. 6=AI.#, in which he writes7 G-amdun*s doctrine was the manifestation and divulgation of *blame* "mal+mat#.G -amd(n is also mentioned in the 6b/>>a and f. @?a, but with no reference to the epithet *al+mat)."AH# H8"A# #8 # Sam*'n), 3it+b al&/ns+b, p. 6EC ".uoted by *, Pol. >, pp. CH6/ CHC and the sources cited there. See also M.S. Trimingham, The Su Orders in Islam, p.>D8 M. -odgson, The Kenture of Islam ";hicago [ Oondon7 Kniversity of;hicago 6C@D/@@#. II. pp. 6>HI."EH# M.L., p.CD. Oikewise Sulam) "M.L., p.6?C# recounts how ,ishr al/-'f "U the ,arefoot# one day knocked at the door of one of the Shaykhs. GNho is itRG a voiceasked. GIt is I... ,ishr al/-'f).* he replied. The Shaykh*s daughter replied7 GIf you had bought yourself a pair of sandals for two d+ni(s, you would have gotten rid of this name "lau ishtarayta na'la bid+ni(ayn lasa(ata 'anka h+dh+ al&ism#.G"E@# M.L., p.CE. ;f. also Sulam)*s adage7 G-e who abides by the right rules of conduct during the occurrence of mystical states has reached the stage of *men.*"man la,ima +d+b al&aw(+t balagha mablagh al&ri4+l#G "Taba(+t, p. 66C#."E=# nash 'a bil&l&rayy fatanL in ba(iya 'al+ tar)(atihi wa&simatihi s+ra ahada al&ri4+l /Ibid., p.>==."EC# M.L., p.CH."H?# In the chapter G%n ,lameG in the 2ashf al/Mah(b "pp. H=/C#, -uw)r) relates a personal anecdote as an illustration of the state of e.uanimity towards both praise and blame which he had reali9ed through being subected to abuse by fellow Sufs."H6# M.L., p.C?."H># Ibid., p. C6."HA# Ibid., p. C>."HD# Ibid., p. CH."HE# Ibid., p. 6?A."HH# Ibid., p. 6?D."H@# %n Tirmidh)*s mystical aFliation, cf. ,. $adtke*s essay above, pp. D=A/CH./Ld."H=# 2ashf al/Mah(b, p.>>C."HC# See # See ,. $adtke, op. cit., p. 6C6 "E."@@# See S. Sviri, GThe Mystical +sychology of al/-ak)m al/Tirmidh),G +h.5. Thesis, "TeI/