"Abu. al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (b. 376), the author of al-Risāilah (Epistle to the Sufis), one of the earliest manuals of the science of taṣawwuf, was also a mufassir who wrote a complete commentary of the Qurʼan. His work is regarded as the first original mystical commentary written by a man who was both a theologian and a sufi. It is also considered a fusion of both the Sharīʻah and Ṭarīqah, bridging the gap between the ʻulamāʼ and the sufis, during a time when the friction between sufis and traditional ʻulamāʼ was at its peak with both sides accusing each other of deviating from Islam. In studying this historic tafsīr, the author first discusses the science of Qurʼanic exegesis and its development from the earliest days. He discusses briefly the history of early tafsīr works, the various kinds of tafsīrs and their historical and political backgrounds. He also aims to show how sufi scholars have given a new life to the interpretation of the Qur'an."-- Book cover

Subtle Allusions (Latāif al-ishārāt) is a line-by-line Arabic Qurānic commentary by the scholar and Sufi master Abū l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d.465/1074), who was also the author of the influential and widely read handbook on Sufism known as the Risāla. Qushayrī believed, like other Sufis, that the Qurān has layers upon layers of meaning, and that the attempt to reduce these layers to definitive interpretations demonstrates the limitations of the intellect rather than fidelity to the text. He suggested instead that the meaning of the Qurān is something to be discovered on an ongoing basis by individuals who are deeply engaged in reflection and other spiritual practices. Qushayrī demonstrates this kind of interpretation in the Latāif with his own and other Sufis' comments and meditations on the entire Qurān, not just the passages that would seem to be particularly conducive to a more interiorized or mystical reading. The commentary is noteworthy for its literary quality. Although Qushayrī sometimes writes as the religious scholar he was, he also uses poetry, metaphors, and word play to make his points. It is a literary form of exegesis that is learned, flexible and elegant. The translation here is based on the Arabic printed edition of the Latāif edited by Ibrāhīm Basyūnī, with reference to two additional manuscript sources. Part I includes Qushayrī's extensive commentary on sūras 1 through 4.

Provides an insight into the everyday lives of Sufi devotees of the eighth-eleventh centuries and the moral and ethical dilemmas they were facing. This work invites the reader to explore the world of Islamic ascetic and mystical piety.