Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami - Shaykh al-Sulamis Wasiyyah: Practical Spiritual Advice for Muslim Self-Care

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

This booklet contains the detailed counsel of Imm Ab Abd al-Rahmn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Sulam (325412 AH/9371021 CE). Imm Ab Abd al-Rahmn al-Sulam has authored over one hundred works. He is most famous for his writings related to spiritual development and its masters. However, he was also an accomplished scholar of the Shfi school of law, a hadith narrator, and a historian.

The shaykh's detailed counsel contains forty-six counsels. Each counsel concerns actions Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace) have commanded us to perform or avoid. Each of the actions in the counsels impacts one's physical, moral, and spiritual well-being and development. While there is a fair amount of overlap between the content of the shaykh's counsels here and his Infamies of the Soul, the presentation here is lighter. I strongly recommend that anyone who reads these two books spend more time working with the material than they spend reading it. I also recommend that they allocate their time for one to three items each weekskipping items that are not currently applicable.

I first learned about the book when I received a copy from Shaykh Amn al-Farq (may Allah protect him) who had included it in his edition of Uyb al-nafs (Infamies of the Soul). His edition was published in Damascus by Dr Maktabat al-Beirt repeatedly in the mid-1990s, along with Shaykh Amns numerous annotations.

I relied on Shaykh Amn's edition for my first draft translation, which I then corrected against other editions as I encountered them. I have followed Shaykh Amn's example in organizing the counsels into forty-six counsels and for titling the counsels. The text includes many narrations. Many of these narrations convey information attributed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Others convey information attributed to the Successors, and also from the Pious Forbears (may Allah grant them all His mercy). Many of these narrations are mentioned along with their chain of transmission. These chains and attributions are not always authentic, though the contents of the narrations are accepted. I have tried to track down the earliest source for every narration and quotation in the book, and I advise readers to consult the notes when quoting the book.

Where I have succeeded, it is only through the grace of Allah. Where I have faltered, it is from my own shortcomings. May Allah forgive the author, everyone mentioned in the book, its owners, readers, listeners, and all Muslimsliving and dead.

Musa Furber

Putrajaya

March 23, 2020