Table of Contents
Letter from the General Editor iii
Abbreviations x
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xii
Map: The Geography of Ibn Khaldün's Lifetime xxiv
Note on the Text xxv
Notes to the Introduction xxxiii
The Requirements of the Sufi Path 1
1 An Accurate Definition of the Sufi Path and How It Differs from the Paths Associated with the Divine Law; What the Term "Sufi" Meant to Members of the Early Muslim Community 6
2 Discussion of the Spiritual Struggles into Which the Sufis Were Led by Their Ardor, What Motivated These Struggles, and Why "Sufism" Had Originally Meant the First Spiritual Struggle but Came to Mean All of Them; an Accurate Definition of this Path 26
3 Discussion of the Spiritual Struggles, Their Divisions, and Their Prerequisites: Based on Our Study of Their Ideas and Perusal of Their Opinions, the Sufis Have Three Distinct Levels of Spiritual Struggle in a Fixed Hierarchy 54
4 Discussing-and Refuting-How Modern Sufis Have Manipulated the Term "Sufism" 86
5 When Is a Teacher Required, Recommended, or Unnecessary in the Spiritual Struggle? 114
6 Presentation of the Two Sides of the Debate, of What Is Correct, and of My Verdict 128
Notes 183
Glossary of Names and Terms 190
Bibliography 205
Further Reading 209
Index 211
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 221
About the Typefaces 222
Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature 223
About the Editor-Translator 228