Ahmad Sam’ānī 
The Repose of the Spirits [EPUB ebook] 
A Sufi Commentary on the Divine Names

The Repose of the Spirits is a translation of one of the earliest and most comprehensive treatises on Sufism in the Persian language. Written by Aḥmad Sam’ānī, an expert in Islamic law from a famous Central Asian scholarly family in about the year 1135, it is one of the handful of early Sufi texts available in English and is by far the most accessible. It also may well be the longest and the most accurately translated. Ostensibly a commentary on the divine names, it avoids the abstract discourse of theological nitpicking and explains the human significance of the names with a delightful mix of Quranic verses and sayings of the Prophet and various past teachers, interspersed with original interpretations of the received wisdom. Unlike the usual books on the divine names (such as that of al-Ghazali),
The Repose of the Spirits reminds the reader of the later poetical tradition, especially the work of Rumi. The prose is richly embroidered with imagery and interspersed with a great variety of Arabic and Persian poetry. What is especially remarkable is the manner in which the author speaks to his readers about their own personal situations, explaining why they are driven by a love affair with God, a God who is full of compassion and good humor, whether they know it or not. William C. Chittick’s masterful new translation brings this work to an English-language audience for the first time.

Inhoudsopgave

Acknowledgments



Introduction

The Sam‛ānīs

Sufism in Aḥmad’s Khorasan

The Keys to the Unseen

The Text and Translation

Notes



The Repose of the Spirits: Explaining the Names of the All- Opening King

1.
H
ū
: He

2.
All
ā
h: God

3.
Alladh
ī
L
ā
Il
ā
ha Ill
ā
H
ū
: There is no god but He

4–5.
al-Raḥmān,
al-Raḥīm:the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful

6.
al-Malik: the King

7.
al-Qudd
ū
s: the Holy

8.
al-Sal
ā
m: the Peace

9.
al-Mu’min
: the Faithful

10.
al-Muhaymin: the Overseer

11.
al-‛Azīz
: the Exalted

12.
al-Jabb
ā
r: the All- Compelling

13.
al-Mutakabbir: the Proud

14.
al-Kh
ā
liq: the Creator

15.
al-Bāri’: the Maker

16.
al-Mu
ṣ
awwir: the Form-Giver

17.
al-Ghaff
ā
r: the All- Forgiving

18.
al-Qahh
ā
r: the Severe

19.
al-Wahh
ā
b: the Bestower

20.
al-Razz
ā
q: the Provider

21.
al-Fatt
āḥ
: the All-Opening

22.
al-‛Alīm: the Knowing

23-24.
al-Q
ā
bi
ḍ
al-B
ā
si
ṭ
: the Contractor, the Expander

25-26.
al-Kh
ā
fi
ḍ
al-R
ā
fi
‛
: the Downletter, the Uplifter

27-28.
al-Mu
‛
izz al-Mudhill: the Exalter, the Abaser

29-30.
al-Sam
ī‛
al-Ba
ṣī
r: the Hearing, the Seeing

31-32:
al-
Ḥ
akam al-
‛
Adl: the Ruler, the Just

33.
al-La
ṭī
f: the Gentle

34.
al-Khab
ī
r: the Aware

35.
al-
Ḥ
al
ī
m: the Forbearing

36.
al-
‛
A
ẓī
m: the Tremendous

37-38.
al-Ghaf
ū
r al-Shak
ū
r: the Forgiving, the Grateful

39-40.
al-
‛
Al
ī
al-Kab
ī
r: the High, the Great

41.
al-
Ḥ
af
īẓ
: the Guardian

42.
al-Muq
ī
t: the Nourisher

43.
al-
Ḥ
as
ī
b: the Reckoner/the Sufficer

44-45.
al-Jal
ī
l al-Jam
ī
l: the Majestic, the Beautiful

46.
al-Kar
ī
m: the Generous

47.
al-Raq
ī
b: the Watcher

48.
al-Muj
ī
b: the Responder

49.
al-W
ā
si
‛
: the Embracing

50.
al-
Ḥ
ak
ī
m: the Wise

51.
al-Wad
ū
d: the Loving/the Beloved

52.
al-Maj
ī
d: the Splendorous

53.
al-B
ā‛
ith: the Upraiser

54.
al-Shah
ī
d: the Witness

55-56.
al-
Ḥ
aqq al-Mub
ī
n: the Real, the Clarifier

57.
al-Wak
ī
l: the Trustee

58-59.
al-Qaw
ī
al-Mat
ī
n: the Strong, the Firm

60.
al-Wal
ī
: the Friend

61.
al-
Ḥ
am
ī
d: the Praiser/the Praised

62.
al-Mu
ḥṣī
: the Enumerator

63-64.
al-Mubdi
‘
al-Mu
‛ī
d: the Originator, the Returner

65-66.
al-Mu
ḥ
y
ī
al-Mum
ī
t: the Life-Giver, the Death-Giver

67-68.
al-
Ḥ
ayy al-Qayy
ū
m: the Living, the Self-Standing

69.
al-W
ā
jid: the Finder

70-71.
al-W
āḥ
id al-A
ḥ
ad: the One, the Unique

72.
al-
Ṣ
amad: the Self-Sufficient

73-74.
al-Q
ā
dir al-Muqtadir: the Powerful, the Potent

75-76.
al-Muqaddim al-Mu
‘
akhkhir: the Forward-setter, the Behind-keeper

77-80.
al-Awwal al-
Ā
khir al
–Ẓā
hir al-B
āṭ
in: the First, the Last, the Outward, the Inward

81.
al-Barr: the Kind

82.
al-Taww
ā
b: the Ever- Turning

83.
al-Muntaqim: the Avenger

84.
al-
‛
Af
ū
: the Pardoner

85-89.
al-Ra
‘ū
f, M
ā
lik al-Mulk, Dhu
‘
l-Jal
ā
l wa
‘
l-Ikr
ā
m, al-W
ā
l
ī
, al-Muta
‛ā
l
ī
: the Clement, the Owner of the Kingdom, the Possessor of Majesty and Generous Giving, the Protector, the Transcendent

90-91.
al-Muqsi
ṭ
al-J
ā
mi
‛
: the Impartial, the Gathering

92-93.
al-Ghan
ī
al-Mughn
ī
: the Unneedy, the Need-Lifter

94-95.
al-
Ḍā
rr al-N
ā
fi
‛
: the Harmer, the Benefiter

96.
al-N
ū
r: the Light

97.
al-H
ā
d
ī
: the Guide

98.
al-Bad
ī‛
: the Innovating

99-100.
al-B
ā
q
ī
al-W
ā
rith: the Subsistent, the Inheritor

101.
al-Rash
ī
d: the Road-Shower

102.
al-
Ṣ
ab
ū
r: the Patient



Notes

Works Cited

Index of Quranic Verses

Index of Hadiths and Arabic Sayings

Index and Glossary of Terms

Over de auteur

William C. Chittick is SUNY Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University, State University of New York. He is the author of several books, including
Faith and Practice of Islam: Three Thirteenth Century Sufi Texts and
The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-‘Arabī’s Cosmology, both also published by SUNY Press.