Journal Article
Published
Sufi Epistemology: Being the Earliest Exposition in Kitâb al-Luma’ of al-Sarrâj and its Manifestation in the Works of Indonesian Sufis
Abstract
Kitâb al-Luma’ fî al-Tas} awwuf of al-Sarrâj (d. 378H./988CE.) is the earliest
work in Sufism survived and arrived at us. It did not only record the history of
Sufism up to that time but also promoted and placed its position among other
disciplines in the history of intellectual and spiritual traditions of Islam. With
this work, al-Sarrâj formulated Sufi epistemology in its earliest development. This
paper attempts to explore the Sufi epistemology of al-Sarrâj, which will cover
the discussion about his classification and hierarchy of knowledge, his analysis
of the position of Sufism among other knowledge, and then his elaboration of
the methodology of Sufism. Before ending the discussion, the paper will read
the works of Indonesian Sufis using Sufi epistemology as a perspective. This
study finds that al-Sarrâj was successfully constructed Sufi epistemology in its
initial emergence. He placed Sufism as a discipline of knowledge and posed it at
the highest level in the structural hierarchy of knowledge. Reading the works of
Publication Details
JournalTsaqafah
Volume27 (2)
Pagespp. 276-302
ISSN1411-1334
KeywordsKitâb al-Luma’, al-Sarrâj, Sufism, Sufi Epistemology.
Item ID1429
Deposited31 Mar 2022 06:08