The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunni Scholasticism

In the figure of Abdall h b. al-Mub rak (118 181/736 797), we find a paragon of the fields of " ad th," "zuhd," and "jih d," as attested to by the large number of references to him in the classical Islamic texts. His superior rank as a " ad th" transmitter earned him the title of commander of the faithful in ad th among many later critics. He also contributed to Islamic law at its early phases of development, was a practitioner of jih d, composed poetry, and participated in various theological discussions. In addition, Ibn al-Mub rak was a pioneer in writing on piety and he was later regarded by many mystics to be one of the earliest figures of Sufism. Ibn al-Mub rak s position during the formative period of Islamic thought illustrates the unique history of the evolution of "zuhd," " ad th," and "jih d" which forms a junction in the biography Ibn al-Mub rak in a way that distinctively illuminates the second/eighth-century dynamics of nascent Sunnism. Furthermore, Ibn al-Mub rak s status as a fighter and pious figure of the Late Antique period reveals a great deal about the complex relationship between the early Muslim community and the religiously diverse setting which they inhabited. This monograph on the figure of Abdall h b. al-Mub rak examines his life both critically and comprehensively while situating him within the larger context of the social and religious milieu of Late Antiquity. It explores the formation of Sunni identity in the second Islamic century and demonstrates the way in which it manifests through networks of pious scholars who define, preserve, and pass on what they understand to be normative Islamic practice and beliefs from one generation of Muslim intellectuals to another."