The Fundamentals of Tasawwuf (Purification of the Soul)

Preface

The First Spiritual Inheritors of the Prophet (s) : Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (r) & `Ali ibn Abi Talib (k)

Introduction

The Raison d’être of Tasawwuf

The Schools of Purification (tazkiya)

Views of the Scholars of External Knowledge in Support of the Precedence of the Scholars of Internal Knowledge

• In Brief
• In Detail

The Principles of Sufism

Searching for the True Inheritors of the Prophet Muhammad(s)

The Shaikh

• Importance of Taking a Shaikh
• The Need for a Living Guide
• Qualifications of a Master
• The Signs of Mastery
• Taking Initiation (Bay`ah)
• Initiation of Women

The Murid

• The Conduct of the Murid with His Shaikh
• Internal Conduct of the Murid
• External Conduct of the Murid
• The Conduct of the Murid with his Brothers

Dhikr – Remembrance of God

• Mention of Dhikr in the Qur’an
• Mention of Dhikr in the Sunnah
• From the Sayings of Imams and Scholars about Dhikr
• The Types of Dhikr
• Loud Dhikr
• Silent Dhikr
• The Stages of Dhikr and its Fulfillment

Seclusion

• Explanation of Seclusion by Shaikh `Abdullah ad-Daghestani