ON TASAWWUF al-`Izz b. `Abd al-Salam b. Ahmad b. `Anim al-Maqdisi (d. 678)
We mention this wa`iz (preacher) because he is often confused with `Izz al-Din ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Sulami, and a small work of his on tasawwuf is mistakenly attributed to the latter. In this work, entitled variously Hall al-rumuz wa mafatih al-kunuz and Zabad khulasat al-tasawwuf, al-Maqdisi divides the levels of suluk or spiritual wayfaring along three ways which correspond to the Prophet’s definition of Religion in the hadith of Jibril:
Islam is the first of the levels of Religion, characterizing the common believers; Iman is the first of the stepping-stones of the heart and it characterizes the elite of the believers; Ihsan is the first of the stepping-stones of the spirit, and it characterizes the elite of those brought near.1
1 al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam [al-Maqdisi], Hall al-rumuz wa mafatih al-kunuz (Cairo: matba`at nur al-amal) p. 7.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani’s The Repudiation of “Salafi” Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p. 353.
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions
