© 2001 by Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
The Remembrance of the Prophet in Suhraward
's ‘Aw
rif Al-Ma‘rif
Boston College
'Awarif al-Ma'arif is a manual for daily study and practice written by the the renowned thirteenth-century Sufi thinker, Shayikh 'Abu Hafs al-Suhrawardi. This paper focuses on references and allusions to the Prophet in this treatise. The treatise recognizes the primary importance of the Quran and the Hadith, and functions as a medium of interpretation for the primary texts. The aim of the treatise is to assist the daily spiritual exercises and general intellectual development of the Suhrawardiyya members; it makes use of Quranic hermeneutics, Hadith commentary, rational arguments on epistemology, as well as discussing different levels of spirituality and proper manners. It also includes some severe critique of others orders and their interpretations of tasawwuf. In very many, if not all, of his arguments, Suhrawardi relies for authority upon Hadiths his own intimacy with the Prophet's way of life. The use of Hadiths in legal, philosophical, poetical, and religious contexts has long been known and understood. Their use in a Sufi spiritual manual is orientated toward presenting the way the Prophet as a model for inward and outward actions. Suhrawardi's intensive use of the Hadiths is a significant element in the treatise, enabling its readers to remember and re-enact the Prophet's way so that they can move from merely imagining to actually embodying the Prophet's spirituality. In sum, while the student rehearses and memorizes the Quran for the formal prayer rites, Prophetic Hadiths are committed to memory in order to cultivate a closer kinship to the Prophet and maintain his sacred presence at every moment.