Book & Author
Professor R. A. Nicholson: Kashf Al-Mahjub — The Oldest Persian Treatise on Sufism
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
Professor Reynold Alleyne Nicholson (August 18, 1868 – August 27, 1945), aka R. A. Nicholson was a prominent scholar of Islamic literature and Sufism. He served as professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge (1926-33). Among Professor Nicholson's prominent students were Allama Dr Muhammed Iqbal and Professor Arthur John Arberry. His most prominent work includes The Literary History of The Arabs (1907) and The Mystics of Islam (1914).
Prof Nicholson is known for his translation of the poetry of Sufi masters. His magnum opus was the translation of Mevlana Rumi’s Mathnawi, published in eight volumes during the period 1925-40. He had also translated a number of other Arabic and Persian books, including the translations of Allama Iqbal’s Persian poetry book Asrar-i-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self), and Kashf-ul-Mahjoob, the book on Sufism, by the great Sufi master Hazarat Syed Ali Bin Uthman al-Hujwiri known as Daata Ganj Bakhsh. Daata Sahib is one of the most venerated Sufi of South Asia. His tomb/shrine in Lahore, known as Daata Darbar is visited by millions of admirers every year. He is considered as the most important preacher of Islam in South Asia; Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti aka Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, the prominent Sufi of the Chishti order, after visiting Daata Sahib’s shrine had observed: “Ganj Bakhsh-e-Faiz-e-Alam Mazhar-e-Nur-e-Khuda, Na Qasaan-ra Pir-i Kamil, Kamilaan-ra Rahnuma.”
Hazrat Syed Ali Bin Uthman al-Hujwiri (August 14, 1009, AD/19 Dhu’l Hajj 399 AH: near Ghazni now Afghanistan – August 8, 1072, AD/20 Dhu’l Qi’dh, 464 AH: Lahore, Ghaznavids Empire, now Pakistan) after traveling widely on his spiritual quest, was instructed by his Murshid (spiritual leader) to proceed to Lahore and spread the message of Islam. His book, Kashf al-Mahjub, written at the request of a student of Sufism, is the earliest Persian treatise on Sufism. The book has served as a Waseela, a vehicle for spiritual enhancement for many, to guide them spiritually. Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya, said of Kashf ul-Mahjub, 'Whoever amongst you is unable to find a Murshid (spiritual leader) may read this book thoroughly and it will enable him to succeed in his mission.' That is, for he who has no Shaykh let Kashf ul-Mahjub be his Shaykh.
Kashf al-Mahjub (Revelation of the Veiled) is regarded as one of the most valued and esteemed Persian dissertations on Sufism which outlines and describes its protocols and practices. The book has been translated into various languages, and its old manuscripts have been preserved in various European libraries. One of its high-fidelity Urdu translations has been done by Mian Tufail Muhammad.
The English translation of Kashf al-Mahjub by Professor R. A. Nicholson contains twenty-five chapters. First fourteen chapters cover a spectrum of topics that include: Affirmation of knowledge, Poverty, Sufism, Wearing of patched frocks, Various opinions about poverty and purity, Blame (Malamut), Imams who belonged to the Companions, People of the Veranda (Ahl-i Suffa), Imams who belonged to the followers (al-Tabiun), Imams who lived subsequently to the followers down to our day, Principal Sufis of recent times, and a brief account of the modern Sufis in different countries. Next eleven chapters are about Uncovering of the eleven Veils concerning: the Gnosis of God (ma’rifat Allah), Unification (tawhid), faith, purification from foulness, prayer (al salat), Alms (al zakat), fasting (al sawm), pilgrimage [ Hajj], companionship and its rules and principles, definitions and explanations of significant ideas, and audition (Sama).
In the preface of to the Second edition, Professor Nicholson observes: “The abridged English version of the Kashf al-Mahjub, first published in the Gibb Memorial Series in 1911, is now re-issued without alteration, but I have taken the opportunity to add a fresh list of corrections, together with a few explanatory notes. Any attempt to revise it throughout and explain obscure passages would entail an amount of labor I am not prepared to face, especially as the much fuller text edited by Schukovski (Leningrad, 1926), which provides ample Material in the shape of variant readings, in some respects, unfortunately, is less useful than might have been hoped….Cambridge, 1936.”
In the preface to the first edition, Professor Nicholson states: “This translation of the most ancient and celebrated Persian treatise on Sufism will, I hope, be found useful not only by the small number of students familiar with the subject at first hand, but also by many readers who, without being Orientalists themselves, are interested in the general history of mysticism and may wish to compare or contrast the diverse yet similar manifestations of the mystical spirit in Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. The origin of Sufism and its relation to these great religions cannot properly be considered here, and I dismiss such questions the more readily because I intend to deal with them on another occasion.”
Expounding on the life of the author, Professor Nicholson writes: “It is now my duty to give some account of the author of the Kashf al-Mahjub, and to indicate the character of his work. Abu’l-Hasan 'Ali b. Uthman b. 'Ali al-Ghaznawi al-Jullabi al-Hujwiri was a native of Ghazna in Afghanistan. Of his life very little is known beyond what he relates incidentally in the Kashf al-Mahjub. He studied Sufism under Abu’l-Fadl Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Khuttali, who was a pupil of Abu’l-Hasan al-Husri (ob. 371 A.H.), and under Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Ashqani or al-Shaqani . He also received instruction from Abu’l-Qasim Gurgani' and Khwaja Muzaffar, and he mentions a great number of Shaykhs whom he had met and conversed with in the course of his wanderings. He travelled far and wide through the Muhammadan empire from Syria to Turkistan and from the Indus to the Caspian Sea. Among the countries and places which he visited were Adharbayajan , the tomb of Bayazid at Bistam, Damascus, Ramla, and Bayt al-Jinn in Syria), Tus and Uzkand , the tomb of Abu Sa’id b. Abi’l-Khayr at Mihna, Merv, and the Jabal al-Buttam to the east of Samarcand. He seems to have settled for a time in Iraq, where he ran deeply into debt. It may be inferred from a passage on p. 364 that he had a short and unpleasant experience of married life. Finally, according to the Riyad al-Awliya, he went to reside at Lahore and ended his days in that city. His own statement, however, shows that he was taken there as a prisoner against his will [?], and that in composing the Kashf al-Mahjub he was inconvenienced by the loss of the books which he had left at Ghazna.”
Professor Nicolson, naming the other books written by Hazrat Syed Ali Bin Uthman al-Hujwiri, states: “In the introduction to the Kashf al-Mahjub al-Hujwiri complains that two of his former works had been given to the public by persons who erased his name from the title-page, and presented that they themselves were the authors. In order to guard against the repetition of this fraud, he has inserted his own name in many passages of the present work. His writings, to which he has occasion to refer in Kashf al-Mahjub, are —1. Diwan 2. Minhaj al-din, on the method of Sufism. It comprised a detailed account of the Ahl’i Suffa, and a full biography of Husayn b. Mansur al-Hallaj. 3. Asrar al-khiraqwa ‘l-ma’unat, on the patched frocks of the Sufis. 4. Kitab-i fana u baqa, composed " in the vanity and rashness of youth." 5. A work, of which the title is not mentioned, in explanation of the sayings of Husayn b. Mansur al-Hallaj. 6. Kitab al-bayan li-ahl al-iyan, on union with God. 7. Bahr al-qulub. 8. Al-Ri'dyat li-huquq Allah, on the Divine unity 9. A work, of which the title is not mentioned, on faith. None of these books has been preserved.”
Expounding on the objective and the approach of the book, Professor Nicholson observes: “The Kashf al-Mahjub which belongs to the later years of the author's life, and, partly at any rate, to the period of his residence in Lahore, was written in reply to certain questions addressed to him by a fellow-townsman, Abu Sa’id al-Hujwiri. Its object is to set forth a complete system of Sufism, not to put together a great number of sayings by different Shaykhs, but to discuss and expound the doctrines and practices of the Sufis. The author's attitude throughout is that of a teacher instructing a pupil. Even the biographical section of the work (pp. 70-175) is largely expository. Before stating his own view, the author generally examines the current opinions on the same topic and refutes them, if necessary. The discussion of mystical problems and controversies is enlivened by many illustrations drawn from his personal experience. In this respect the Kashf al-Mahjub is more interesting than the Risala of Qushayri, which is so valuable as a collection of sayings, anecdotes, and definitions, but which follows a somewhat formal and academic method on the orthodox lines. No one can read the present work without detecting, behind the scholastic terminology, a truly Persian flavor of philosophical speculation. Although he was a Sunni and a Hanafite, al-Hujwiri, like many Sufis before and after him, managed to reconcile theology with an advanced type of mysticism, in which the theory of "annihilation" (fana) holds a dominant place, but he scarcely goes to such extreme lengths as would justify us in calling him a pantheist.
He strenuously resists and pronounces heretical, the doctrine that human personality can be merged and extinguished in the being of God. He compares annihilation to burning by fire, which transmutes the quality of all things to its own quality, but leaves their essence unchanged. He agrees with his spiritual director, al-Khuttali, in adopting the theory of Junayd that "sobriety " in the mystical acceptation of the term is preferable to "intoxication". He warns his readers often and emphatically that no Sufis, not even those who have attained the highest degree of holiness, are exempt from the obligation of obeying the religious law.”
Reflecting on the strength and foundation of the book, Professor Nicholson states: “The most remarkable chapter in the Kashf al-Mahjub is the fourteenth, "Concerning the Doctrines held by the different sects of Stiffs," in which the author enumerates twelve mystical schools and explains the special doctrine of each. So far as I know, he is the first writer to do this. Only one of the schools mentioned by him, namely, that of the Malamatis, seems to be noticed in earlier books on Sufism; such brief references to the other schools as occur in later books, for example in the Tadhkirat al-Awliya, are probably made on his authority. It is probable that oral tradition was the main source from which al-Hujwiri derived the materials for his work. Of extant treatises on Sufism, he mentions by name only, the Kitab al-Luma by Abu Nasr al-Sarraj, who died in 377 or 378 AH. This book is written in Arabic and is the oldest specimen of its class. Through the kindness of Mr A. G. Ellis, who has recently acquired the sole copy that is at present known to Orientalists, I have been able to verify the reading of a passage quoted by al-Hujwiri (p. 341), and to assure myself that he was well acquainted with his predecessor's work. The arrangement of the Kashf al-Mahjub is partially based on that of the Kitab al-Luma, the two books resemble each other in their general plan, and some details of the former are evidently borrowed from the latter…”
Professor Nicholson concludes the preface by highlighting the shortcomings of the translation: “Manuscripts of the Kashf al-Mahjub are preserved in several European libraries. It has been lithographed at Lahore, and Professor Schukovski of St Petersburg is now, as I understand, engaged in preparing a critical text. The Lahore edition is inaccurate, especially in the spelling of names, but most of its mistakes are easy to emend, and the text agrees closely with two MSS in the Library of the India Office (Nos. 1773 and 1774 in Ethe's Catalogue), with which I have compared it. I have also consulted a good MS in the British Museum (Rieu's Catalogue, i, 342)….The English version is nearly complete, and nothing of importance has been omitted, though I have not hesitated to abridge when opportunity offered. Arabists will remark an occasional discrepancy between the Arabic sayings printed in italics and the translations accompanying them: this is due to my having translated, not the original Arabic, but the Persian paraphrase given by al-Hujwiri. REYNOLD A. NICHOLSON.”
The English translation of Kashf al-Mahjub by Professor R. A. Nicholson is a worthy scholarly work. But the translation, in style and format, is almost a century old; the first edition of the translation came out in 1911 and the second edition was published in 1936. Moreover, the translation suffers from errors, biases and shortcomings of the “orientalists’ lens.” It is hoped that scholars of Persian, with true understanding of Sufism, will work on a new English translation of the book to rectify errors and orientalists’ bias, and to synchronize the language with contemporary English. [(Dr Ahmed S. Khan ( dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org ) is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar (2017-2022)]
