Abu al-H:asan al-Hujw ̄ır ̄ı (d. 1079) identified three
types of companionship that he considered inseparable and
interconnected: (1) companionship with God, the awareness
of God’s presence at all times, which controlled and deter-
mined every detail of external behavior; (2) companionship
with one’s own self, which dictated the avoidance in one’s
own company of all that was improper in the company of
others and unbecoming in the presence of God; and (3) com-
panionship with fellow creatures. Operating within such a
comprehensive concept of s:uh:bah, mystical writings include
the totality of a mystic’s life—prayers and penitence, travels,
sojourns in hospices, dealing with fellow mystics, relations
with kin and friends, methods of earning a livelihood, mar-
riage or celibacy—as aspects of that person’s s:uh:bah. As such,
the principles of s:uh:bah came to determine mystical actions
in all their details, and many brochures and treatises were
written on the subject. Notable works include al-Junayd’s
Tash: ̄ıh: al-ira ̄dah (The rectification of discipleship), Ah:mad
ibn Khadru ̄ yah Balkh ̄ı’s Al-riEa ̄yah bi-h:uqu ̄q Alla ̄h (The ob-
servance of what is due to God), and Muh:ammad ibn EAl ̄ı
Tirmidh ̄ı’s A ̄da ̄b al-mur ̄ıd ̄ın (Rules of conduct for disciples).
Al-Sulam ̄ı’s Kita ̄b a ̄da ̄b al-s:uh:bah (Book on the rules of com-
pany), al-Qushayr ̄ı’s Risa ̄lah (Epistle), al-Hujw ̄ır ̄ı’s Kashf
al-mah:ju ̄b (The unveiling of the veiled), and Abu al-Naj ̄ıb
Suhraward ̄ı’s A ̄da ̄b al-mur ̄ıd ̄ın neatly consolidate all the in-
formation available in earlier works.
In the initial stages of mystical development in Islam,
the term s:uh:bah was used in a limited sense to mean the com-
pany of the mystic teacher only; elaborate rules of residence
and discipline were developed later. When Sufism came out
of its first phase, designated by Reynold A. Nicholson as “the
period of the Quietists,” the value of companionship was em-
phasized and seclusion was considered of little significance
in the building up of a spiritual personality. In mystical disci-
pline, companionship and seclusion were paired as comple-
ments and supplements to each other. Shaykh Abu ̄ al-H:asan
ibn Muh:ammad al-Nu ̄ ri (d. 907) remarked: “Beware of se-
cluson for it is connected with Satan, and cleave to compan-
ionship for therein is the satisfaction of the merciful God.”
Among the eleven veils that have to be lifted before gnosis
can be attained, Al-Hujw ̄ır ̄ı considered companionship the
ninth. Meticulous care in the performance of duties pertain-
ing to s:uh:bah could lift this veil and make gnosis possible.
Islamic mysticism, particularly before the organization
of the S:u ̄f ̄ı orders (t:uruq; sg., t:ar ̄ıqah), considered travel an
essential part of mystical discipline. The rules of s:uh:bah
therefore deal with both residents (Pers., muq ̄ıma ̄n) and trav-
elers (Pers., musa ̄fira ̄n). Regarding those who undertook
travel as part of their spiritual training, rules were laid down
about articles they took along, people with whom they could
keep company, places where they could stay, and the way
they had to conduct themselves while staying in a mosque,
in a S:u ̄f ̄ı center, or in an educational institution (madrasah).
The main principle governing behavior in all these spheres
was that a mystic did not forget God while involved in any
of these activities and could utilize travel as a means for
breaking undue attachment to material assets and family, for
learning to live with complete resignation to the will of God,
and for trying to develop a spirit of adjustment to different
conditions of life and company.
Life within the S:u ̄f ̄ı centers is similarly defined by elabo-
rate rules of s:uh:bah. Residents had to share responsibility for
running the center; travelers were treated as guests for three
days but after that they too were obliged to do some work
to lighten the burden of the permanent residents. The S:u ̄f ̄ı
centers that provided facilities for s:uh:bah were of different
types: kha ̄naga ̄hs where separate accommodation was gener-
ally provided for all inmates; jama ̄Eat-kha ̄nahs, where all
lived a communal life under one roof and slept on the
ground; za ̄wiyahs and da ̄Dirahs, smaller institutions where
persons of one affiliation lived in order to devote their time
to meditation. Mystics following different masters laid down
principles of s:uh:bah according to the basic teachings of the
order to which they belonged, but the EAwa ̄rif al-maEa ̄rif of
Shaykh Shiha ̄b al-D ̄ın Suhraward ̄ı (d. 1234) was generally
accepted as the model on which kha ̄naga ̄h life could be orga-
nized and the basic objectives of s:uh:bah achieved.SEE ALSO Kha ̄naga ̄h.BIBLIOGRAPHY
For a brief mention of s:uh:bah in the larger context of S:u ̄f ̄ı thought
and practice, see Annemarie Schimmel’s Mystical Dimensions
of Islam (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1975). Al-Hujw ̄ır ̄ı’s discussion
of s:uh:bah can be found in The Kashf al-Mahjúb, the Earliest
Persian Treatise on Sufism, translated by Reynold A. Nichol-
son, new ed. (1936; reprint, London, 1976), pp. 334–366.
Abu ̄ al-Naj ̄ıb Suhraward ̄ı’s Kita ̄b a ̄da ̄b al-mur ̄ıd ̄ın has been
translated in abridged form by Menahem Milson as A Sufi
Rule for Novices (Cambridge, Mass., 1975). Important com-
pendia of S:u ̄f ̄ı practice available in Arabic include
al-Qushayr ̄ı’s Al-risa ̄lah al-qushayr ̄ıyah (Cairo, 1966),
Shiha ̄b al-D ̄ın Suhraward ̄ı’s EAwa ̄rif al-maEa ̄rif (Beirut,
1966), and al-Sulam ̄ı’s Kita ̄b a ̄da ̄b al-s:uh:bah (Jerusalem,
1954).
KHALIQ AH:MAD NIZAMI (1987)SUHRAWARD ̄I, SHIHA ̄B AL-D ̄IN YAH:YA ̄.
Shiha ̄b al-D ̄ın Yah:ya ̄ ibn H:abash ibn Am ̄ırak Abu ̄ al-Futu ̄h:
Suhraward ̄ı (AH 549–587/1170–1208 CE) was born in a vil-
lage near Zanjan, a northern Iranian city. He began his
studies at an early age when he went to the city of Maragheh
to study philosophy with Majd al-D ̄ın al-J ̄ıl ̄ı, and then trav-
eled to Is:faha ̄n, where he pursued his advanced studies in
philosophy and al-Bas:a ̄Dir (The observations) of EUmar ibn
Sala ̄n al-Sa ̄w ̄ı with Z:a ̄hir al-D ̄ın al-Fa ̄rs ̄ı.
Suhraward ̄ı traveled to Anatolia and Syria, where he
met Malik Z:a ̄hir, son of the famous S:ala ̄h: al-D ̄ın Ayyu ̄b ̄ı,
in Aleppo in 1200. Suhraward ̄ı’s openness to other religious
traditions, especially Zoroastrianism, as well as his keen intel-8826 SUHRAWARDI ̄, SHIHA ̄B AL-DIN YAH ̄ :YA ̄