The Kashf al-Maḥjúb — The Oldest Persian Treatise on Ṣúfiism

Alí b. ʻUthmán al-Hujwírí, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson (1911)

The oldest surviving Persian treatise on Sufism, written in the eleventh century. Nicholson's 1911 translation, complete with notes.

The complete text in 29 sections, 425 pages in the print edition. Public domain and free to read.

• About This Edition
• Translator's Preface
• Author's Introduction
• Chapter I ON THE AFFIRMATION OF KNOWLEDGE
• Chapter II ON POVERTY
• Chapter III ON ṢÚFIISM
• Chapter IV ON THE WEARING OF PATCHED FROCKS ( Muraqqa`át )
• Chapter V ON THE DIFFERENT OPINIONS HELD CONCERNING POVERTY AND PURITY
• Chapter VI ON BLAME ( Malámat )
• Chapter VII CONCERNING THEIR IMÁMS WHO BELONGED TO THE COMPANIONS
• Chapter VIII CONCERNING THEIR IMÁMS WHO BELONGED TO THE HOUSE OF THE PROPHET 1. ḤASAN B. `ALÍ.
• Chapter IX CONCERNING THE PEOPLE OF THE VERANDA ( Ahl-i Ṣuffa )
• Chapter X CONCERNING THEIR IMÁMS WHO BELONGED TO THE FOLLOWERS ( al-Tábi`ún ) 1. UWAYS AL-QARANÍ.
• Chapter XI CONCERNING THEIR IMÁMS WHO LIVED SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE FOLLOWERS ( al-Tábi`ún ) DOWN TO OUR DAY 1. ḤABÍB AL-`AJAMÍ.
• Chapter XII CONCERNING THE PRINCIPAL ṢÚFÍS OF RECENT TIMES
• Chapter XIII A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE MODERN ṢÚFÍS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
• Chapter XIV CONCERNING THE DOCTRINES HELD BY THE DIFFERENT SECTS OF ṢÚFÍS
• Chapter XV THE UNCOVERING OF THE FIRST VEIL: CONCERNING THE GNOSIS OF GOD ( ma`rifat Allah )
• Chapter XVI THE UNCOVERING OF THE SECOND VEIL: CONCERNING UNIFICATION ( tawḥíd )
• Chapter XVII THE UNCOVERING OF THE THIRD VEIL: CONCERNING FAITH ( ímán )
• Chapter XVIII THE UNCOVERING OF THE FOURTH VEIL: CONCERNING PURIFICATION FROM FOULNESS
• Chapter XIX THE UNCOVERING OF THE FIFTH VEIL: CONCERNING PRAYER ( al-ṣalát )
• Chapter XX THE UNCOVERING OF THE SIXTH VEIL: CONCERNING ALMS ( al-zakát )
• Chapter XXI THE UNCOVERING OF THE SEVENTH VEIL: ON FASTING ( al-ṣawm )
• Chapter XXII THE UNCOVERING OF THE EIGHTH VEIL: CONCERNING THE PILGRIMAGE
• Chapter XXIII THE UNCOVERING OF THE NINTH VEIL: CONCERNING COMPANIONSHIP, TOGETHER WITH ITS RULES AND PRINCIPLES
• Chapter XXIV THE UNCOVERING OF THE TENTH VEIL: EXPLAINING THEIR PHRASEOLOGY AND THE DEFINITIONS OF THEIR TERMS AND THE VERITIES OF THE IDEAS WHICH ARE SIGNIFIED
• Chapter XXV THE UNCOVERING OF THE ELEVENTH VEIL: CONCERNING AUDITION ( samá` )
• Notes