Here’s the English translation:


---


*Tazkira Sufiya-e-Kiram Series*  

*8) Sheikh Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq al-Kalabazi (Author of _Kitab al-Ta‘arruf li-Madhhab Ahl al-Tasawwuf_) (d. 385 AH)*


*Biography —*  

His full name is Abu Bakr ibn Abi Ishaq Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yaqub Najjari al-Kalabazi. _Kalabaz_ is the name of a locality in the city of Bukhara. He passed away in this city. 


Besides Tasawwuf, he also attained mastery in Fiqh, because in that era every prominent Sufi was also a scholar of religion. He passed away in 385 AH. 


In addition to _Kitab al-Ta‘arruf_, he also wrote a commentary on 222 selected Hadiths, titled _Bahr al-Fawa’id bi Ma‘ani al-Akhyar_. This book is still unpublished. Its manuscript copies are preserved in the libraries of London, Paris, and Istanbul. 


His fame rests entirely on _Kitab al-Ta‘arruf_. That book received widespread acceptance during his lifetime itself. This book is still regarded as authoritative among the Sufis, and commentaries on it have been written in every age. 


To gauge the greatness of that book, this statement of the martyr Sheikh Shihabuddin Suhrawardi (d. 587 AH) is sufficient: “If _Kitab al-Ta‘arruf_ had not been written, we could not have been acquainted with the knowledge of Tasawwuf.” 


Haji Khalifa, in his work, mentioned four famous commentaries on that book:  

1. One written by the author himself, titled _Husn al-Tasarruf_.  

2. The second commentary was by Abdullah Ansari (d. 481 AH).  

3. The third by Alauddin Ali ibn Ismail Qunawi (d. 869 AH).  

4. The fourth was written by Ismail ibn Muhammad Abdullah. 


However, Haji Khalifa mistakenly attributed _Husn al-Tasarruf_ to Kalabazi. In reality, this is the name of Qunawi’s commentary. A commentary was written from the pen of the author himself. He was accused of first writing the Arabic text of _Ta‘arruf_ and then explaining it in Persian. This book was published by Naval Kishore Press, Lucknow. 


Sheikh Ali ibn Ahmad included excerpts from it in _Funun-e-Latifa_. Imam al-Haqqi recorded many quotations from it in his work on the saints. Professor Massignon also recorded quotations from its verses in his book on Mansur al-Hallaj.

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