خلاصة:
Sahl Testari is rightfully one of the pillars of Islamic Sufism, who, along with Junayd, Shibli, and Bayazid Bastami, had a profound impact on Sufi thought. It is rare to find a Persian or Arabic mystical book or treatise that is not indebted to Sahl and his ideas. Among contemporaries, some orientalists and researchers have conducted studies on Sahl and his ideas, and introducing and critiquing them, as well as ancient Sufi sources about Sahl, can be useful for those interested. In this article, research sources on the life and ideas of Sahl, both printed and manuscript, including Persian, Arabic, and some Latin sources, are examined, and the ideas of each author or the extent of influence of each book from Sahl are presented. The main headings of this article are: 1- Sufi treatises 2- Biographies or classes of Sufi men 3- Histories and geographical books 4- Research on Sahl 5- Bibliographic documents 6- Sahl's followers.
ملخص الجهاز:
As a supplement to the discussion, I deem it necessary to point out that despite Al-Lama' being a primary and reliable source for understanding the early Sufis in general and Sahal al-Tustari in particular, Bawering, in his critique of this book, says: “One cannot emphasize the value and correctness of its contents.
Considering the extent of the Salmiyya school’s influence from Sahal’s views and teachings, and Abu Talib’s special position within the Salmiyya school, as well as the prominent presence of al-Tustari in Quwwat al-Qulub to the extent that Sahal and his views are mentioned about two hundred times in this book, the book has become a reliable and trustworthy source.
380 AH) Al-Kalabadhi, in the second chapter of the book under the title “Rijal al-Sufiyya” (Men of Sufism), mentions Sahal among the early Sufis and quotes approximately thirty of Sahal’s sayings, some narrated by Ibn Salim and Muzayyan, but there is little material about Sahal’s biography or his companions.
414 AH) Al-Dhahabi in Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’ (17/275) refers to him as “the Sheikh of the Sufis in the Haram,” and Baverink, without mentioning the location of the manuscript, says: Only a part of the book is available, which contains some useful allusions to Sahal and his disciples, as can be seen from Musara’at al-‘Ashiqin (1/197).
Among other noteworthy issues, he quotes from Ibn Jahdam, apparently taken from his Bahjat al-Asraar, the discussion and debate between Abu Abdullah Zubayri and Sahal over Sahal’s claim of “the proof of God.
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