Abu Bakr Kalabazi, a Persian Sufi mystic of the 10th century, is renowned for his seminal work “Kitab al-Ta’arruf,” which stands as one of the earliest systematic treatises on Sufism. In this influential text, Kalabazi meticulously elucidates the principles of Sufi doctrine, exploring various facets of Sufi practices, spiritual stages, and the path to God-realization. He emphasizes the significance of the master-disciple relationship, elucidates the stages of spiritual development, and underscores the importance of self-purification in the pursuit of divine proximity. Kalabazi’s profound insights into spiritual transformation and the quest for divine love have left an enduring impact on Sufi literature and practice, serving as a cornerstone for subsequent generations of Sufi seekers. His work continues to inspire and guide individuals on the Sufi path, illuminating the way toward spiritual enlightenment and union with the Divine.

Abu Bakr Kalabazi Quotes

01. “In the state of Fana, the seeker of God transcends all kinds of worldly desire and human qualities, He is completely annihilated from his selfhood and is united with God.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

02. “Kalaabazi summarizes the qualities of saintliness “withdrawal from the world, inclining the soul away from it, leaving all settled bodies, keeping constantly to travel, denying the carnal soul its pleasures, purifying conduct, cleansing the conscience, dilation of the breast and the quality of leadership.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

03. “A mystic said “There are four kinds of thoughts from God, from an angel, from self, and from Devil. The thought which is from God is an admonition; that from an angel an urge to obedience; that from self the quest of lust; that from Devil the adornment of disobedience.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

04. “A spiritualist said “The elements of faith are four unification without limitation, recollection without interruption, state without description, and ecstasy without moment.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

05. “The doctrine of tawhid is “God is One, Alone, Single, Eternal, Everlasting, Knowing, Powerful, Living, Hearing, Seeing, Strong, Mighty, Majestic, Great, Generous. He is qualified with the attributes wherewith he has named Himself. There is no Eternal but He, and no god beside Him; that He is neither body nor shape nor form nor person, nor element, nor accident.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

06. “The qualities of saintliness are withdrawal from the world, inclining the soul away from it, leaving all settled bodies, keeping constantly to travel, denying the carnal soul its pleasures, purifying conduct, cleansing the conscience, dilation of breast and the quality of the leadership.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

07. “The only guide to God is God Himself. Inspired by a great Sufi he believed; “God made us to know Himself through Himself and guided us to the knowledge of Himself through Himself, so that the attestation of gnosis arose out of gnosis through gnosis, after he who possessed gnosis had been taught gnosis by Him who is the object of gnosis.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

08. “Love is of two natures; the love which is tranquil, which is found among both the elect and the common folk, and the love, which is rapture, which is found only among the elect. This is road which leads direct to God.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

09. “The end of the gnostic is traceable ‘when he is as he was where he was before he was.’ The gnostic then has made easy effort to discharge his duty to God, and his gnosis is a realization of what God has given him; therefore, he truly returns from things to God.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

10. “Another mystic said “Faith in God is the contemplation of His divinity.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

11. “A mystic said “Love is pleasure and with God there is no pleasure; for the stations of reality are astonishment, surrender and bewilderment. The love of man for God is a reverence indwelling in his heart, and not countenancing the love of any other that God. The love of God for man is that He afflicts him, and so renders him improper for any but Him. This is the sense of God’s words “And I have chosen you for Myself.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

12. “The mystic never returns to his selfhood after having experienced the state of Fana.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

13. “A great mystic said, “Recollection (Zikr) banishes. forgetfulness and when forgetfulness is removed, then you are a recollect or, even if thou art silent.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

14. “Detachment from everything is absolutely necessary for the saint’s unification with God. The meaning of detachment is that one should be detached outwardly from accidents, and inwardly from compensation.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

15. “The more inwardly pure a man is, the higher his rank and the nobler his station, so much the more arduously he labors, with sincerer performance and a great fear of God.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

16. “A Sufi said “Gnosis is of two kinds the gnosis of a truth, and the gnosis of a reality. The gnosis of truth is the assertion of God’s Unity over the attributes which He has put forth. As for the gnosis of reality, this is the gnosis that there is no means of reaching that gnosis, because the impermeable nature (of God) and the verification of (His) Lordliness are impossible to comprehend God says “But they do not comprehend knowledge of Him. The impermeable is He the realities of whose attributes cannot be perceived,”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

17. “The more inwardly pure a man is, the higher his rank and the nobler his station, so much he assiduously labors with sincere performance and a great fear (of God).”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

18. “Intellectual knowledge is ordinary, limited to the human faculties. It deals with the finite objects of the world or the creation of God; it is not’ conceded with the Creator. Gnosis is higher knowledge and directly deals with the Creator and the Divine Attributes. It is a gift of God.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi

19. “A Sufi said “Ecstasy is the glad tidings sent by God of the mystic’s promotion to the station of His contemplation.”
— Abu Bakr Kalabazi