The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunni Scholasticism: ‘Abdallāh b. al-Mubārak and the Formation of Sunni Identity in the Second Islamic Century by Feryal Salem (review)

Book Reviews The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunni Scholasticism: ‘Abdallāh b. al-Mubārak and the Formation of Sunni Identity in the Second Islamic Century Feryal Salem Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2016. 166 pages. Feryal Salem’s recently published monograph, The Emergence of Early Sufi Piety and Sunnī Scholasticism is the first comprehensive and systematic booklength study of Abdallāh ibn al-Mubārak (d. 181/797), a central figure in the development of Sunni Islam and one of the earliest theoreticians of jihād and zuhd, whose legacy remains important until today among ḥadith scholars, Sufis, and even modern Jihadists. Ibn al-Mubārak was not only an early transmitter of ḥadiths (which in the second/eight-century include not only the sayings of the Prophet, but also those of the early generations of Muslims), but also among the first to commit them to writing at a time when such a practice had not become the norm. By focusing on Ibn al-Mubārak, Salem is able to reconstruct a thriving milieu of scholars and activists whose preoccupation with systematizing conceptions of Islamic piety based on the life and teachings of the Prophet and the early Muslim community was central to the development of Sunni identity. Salem’s main contribution lies in her attempt to complement the existing literature on the formation of Sunni Islam, which in her view— following Scott Lucas—can be distinguished into two general trends.1 The first focuses on theological sectarianism, situating the emergence of Sunni Alatas / Book Reviews   81 Islam as a reaction to the Mu tazilī and Shī ī currents.2 The second situates the formation of Sunni Islam in the third/ninth century development of Islamic Lawandtheschoolsoflaw(madhāhib).3 Complementingthesetwoapproaches, Salem draws our attention to the centrality of early ḥadith scholars in shaping what became known as Sunni Islam. She uses Ibn al-Mubārak to open up the bourgeoning scholarly network consisting of scholars from different parts of the Muslim World who devoted their life to the collection, preservation, and transmission of ḥadīths. In describing this network, Salem highlights three important points. First, these scholars were aware of each other’s existence, notwithstanding the vast geographic distance that separates them, owing to their peripatetic lifestyle on the one hand, and the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that served as a hub around which the vast network constellated on the other. Secondly, the ḥadīths transmitted by these scholars, which mostly revolve around the moral and ethical teachings of the Prophet and the early Muslim community, were posed as models for future ethical action. More than just transmitting the ḥadīths, these scholars personified the ethical teachings in their daily life, becoming paragons of the evolving Islamic piety and virtues that in turn helped to secure their position as moral authorities among the Muslims. Salem does a great job in meticulously using her materials to show how piety—and not just intellectual prowess or the ability to transmit ḥadīth accurately—served as one of the defining criteria for recognition and inclusion of individuals into the network. It is refreshing to learn from Salem’s account the ingrained skepticism through which these early scholars were seeing each other not only in regards to theological stance or accurate narration, but also in regards to piety. It was among these ḥadith scholars—not all of whom were jurists or theologians—that the embryo of Sunni Islam is to be found. Owing to their intellectual activism, ḥadīths became more central to the development of Islamic thoughts and practice until they were finally recognized as one of the foundational sources of Islamic Law. Salem highlights the sophistication of this early scholarly network, noting how certain methodologies of assessing the genuineness of transmission were already at work, albeit without the complexity that characterized its later stages. In doing so, Salem is able to present another case against the so-called “skeptical approach” and its claim— following Schacht—that the ḥadīths were later fabrications created by the third/ninth century Muslim jurists belonging to regional schools to justify their rulings.4 In chapter one, Salem traces the biographical becoming of Ibn al-Mub...