Hilyat Al Awliya Wa Tabaqat Al Safiya | The Adornment of Allah's Friends and Generations of the Most Pious | Volume IX Book 43

Shaikh Abu Nu’aym (رحمة اللہ علیه)

The book ‘The Adornment of Allah’s Friends and Generations of the Most Pious’ (حلية الأولياء وطبقات الأصفياء) is an encyclopedic work authored by Shaikh Abu Nu'aym Al-Isfahani in Arabic. It is recognized as among the most important sources of early development of Sufism. It contains 689 biographies arranged in chronological order: the first generation of Muslims, the four rightly guided caliphs, the Imams of various fields, theologians, Awliya Allah and pious Muslims known for their ascetism, piety and spiritual significance. This is the largest and most comprehensive book in this genre of Islamic literary tradition. The sheer vastness of this corpus of literature has meant that its use is widespread as an authentic databank of Sufi Shuyookh in medieval times. The English translation of this book ‘The Adornment of Allah’s Friends and Generations of the Most Pious (حلية الأولياء وطبقات الأصفياء) is divided into 27 volumes, spread over 133 books for the ease of its readers.