Uyub An Nafs | Villainies of Nafs

Shaikh As Sulami (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ)

The book ‘Villainies of Nafs’ (عيوب النفس) was written by Shaikh Abu Abdur Rahman As-Sulami (رحمتہ اللہ علیه) (1034-947 CE), who was a Sufi Shaikh and scholar of Hadith and Quran from Nishapur. He was a prolific writer famous for his collection of biographies of Awliya Allah titled ‘Generations of Sufi Shuyookh’ (طبقات الصوفية). It is reported that he had written about 100 books during his lifetime. Some of his books which were preserved remain the most important authorities in Sufi literature till today. His works have been praised and quoted by scholars like Al-Hakim Nishapuri, Abu Nu’aim, Khatib Al-Badhdadi, Al-Ghazali, Hujwiri, Suharwardi, Qushairi, Baihaqi, etc. The book ‘Villainies of Nafs’ (عيوب النفس) is one of the comprehensive theories for the purification of Nafs. Shaikh has identified many vile traits and habits of Nafs and has provided their common causes and cures with relevant Ahadith of the Prophet (s) and the statements of the Shuyookh of Ihsan.