We mention this wa`iz (preacher) because he is often confused
with `Izz al-Din ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Sulami, and a small work of
his on tasawwuf
is mistakenly attributed to the latter. In this work, entitled
variously Hall al-rumuz wa mafatih al-kunuz and Zabad khulasat
al-tasawwuf, al-Maqdisi divides the levels of suluk or spiritual
wayfaring along three ways which correspond to the Prophet's
definition of Religion in the hadith of Jibril:
Islam is the first of the levels of Religion, characterizing the common believers; Iman is the first of the stepping-stones of the heart and it characterizes the elite of the believers; Ihsan is the first of the stepping-stones of the spirit, and it characterizes the elite of those brought near.1
1 al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam
[al-Maqdisi], Hall al-rumuz wa
mafatih al-kunuz (Cairo: matba`at nur al-amal) p. 7.
Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani's
The
Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p.
353.
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions