The Aʿlām al-Hudā, despite its brevity, has always been a significant and popular treatise since its first edition, a fact which is proved by the profusion of its manuscripts in the libraries of the Muslim world and its having been published three times so far.
The treatise sets forth the Sunnite-Ash‘arite interpretation of Islamic faith in a concise, simple and intimate language. Thus, it makes the tenets of Islamic creed not only accessible but also palatable to the mind and heart of both the learned and common Muslims. However, though Suhrawardī adopts and defends a distinctly Ash‘arite perspective throughout the tract, he avoids going into any polemics with other Islamic theological schools or sects, displaying a reconciliatory attitude.
The author unites the Ash‘arite theology and the Ṣūfī worldview, either by running to the aid of the Ash‘arite discourse with his Ṣūfī epistemology and devotionalism or by couching the Ash‘arite doctrine in a Ṣūfī and devotional language. In doing so, he builds a strategic partnership with the Sunnite-Ash‘arite ideology as the prevalent formulation of Islam that not only enjoyed the Abbasid support, but also reflected its theological position. This means that Suhrawardī incorporated the Sunnite-Ash‘arite theology and Ṣūfism into one single ideological and political entity.
In the present book, Tahir Uluç, Şehabeddin Kırdar, and Kemal Argon offer a critical edition of Suhrawardī’s Aʿlām al-Hudā and a complete, annotated English translation of the text.
