Study Day for the 1000th Anniversary of al-Sulamī

On Friday 12 November 2021, PISAI hosted a study day dedicated to a Ṣūfī master who died one thousand years ago on that date. The event, entitled, “Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī: His Life and Legacy”, brought together scholars from Italy and France to reflect on aspects of the shaykh’s contribution.

Three professors gave their presentations remotely, while a number of additional participants followed the event in PISAI’s library remotely. The study day featured papers in Italian by the scholars Demetrio Giordani, Paolo Urizzi, Yahya Pallavicini, Giuseppe Cecere, Francesco Chiabotti, Abd al-Wadoud Gouraud, and Jason Welle, Director of Studies at PISAI.

In the evening, Prof. Jean-Jacques Thibon (INALCO, Paris) gave a public lecture in French, “Les figures de la sainteté dans l’œuvre de Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī”. All of the scholars involved have published studies or translations of Ṣūfism in the classical period, and most have published on al-Sulamī in particular, yielding a rich day of discussion and reflection.