Abu Talib al-Makki

Abu Talib al-Makki (Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Makki, died 386 AH / 996 CE) was an early Muslim devotional writer remembered above all for one book: Qut al-qulub ("The Nourishment of Hearts"), among the first attempts to set out the whole inner life of Islamic piety — prayer, fasting, scrupulous self-examination, and the "stations" the seeker passes through — as a single ordered manual.

His origins are only partly known. Sources say he came from the Persian highland province of Jibal, while his byname al-Makki ("the Meccan") reflects that he grew up and studied in Mecca rather than his birthplace; his birth date is not recorded. He later settled in Basra, where he became attached to the Salimiyya, a Basran circle of mystical theologians who transmitted the teachings of the earlier ascetic Sahl al-Tustari (whom al-Makki, born later, never met). He finally moved to Baghdad, where he is thought to have completed the Qut and where he died; he was reportedly buried in the city's Maliki cemetery.

The medieval historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi reports that late in life al-Makki was criticized in Baghdad after preaching a startling saying — that "nothing is more harmful to creatures than the Creator" — and that some scholars faulted statements in the Qut about God's attributes. Such criticisms reflect the contested standing of early Sufi theology and are reported, not settled fact. Whatever the disputes, his book endured: al-Ghazali (d. 1111) drew on it directly, carrying al-Makki's influence into the mainstream of later Islamic spirituality.