Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri أبو القاسم عبد الكريم بن هوازن القشيري

Imam Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Karim ibn Hawazin al-Qushayri rahimahullah (376-465 AH / 986-1072 CE) was one of the foremost scholars of Khurasan and a towering figure in classical Sunni Islamic learning. He was simultaneously a Shafii jurist, an Ashari theologian, and a Sufi master - embodying the integrated traditional Sunni synthesis of law, theology, and spirituality. His most celebrated work, al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, remains the foundational systematic exposition of Sufi terminology, spiritual stations (maqamat), and master-biographies in the Sunni tradition. Alongside the Risala, he authored Adab al-Sufiyya - a concise companion manual detailing the practical conduct expected of the sincere spiritual seeker: in sitting, speaking, eating, listening, dress, travel, receiving guests, visiting the sick, and attending funerals. Together, the two works form an essential corpus for understanding classical Sunni Sufism.