Forms of gnosis in Sulamī's Sufi exegesis of the Fātiha

This paper will look at the Sufi interpretations of Sūrat al-fātiha found in the early mystical Qur'an commentary known as the Haqāiq al-tafsīr by the well known Sufi, Abū ^cAbd al-Rahmān al-Sulamī (d. 1021). The Sufi tafsīr of this sūra will be read not only as a compilation of early mystical interpretations of the Qur'an, but also as a unique work by Sulamī himself. A close reading of the various Sufi authors' interpretations set out by Sulamī will show how his own positions concerning the fundamental Sufi concept of ma^crifa come about.