The full title of the first Russian translation of an-Niffari’s works is “Sufism: development of the mystical language in an-Niffari’s works. The Book of Standings. The Book of [spiritual] addresses. In relation to His wonderful speech about love”. The works were translated by R.V. Pskhu, PhD in Philosophy, associate professor of the History of Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Russian Peoples’ Friendship University.
The distinguishing feature of works of one of the most enigmatic personalities in the history of Sufism of the 10th century Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Niffari is that almost all his texts (including those attributed to him) are presented in the form of a dialogue between God and His adept, where the most important Islamic and Sufi concepts are explained. The absence of references, unusual logic of reasoning and narration incites the readers to push the limits of their mind and demonstrates the restrictions of human perception with regard to the divine reality.
The introduction and comments to the translation contribute to the understanding of this text as a reflection of a unique path of spiritual self-improvement.
