Wara’ in Sufism is the habit of stepping back from anything doubtful. Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 465 AH) defines it in one line in the chapter on wara’ in his Risala: wara’ is leaving the doubtful things (tark al-shubuhat). He opens the chapter with the hadith “Part of the excellence of a person’s Islam is leaving what does not concern him” (al-Tirmidhi). This guide walks through that chapter in plain English, working from the Arabic text (al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, Arabic edition on archive.org).
Quick answer
Short answer: For Qushayri, wara’ means leaving what is doubtful, not only what is forbidden. The early teachers in his chapter apply it to food and money, to speech, and finally to the heart itself.
What wara’ means
Qushayri backs up his definition with Ibrahim ibn Adham: wara’ is leaving every doubtful thing, and leaving what does not concern you is leaving the excess. He then quotes Abu Bakr al-Siddiq:
كنا ندع سبعين باباً من الحلال مخافة أن نقع في باب من الحرام, “We used to leave seventy doors of the lawful for fear of falling into one door of the unlawful.”
The chapter also cites the Prophet’s words to Abu Hurayra: “Be scrupulous and you will be the most devoted of people” (Ibn Majah).
The outer side and the inner side
Yahya ibn Mu’adh, quoted by Qushayri, divides wara’ in two:
- Outward wara’: that you make no move except for Allah.
- Inward wara’: that nothing but Allah enters your heart.
Al-Shibli takes it to its furthest point: wara’ is to hold back from everything other than Allah. Yahya ibn Mu’adh also gives a working rule: wara’ is stopping at the limit of what you know, without bending it by reinterpretation.
Where wara’ sits among the stations
Abu Sulayman al-Darani gives a map in one sentence: wara’ is the beginning of renunciation (zuhd), just as contentment with little is an edge of rida. Yunus ibn Ubayd joins it to self-examination: wara’ is leaving every doubtful thing and taking account of the self at every glance (see our guide to muhasaba).
Sufyan al-Thawri makes it sound simple: “I have seen nothing easier than wara’. Whatever unsettles your soul, leave it.”
Wara’ in speech
The chapter does not limit wara’ to food and money. Ishaq ibn Khalaf says that wara’ in speech is harder than wara’ with gold and silver. Ma’ruf al-Karkhi advises: guard your tongue from praise just as you guard it from blame. Bishr al-Hafi counts wara’ in private, when no one is watching, among the hardest deeds.
Stories from the chapter
Qushayri fills the chapter with short reports. A few of them, in paraphrase:
- Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s bucket: he left a bucket with a grocer in Makkah as a pledge. When he came to redeem it, the grocer brought out two buckets and said, “Take whichever is yours.” Ahmad said he could not be sure which was his, so he left both the bucket and the money. When the grocer admitted he had only been testing him, Ahmad still would not take it.
- The lamp oil: Abu Salih Hamdun was sitting with a dying friend. When the man died, Hamdun blew out the lamp and said that until now the oil had belonged to his friend, and from now on it belonged to the heirs.
- Ibn al-Mubarak’s pen: he travelled back from Merv to Syria because of a pen he had borrowed and not returned to its owner.
- Al-Nakha’i’s whip: riding a hired animal, he dropped his whip. He got down, tied the animal and walked back for it. Asked why he had not simply ridden back, he said he had hired the animal to go one way, not the other.
Reading these examples today
These are the examples of masters, and Qushayri presents them as high points, not as the first step. His own definition is the place to start: notice what is doubtful and leave it. In daily life that can look like small, concrete things: returning what you borrow, not using what belongs to others without asking, and keeping praise and blame out of your speech. Al-Thawri’s rule keeps it from turning into anxiety: if something unsettles your soul, leave it, and move on.
For how the Risala is arranged as a whole, see our reader’s introduction to Qushayri’s Risala.
FAQ
What does wara’ mean in Sufism?
Wara’ means scrupulousness: leaving what is doubtful, not only what is clearly forbidden. Qushayri defines it as leaving the doubtful things.
What is the difference between wara’ and zuhd?
In the Risala, Abu Sulayman al-Darani calls wara’ the beginning of zuhd. Wara’ leaves the doubtful; zuhd goes further and lets go of attachment to the world.
Is wara’ only about food and money?
No. The chapter applies it to speech as well, and Yahya ibn Mu’adh describes an inward wara’ in which nothing but Allah enters the heart.
Source: Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, al-Risala al-Qushayriyya, Bab al-Wara’, Arabic text: archive.org.
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